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Statement read by Dr. Saghir A Shaikh, Chairman, World Sindhi Congress at a press conference in Washington, DC on June 24th, 2003 Ladies and Gentlemen : We have gathered here to implore the American public and the US Government to pressure Pakistan to safeguard basic human rights of the indigenous people of Sindh. Even by Pakistani standards, more than 50% of the officially counted population of 30 million lives below poverty line in Sindh. A recent survey conducted by the Asian Development Bank reveals that the poverty rate of Sindh and Balochistan is 53% and 54% respectively. Comparing these figures to the poverty rate in Punjab (29%) and NWFP (24%), one can see that an "economic apartheid" is in place in Pakistan. The two southern provinces of Pakistan are almost twice as poor as the dominant province of Punjab. Agriculture remains the major source of income in Sindh, but the region’s agricultural industry is the victim of the central government’s theft of water from River Indus. Today, we specifically want to highlight our deepest concerns over the on-going mega irrigation project called Greater Thal Canal (GTC). This project costs Rs. 35 billion (US $ 600 M) and is designed to divert 2.5 million acre foot (MAF) water from the River Indus system to irrigate 1.53 million acres of land in the province of Punjab. Many military generals, current and retired, and tribal landlords who support the government own lands in this part of Punjab. The work on GTC started in August 2001 and was inaugurated by General Parvez Musharaf, without the agreement of the Government of Sindh or any other technical and administrative bodies in Pakistan. The Government of Sindh, people of Sindh, and many other local and international NGOs rejected this project and expressed their deep concerns about its social and ecological impact in Sindh. Recently, the Sindh Assembly unanimously voted for the cancellation of this project. Since early 2001, millions of people have peacefully protested with thousands of marches, hundreds of hunger strikes, and signature campaigns. Some of these protests encountered police aggression. In June 2001, the police fired on protesters, killing two activists. In same month, the government imprisoned more than 600 environmental activists. Some of them were imprisoned for several months before they could be released on bail. These activists still have to face the lengthy and costly court procedures. The Indus River system cannot afford to have any more upper riparian canal project such as GTC. According to the Water Management and Distribution Committee report in the year 2000, the current flow of the Indus (four out of every five years) is 123.59 MAF--approximately 15.59 MAF less than the amount required for the bare minimum needs of the four provinces and mere survival of the Indus Delta region. Building a new canal with the capacity of 2.5 MAF would worsen the situation even further. GTC will create various agro-ecological problems. It will wipe out the wetlands and mangrove forests in Sindh, some of which are internationally protected under the Ramsar Agreement. These wetlands provide a habitat for many plants and animals, including endangered species such as Blind Dolphin. Other species such as Shad or Pallo fish, Barramundi fish, Dangri fish, and shrimps will also face the threat of extinction if further water deficiency occurs. GTC will also create a water shortage in the "kacho" area, depriving 100,000 people of their livelihood. It is necessary to discharge Indus water to the sea in order to keep sea water at bay and not let it intrude into the inland water resources, surface and ground. Due to the water theft in the last few decades, salt-water intrusion has been witnessed inland up to 100 kilometers north of the sea. Thousands of people have been forced to migrate from their ancestral homes and lands We believe that GTC (along with other similar projects) breaches international law as well as Pakistan’s own constitution (which is now being modified by General Musharaf). This Project violates the ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples 1989 (i.e. C169), Article 15, which states, "The rights of the peoples concerned to the natural resources pertaining to their lands shall be specially safeguarded." The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses was approved by the General Assembly in 1997. This convention delineates a basic principle for state action: the state is to have only equitable and reasonable use, inflicting no significant harm to any party. GTC certainly violates this convention too. We believe that water concerns not only the issues of environment, ecology, and culture, but also the question of peoples' survival and security. Without the help of the international community and neutral international monitoring organizations, competition over water in Pakistan could eventually lead to a serious, possibly violent conflict. Compared to resolving a conflict of that kind, it is more effective and less costly to reach a solution to amend water distribution policies now. We ask to you to impress on the government of Pakistan to change its policy of building large dams and canals and to create instead a comprehensive water plan for Pakistan based on the following principles:
After listening to these facts, we hope that you all will help us in conveying the plight of Sindhi people to the American public and Government, so that they can influence General Musharaf and the Pakistani establishment (diplomatically as well as by including safeguards in their loan and grants agreements) to respect the universal principles of justice, liberty, and peace for the peoples of their country. Thank you very much for your time. |