Goan communities have expressed their solidarity together and have called upon for all Goans across to appeal for the immediate release of the Jesuit priest, Fr. Stan Swamy SJ.
Fr. Stan Swamy was taken into custody from his Ranchi home in connection with the Elgar Parishad case last week. He was later taken to Mumbai and is currently in judicial custody till October 23.
Local groups across the state have expressed their anguish over this sudden arrest of the priest. Yesterday, battling the sudden rains, many priests, activists, and citizens gathered at Azad Maidan in Panaji demanding the immediate release of the Jesuit priest.
“Those who incited the actual violence at the Bhima-Koregaon are left free, but leaders of Dalit groups were falsely accused of having connections with Maoists and Naxalites and they were arrested. We condemn his (Fr. Stan Swamy) arrest and demand for his immediate release. We also demand the release of all those human rights activists who are falsely implicated and arrested,” said Fr. Simon Fernandes.
The Jesuits of the Goa province and others have also supported the peaceful movement.
Citizens have called for the release of other prisoners, many blatantly arrested by invoking the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which is termed a draconian law of today’s time.
The Catholic Association of Goa (CAG) has also come out in support of the priest, adding that whenever being called by the NIA, Fr Stan had always made his presence before the investigating authorities. This sort of custodial interrogation was not needed, keeping in mind the underlying health concerns of the 83-year old priest who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
“We believe that the charges against him are unequivocally false and baseless. While on one side, convicts of serious crimes like murder and rape are left on parole and alleged perpetrators are released on bail due to the present pandemic conditions, CAG feels that the arrest of Fr Swamy is unreasonable and a misuse of power when he has made himself available whenever required for investigation,” said Ethel Lobo, President of the CAG.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) has also expressed its “deep sorrow and anguish” over Fr. Stan’s arrest.
Meanwhile, Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into this and immediately release the priest, also adding that the priest has been cooperating with the investigations since the beginning.
Fr. Stan Swamy is a Jesuit priest and a tribal rights activist from Jharkhand. He has worked in the state for over four decades and has been vocal on various issues of the Adivasi communities on land, forest and labour rights.
A similar solidarity march is expected to take place in Margao tomorrow outside the Margao Municipality area.