In what many are calling a blatant attack on dissenting voices, Arunachal Pradesh-based human rights lawyer and environmental activist Ebo Mili was prevented from boarding a flight to Dhaka from Kolkata airport on Saturday due to a lookout notice issued by the state police.
Mili was scheduled to attend the Regional Infrastructure Monitoring Alliance (RIMA) conference in Dhaka from October 5 to 7.
Speaking to Maktoob, Mili said that there was no need for the Arunachal Pradesh Police to issue such an order.
“This is harassment, a misuse of power. We are being targeted for advocating against the Siang dam. I won’t be surprised if next they arrest us under the National Security Act. There are so many ministers with actual crimes, yet they go overseas; rapists and murderers get parole, while people who are actually working for their land and environmental protection are being tagged as anti-national,” he told Maktoob.
Mili is the second activist to be stopped from going abroad over a lookout notice.
In early September, noted environmental activist Bhanu Tatak was stopped at Delhi airport when she was travelling to Ireland.
She was stopped by the immigration authorities from travelling abroad on the basis of a lookout circular issued by the Arunachal Pradesh Police, officials had said.
The activists were stopped on the basis of complaints whose details have not been shared, but many assume it is for protesting against the proposed mega dam on the Siang River.
Since reports of the dam were released, intense opposition has sparked a chain of protests against other hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh.
Civil society members are alleging that the proposed project is illegal as the mandatory free, prior, and informed consent was not obtained from the Gram Sabhas in many cases — a common pattern observed in such projects.
The government’s push towards the mega hydropower project on the Siang River reportedly aims to curb perceived threats from China.
In June, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of a media report that residents were opposing the proposed construction of a dam, apprehending that it may result in the displacement of several people and adversely impact livelihoods and ecology in the Siang district.
Reportedly, to deal with the situation, the government has deployed central armed forces in various areas of the Siang district in the state.
The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Arunachal Pradesh, calling for a detailed report in the matter within two weeks.
On May 23, a human rights activist and convenor of the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum also led a protest against the dam construction in Beging village, in which approximately 400 people participated.
