Survivors of last year’s anti-Christian violence in Orissa have decided to boycott a government inquiry into the riots.

“What is there to inquire when the commission has already made up its mind?” said Bipra Nayak of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (SHPS), an association of survivors of the violence.

The victims made their intentions clear in a letter sent to commission chief Sarat Chandra Mohapatra informing him of their decision to boycott proceedings.

Orissa’s Kandhamal district was at the center of the violence that started on Aug. 24, 2009, a day after Maoists gunned down a Hindu religious leader and his associates.

Hindu extremists blamed Christians for the murders and attacked their homes, churches, convents and other institutions.

Seven weeks of rioting left around 90 people dead and more than 50,000 others homeless.

In October that year, the Orissa government appointed retired state High Court judge Mohapatra to a one-man commission to investigate the violence.

Nayak, the association’s convener in Balliguda, Kandhamal, told UCA News the victims say Mohapatra is biased. “We have no alternative except to boycott this prejudiced inquiry,” he added.

Praful Pradhan, a tribal leader, said the victims were shocked when Mohapatra determined that the violence was not a sectarian conflict even before receiving affidavits from the public on the violence.

The SHPS was launched on Dec. 7, 2009 after a series of meetings between human rights and Church groups working with the victims.

Source:  Orissa victims boycott inquiry (UCAN)

Related posts:

1. Kandhamal verdict cheers Christian victims
2. Europeans’ visit cheers Orissa Church
3. Murder allegation a ‘lie,’ says Orissa prelate
4. Prelate seeks redress for Orissa victims
5. Salesians work for peaceful Orissa Christmas