Peoples Watch (Tamil Nadu) and CHRO (Kerala) :

FACT-FINDING REPORT ON THE RSS ATTACK ON AMERICAN

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY BISHOP JOSEPH COOPER & PASTOR BENSON SAM

Following news reports that an American Christian Missionary Bishop
Joseph Cooper had been attacked by the RSS workers on 13.1.03 in
Kilimanoor village in Trivandrum district of Kerala, People's Watch Tamil Nadu
(PW-TN) deputed a team comprising of two of its staff namely Ms.
Rajakumari (Human Rights Monitoring Associate) and Ms. Maya (Human Rights
Intervention Assistant) to go to Trivandrum to collect the facts regarding
the incident. For this purpose the organization coordinated with the
Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (CHRO) so that a joint Fact
Finding could be conducted. In this initiative CHRO was represented by
Dr. Abdul Salaam, Sr.Annie Punnose and Mr. K. S. Sreejith Kumar. The
fact finding was conducted on 20.01.03. Following is the report of the
joint fact-finding team comprising CHRO and Peoples Watch Tamil Nadu.

GENERAL DETAILS -

Name of the victims : 1) Bishop Joseph Cooper, 67 years ; 2) Pastor
Benson Sam, 45 years ; 3) Sally Benson Sam, 34 years ; 4) Judith, 6 years
; 5) Joe, 14 years ; 6) Mercy Christudass ; and 7 ) Jaya kumar
Religion : Christian.
Nationality : Bishop Joseph Cooper American ; Pastor Benson and
others- Indians.

Date & time of occurrence : 13.01.2003 Between 9:00 & 9: 30 PM.
Place of occurrence : Puliyam village, Kilimanoor Taluk, Trivandrum
District, Kerala.
Persons interviewed by the Fact Finding Team.
1. POLICE OFFICIALS : Additional S. I. Hamid (Kilimanoor Police
Station) ; The Superintendent of Police, Trivandrum Rural, Mr. Vinod Kumar IPS
.
2. VILLAGERS : Ms. Sarala (45, Christian) ; David (35, Christian) ;
Rajan (non-Christian) ; Johnson (43, Christian) ; Rajendran (53,
non-Christian and CPI-M supporter) ; and Nalinakshan (non-Christian and Congress
supporter).
3. VICTIMS : Bishop Joseph Cooper (67) ; Pastor Benson Sam (37).
Date of Fact Finding : 20.01.2003.
Coordinating organizations : Confederation of Human Rights
Organizations (CHRO) and Peoples Watch Tamilnadu (PW-TN).

Fact Finding Team : 1) Dr. Abdul Salaam, CHRO ; 2) Sr. Annie Punnose,
CHRO ; 3) Mr. K.S. Sreejith Kumar, CHRO ; 4) Ms. Maya- PW- TN ; 5) Ms.
Rajakumari - PW- TN.

Police station : Kilimanoor Police station ; Investigating officer :
Circle Inspector Rajagopal.
FIR No : 19/2003.
Under sections : 143, 147 148 149 153 (1)(A), 153 (1) (B), 341, 324,
326 307 120(B) of the IPC and sections 3&5 of the Explosives Act and Sec
27 of the Arms Act.
Date of FIR : 14.01.2003.

Demographic sketch of the area:

Puliyam village is approximately 9 kms from the Kilimanoor city and
approximately 40 kms from Trivandrum city. The village is on the borders
of Trivandrum and Quilon districts. This is a remote area where there
are no facilities available to the Dalit cluster. In the village of the
incident there are around 85 households in the village out of which the
Ezhva community is in a majority. This is followed by the Nair
community and finally the Vedar community.

The Vedars of Tholikuzhi :

The incident of January 13 took place at Tholikuzhi Vedar Colony,
Puliyam Koppam, Kilimanoor town, around 9.30 pm. People belonging to
different castes and communities live in the area, including about two dozen
households of Vedar tribal sect. Among the Vedars, about 20 households
follow Christian faith for almost two generations now. The area,
devoid of any recent conversion history, and by and large remained peaceful
without any social conflicts, communal tension or violence.

The entire lots of Vedars eke out their living through daily wages, and
remain at the bottom of socio-economic strata among the whole populace,
majority of whom belong to Eazhava backward community. The tall claims
of successive governments regarding upliftment of the downtrodden
social segments failed to make any visible impact on the Vedars of this
area. Male members among Vedars are mostly engaged in agriculture labor
on daily wages. During non-agriculture season, the households are run
by daily wage earnings of women. All their houses are thatched huts
without basic amenities like latrine, drinking water, etc. Promises of
power connections, lavishly showered in each election by various
political parties, still remain as a distant dream for them. Many of the houses
do not have valid land documents although
they were staying there for many decades, if not centuries.

The Vedar Christians used to go for their Sunday service to the
Venkatakuzhi Church at a distance. Three years ago, the Friends Bible Club
was established in the colony which also served as a chapel for them to
pray, fast, and for their family get together. Pastor Benson is its head
to lead Sunday service and Kunjumon, appointed about three months ago,
work as its in-charge. All major Christian functions, like Christmas,
Easter, etc. were celebrated at this Church ever since its inception.

Fact finding :

The Fact Finding team first went to Kilimanoor Police Station to meet
the investigating officer in this case. On reaching there we were
informed that the investigating officer of the case Mr. Rajagopal was on
leave as he had fractured his hand. Therefore we were suggested to go and
meet the CI at his residence. Hence the fact finding team then went to
the office cum residence of the CI Rajagopal. The team members were not
able to meet the investigating officer as he was not well but they were
nevertheless given permission to gather information regarding the case.
Therefore Additional Sub.Inspector Hamid gave us the following details
that had been registered in the Kilimanoor police station regarding the
case

1. Statement of Additional Sub-Inspector Hamid, Kilimanoor Police
Station :

We received a call on 13.01.2003 between 8:45 PM and 9:30 PM from
Puliyam asking for help. The person said that some people were attacking
the members of the local Church. We immediately rushed to the spot. By
the time we reached the attackers had already fled from the scene. We
saw that injured people were profusely bleeding. Officials therefore
immediately rushed the injured to the Medical College Hospital. There we
identified the injured as Bishop Cooper an American citizen who also
preaches Christianity, Pastor Benson Sam a pastor of the Friends of
Bible Church and the one who was a regular visitor to this Church, Pastor
Bensons children Joe aged 6 years, his daughter Judith aged 13 years,
his wife Sally, a member of the church choir Ms. Mercy. A day later, on
14.01.2003, Pastor Benson Sam shifted Bishop Cooper to the Kerala
Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) a private hospital.

When asked by the fact finding team members as to who had identified
the accused Mr. Hamid said, Pastor Benson had identified Accused No:2
i.e Shaji and two three others as they had attended the Convention that
evening. Once Shaji was identified, the police quickly swung in to the
action and arrested him. Later on investigations revealed that the
Friends of Bible Church had decided to organize a Convention from the
13.01.2003 to 15.01.2003. On the first day when preparations were being in
the morning two people had gone to the person who was in-charge for the
arrangements of the mike system and inquired him as to what the program
was all about, why was it being conducted, by whom and other such
similar questions. These were later identified by the people as members of
the local RSS Shakha. Investigations also revealed that these men then
went back to their Shakha and discussed a plan of action on how to
attack the Convention and especially its members. During the planning
meeting their were altogether nine members who had participated. Later in the
evening a total number of 11 members had attacked the Convention group.
But the 11 included only 5 of the nine members who had planned the
attack. The rest of the six were outsiders details of whom can be known
only if the Accused No.1 is arrested.

We have registered an FIR under Crime no: 19/2003. The FIR has been
registered against the following persons :-
Accused No 1 : Sunil Kumar 30 yrs resident of Erattakulam
Accused No 2 : Shaji 31 yrs resident of Koppam
Accused No 3 : Raju s/o Thambi 33 yrs resident of Koppam
Accused No 4 : Shaiju s/o Satyan 27 yrs resident of Erattakulam
Accused No 5 : Shan s/o Satyan 19 yrs resident of Erattakulam
Accused No 11 : Biju 21yrs S/o Murali resident of Koppam
Accused No 12 : Deepu 18 yrs S/o Gangadharan resident of Koppam
Accused No 13 : Shain 22 yrs S/o Vidyadharan resident of Koppam
Accused No 14 : Binu Kumar S/o Damodaran resident of Erattakulam
Accused No 15 : Manosh 26 S/o Dharmaraj resident of Erattakulam
The above listed accused have been charged under sections 143, 147 148
149 153 (1)(A), 153 (1) (B), 341, 324, 326 307 120(B) of the IPC and
sections 3&5 of the Explosives Act and Sec 27 of the Arms Act.

The names of the Accused Nos 11 to 15 were found from the attendance of
the RSS Shakha register of that particular day. During the attack, the
RSS members also used swords, crowbars, Sticks, country made bombs. In
fact they first threw a bomb to scare the people. As a result of the
bomb attack the people were scared to come to the rescue of the people
who were being attacked. In fact there is also the house of one
Rajendran near the place of incident. But then once the bombs exploded no one
dared to come out of their house. Moreover the injured tried going to
the hospital in their car but as the car had been deflated there was no
vehicle which could get them to the city or even the nearest hospital.
It was then that they somehow managed to call up the police station and
then once we reached the spot we did the rest and took control of the
situation.

When asked by the team members regarding the other FIR having filed
against one Vidhyadharan, Adl. S.I informed us, We have filed another FIR
against Vidhyadharan who also happens to be the father of Accused No 13
Shain. On 17.01.2003 at around 1:00PM Vidhyadharan went and threatened
one of the eye witness Mr. Kunjumon 57 years. The FIR has been
registered under Cr. No 23/2003 and filed under sections 451, 506(2) & 34 of
IPC.

On the questions of whether any provocative statements had been made in
the Convention by any member of the Church the official said, police
investigations have revealed that no provocative statements were ever
made during the whole of the Convention and therefore all accusations
regarding such remarks are false and baseless.

2. Statement of Mrs. Sarala W/o Chandran (47 years), resident of
Puliyam (next to the Church)

We have been residing here for many years now. We have also been
practicing Christianity from our grandfathers times. All members of the
Vedar community have been following this religion from our grandfathers
times. This Church started three years ago. On that particular day i.e.
13.01.2003 there were almost 150 people who had come to attend the
Convention. I was at the venue when I heard the bomb blast. At first I did
not understand what had happened, but then when I realized, I rushed
back to my home.

On whether there were any inquiries made by the RSS members on the
morning of 13.01.2003, she said, I dont know anything about it. We women
did not get to know of anything as to what was happening. Perhaps the
men would know of it.

When the fact finding team asked whether the people of the area had
received any threats from the RSS members Mrs. Sarla said, we were not
threatened by anyone after the incident. But the RSS members did visit
the village after the attack and promised us that they would build us
toilets and get us other facilities for our village. We however, did not
say anything because so many people have come like this before and given
us umpteen numbers of promises. This happens especially during the
election time. Once the elections are over they never even bother to look
back. So we kept quiet. We have problems and the only thing we can do to
find solace is to pray to God.

3. Statement of Rajan (52), S/o Gochipillai Nadar

I am Rajan (52), S/o Gochipillai Nadar. My native place is Kannammedu,
near Kalikavila of Tamil Nadu-Kerala Border. I belong to Hindu Nadar
community and I came to Puliyadi 6 months ago, in search of employment
with the woman with whom I live, Ms. Valsala and her daughter.
I am residing here for the past six months with people of different
communities such as Harijans, Tribals, Ilavars and Muslims. I used to
work in their field and survive by the wages they give.

On 13.01.2003, the Christians (harijans) had a prayer service in the
Puliyadi church. A foreigner came to the church on the day. I also went
to the church along with my neighbors. He was sharing about his life
and later he prayed for the sick people. He never hurt anyone or made any
remarks about other religion. He was talking in a different language,
and the pastors translated it into Malayalam. Since he prayed for the
sick, I also went and got his blessings. After the prayer, around 9.15
PM I came back to my house, which is just 100 feet distance from the
church and had my supper.

All of a sudden, we heard a big sound. We heard the sound of bomb
blasting. We were very scared. I didnt know what was going on. After that
I saw people going down and noise around. When I enquired I was told
that the foreigner and others were being attacked. By the time, I went
down I couldnt see any mob. It was a little dark. Then the police came
and took the injured people in a vehicle.
After that incident, here people live in great fear. I am very afraid
to go out. We hear people whistling and are very scared to sleep during
night.

4. Statement of Mr. Rajendran S/O Madhavan (53 years)

I am a native of this village and even my grandfather had been from
this village. We belong to the Hindu Elavar community. I am an
agriculturist by profession.

My house is near the place where the incident occurred. The Convention
had been going on the whole day. The members of the Friends of Bible
Church had distributed pamphlets regarding the Convention in the entire
village. Everyone in the neighborhood had been invited. As I was not
interested I did not go. On that night when I heard the cries of some of
the people for help, I immediately rushed to help them. But just as I
reached the spot the attackers threw a bomb. I got scared and therefore
returned to my house. I could not help them.

This is the first time that such an incident had taken place. Never
before had such a thing happened. I have read in the newspaper that they
had made provocative and inflammatory speeches, but that is not true.
No inflammatory speeches were made by any member of their community.
People in this area have never thought about such things. In fact just a
week before the Convention began devotees to Sabarimala temple had
conducted a puja in the very same place. Nobody had any objections to
that.

 

5. Statement of Bishop Joseph Cooper (67years):

The fact finding team went to the private hospital, the Kerala
Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) on 20th Jan, 2003 around 7PM and met the
victim Bishop Joseph Cooper. The following is his statement:

I come from the western part of Pennsylvania , United States. I have
two children and a wife and four grandchildren. My family has visited
India. My wife has come to India thrice. My first trip to India was in
1979. Mostly I visit the states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. This is my
eleventh trip to India. However, this is my first trip to this place.
Pastor Benson is my good friend and he invited me to his place. We have
been friends for almost 20 years.

I belong to an Association of Independent Pastors. We are about 2000
independent pastors from the Universal Church and they elected me as
their Bishop. Pastors come together once or twice a year to encourage each
other.

I come to India to observe what God is doing in India and also
observe the activities of the Church. I also come to share what God is
doing in the US and share to the Indians what God is doing in USA. In some
places HE does tremendous things and in some places he is very quiet.

When asked about the statements in the Press regarding him having made
provocative statements about Lord Aiyyappan and Lord Krishna the Hindu
dieties the Bishop commented

I did not have any legal or political desire when I conducted the
prayer. I only gave my testimony and I prayed for the sick. I spoke for
around 15 minutes but at no point of time did I ever mention anything
about any other religion. They are making all these accusations against me
as they want the accused to escape from the punishment.

About the Foreigners Act, what I read in the newspapers and what the
police say is different. The opinions that have been given by them are
contradictory. The law apparently says that you cannot be religious if
you are a foreigner. But I cannot understand how I cannot be religious
when I believe in Jesus. When Jesus lives in me how can I not be
religious When I travel I talk to the people around me about their life.
When I realize they have a problem I tell them Oh! You have a problem. Can
I pray for you When they have wounds I then pray for them. Sometimes
the wounds heal and sometimes it does not.

The police have ordered me to go home. Anyhow I would have gone back
as I am handicapped now and I need to take a proper treatment. I have no
problems with Kerala. The politicians, the police and the people are
good to me.

After this he showed all the injuries that he had suffered as a result
of the attack. He had sustained injuries on both sides of his right
hand (from edge of the little finger to the wrist). He also has injuries
on his right and also the elbow.

That night even when they were beating us up I kept saying Lord have
mercy on us. I have no complaints against anyone and I have forgiven
those people who attacked us. The state too is taking care of the
prosecution and therefore I have no intentions of fighting any case against
anyone.

6. Statement of Pastor Benson

The convention was arranged by the interested members of Friends Bible
Church at Puliyam near Kilimanoor, Trivandrum District. They decided
to conduct the convention for three days from January 13 to 15, 2003.
A friend of mine Mr. Joseph Cooper came to India on Jan. 4th and stayed
in a hotel at Changanacherry near Kottayam to see his friends and visit
different parts of India. I came to know that he reached there and I
went to see him. I invited him to see the place where I am working. I
took him to a hotel Silpa Gardens, Kilimanoor on Jan. 13th after noon
and checked in there. That evening I went there along with my wife and
children to take him to Puliyam. We reached Puliyam by 6.30 pm and the
convention started at 7 pm. After the music concert one of my friends
Mr. Jaison gave a message for one hour. After that Bishop Joseph Cooper
gave his testimony and he prayed for the sick. The meeting was over by
9 pm and we stayed there for few minutes to arrange a vehicle for our
friends and to discuss about the following days meetings. By 9.30 pm
we were on our way to the car. Some people came with crowbars, swords
and bomb attacked us. The people who attacked us belong to the RSS
and they were there at the meeting place when Bishop Joseph Cooper was
praying for the sick. The local people identified them and informed me
that, some RSS people came there and were observing the activities.

They were hiding in the dark and were waited for us to come. After
we crossed the paddy field and entered the narrow road some of them came
out and walked nearby and I saw them carrying long sticks in their
hands. I didnt know that they were going to attack us. A group of
people came in front of us. And they start beating us. The people who
were in front got hurt and they started running down. The people were
screaming and cried out loud. Then they turned to us and beat us like
anything. Bishop Cooper, myself, my wife fall down on the road and they
beat us all over our body. All our bodies were badly injured and
bruised. I was carrying my 6 year old daughter Judith on my shoulder by the
grace of God she didnt get any beatings. I threw away her on to the
rubber plantation and told her to lie down and later my second son Jeff
came there and they both ran away from there. She was frightened and
shocked and was about to faint. She suffered high temperature and fever for
one week. My first son Joe who is 12 year old got two three beatings
on his shoulder and back.

Joseph Cooper was seriously injured. On his right hand there was a
deep cut in between the last finger and the other from top to the wrist.
It was about to separate and was hanging. There was a deep cut on his
left leg and it was sutured. His all body was bruised. There is a
deep cut on my left hand on my wrist ten suturing was there. On my left
hand down to the wrist there was a deep cut. On my left shoulder and
down to ribs there was lots of bruise. My wife Sali got lots of
bruise on her body mainly on her left hand. There are lots of marks on her
both shoulders and back and she is now suffering from back pain. There
were some other people also hurt and one is Ms. Mercy a singer and
Jayakumar who played the key board (Piano).

This attack was a pre-planned operation. They were there at the
meeting place before the meeting starts. We had no idea that they would
attack us. There was no provocation or mention about any other religion or
any other group or people in the Convention. This can be confirmed by
having an inquiry in that place from the people who attended it and
heard the message through the loud speakers. The main speaker was Bro.
Jaison. Bishop Joseph Cooper did not preach on that day he just shared
his testimony. His main ministry was praying for the sick and which
he did with out having microphone or loudspeaker. Neither he nor anybody
else mentioned about Lord Krishna or Ayyappa. They are being accused
of preaching against their gods. This is totally wrong and misleading
the people. They themselves are mocking their own gods in order to
justify and protect their own people. My prayer is that the BJP and RSS
have to stop these kinds of comments. It will destroy the harmony and
peace among the people and among various religions. They themselves
are making up issues.

The attack was on 13th Jan at 9.30 pm. They beat us for nearly ten
minutes and when the people came from the meeting place hearing our
cries the RSS people left the place. In between the attack they throw a
bomb that fell near my leg. I heard a big sound and all the dead
leaves were flying in the air. I thought my legs and parts of the body were
flying. God protected us. We called the police through a phone from
the neighboring house and they came within 30 or 40 minutes in a jeep.
They took us to Kilimanoor Junction and from there we went to Medical
College Hospital, Trivandrum by an Ambulance. In order to give more
care for Joseph Cooper I had taken him to a private hospital called KIMS.
There he got good care, his hand was attended to well. They did the
Micro Vascular Surgery on his hand. When they had taken the ECG and it
was complicated. They put him in ICU for two three days and then
shifted to him to the Medical Care Unit. After few days they brought him to
the room. He was discharged on Jan. 22nd from KIMS. From there he went
to Bombay and same evening he left India.

The police arrested 9 RSS people in connection to the attack and they
were there in the attack. Now they are in Jail. The people at
Puliyam are still under pressure and in fear. The BJP, RSS people are
visiting the place every day there.

It was so sad and unfortunate that a US missionary was attacked in
India, especially in Kerala. It is my prayer that it should not happen
in Kerala again. The minorities have to be secured and well-taken
care.

7. Statements in the press and excerpts from a telephonic conversation
of the Trivandrum Rural Superintendent of Police, Mr. Vinod Kumar IPS
with Mr. Mukundan C. Menon, Secretary General of the CHRO, Kerala :

The Rural S.P. Mr. Vinod Kumar informed the Press on Jan. 20 that
Cooper had been asked to leave the country for violating visa rules since a
Special Branch probe had prima facie found that Cooper had violated a
1995 Central Government order restraining foreign citizens visiting
India on tourist visas from preaching at religious meetings. He also said
that the Ministry of External Affairs and the Union Home Ministry had
asked for a report from the State police on the charge that Cooper had
spoken at religious conventions.

At the same time, when contacted for the sake of this fact finding
report telephonically, Mr. Vinod Kumar refused to spare a copy of his order
served to Rev. Cooper to Mr. Mukundan C. Menon, the General Secretary
of CHRO. It is only meant for Cooper, and not for public, the
officer said. When questioned further, he admitted that it was neither a
classified or secret document. It is not a public document, either, he
added. According to him, making the letter public would violate the
privacy of Rev. Cooper. When asked for the grounds cited in the
notice, Mr. Vinod Kumar repeated what he earlier told the newspapers about
Coopers violating visa regulations by preaching at religious meetings.
The police officer also said that he cannot give a copy of his
order even to the U.S. Embassy.

8. Information on the proceedings against Rev. Cooper and others in a
court initiated by the RSS after the incident :

On January 20, the Thiruvananthapuram Rural Superintendent of Police,
T. K. Vinod Kumar, served the controversial notice to Cooper to leave
the country within a week for violation of visa rules. On the same day,
the Trivandrum District Secretary of VHP, K. Sugathan, filed a
private complaint before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at
Attingal within the Trivandrum district seeking arrest and prosecution of
Rev. Cooper for hurting religious sentiments through his speeches,
punishable under Section 298 and 295 (a) of the IPC. Cooper left
Trivandrum on January 22, and the Judicial First Class magistrate Court at
Attingal dismissed the VHP petition on January 24 saying that it was not
maintainable. In a small item on page 8, the RSS organ Janmabhoomi
(Jan. 25) said that the case was closed under the circumstances of
Coopers leaving the country. However, other papers, ranging from
Malayalam Manorama to Deshabhimani, reported that the Attingal Magistrate,
Murali Gopala Pandala, had dismissed the case due to the petitioners
failure to prove that Coopers speech hurt religious sentiments.
Pointing out the petitioners inability to produce the cassette of the
speech, the Court also said that the petitioner could not understand what
Cooper spoke in English due to his ignorance of English language.

9. Important excerpts from the RSS organ Jhanmabhoomi:

The initial news of the attack in Janmabhoomi front page (titled
Evangelists who encroached Bhajana hall made to run) on January 15 is
evident :-
The local people, agitated over the missionaries action of occupying
the Ayyappa devotees Bhajana hall to conduct healing prayers and
religious conversion, were behind the incident. The missionaries
attracted the crowd by publicizing that there would be music and film shows.
The missionaries, including the foreigner, delivered speech through
loud speaker showering derogatory abuses on Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
In the name of healing, a medicine was applied on the body of a lady.
As she protested, her relatives and local people drove the missionaries
away. Including the foreign missionary, six persons were injured.
Josephs hand was severed. There is a politically motivated campaign
alleging RSS-BJP activists were behind this. To protest against
encroaching the Ayyappa Bhajana Hall, different Hindu bodies held a
demonstration in front of Kilimanoor police station. There were earlier reports
that sexual activities are going on under the cover of evangelical
functions.

On January 16, the front page of Janmabhoomi carried a main story
titled Foreign missionarys speech illegal; Pastor accused in sexual
abuse case. It also carried four box items : 1) Dont hunt Hindu
bodies : BJP ; 2) Kilimanoor incident : No RSS role ; 3) Dont know
whether (they are) RSS activists : Chief Minister ; and 4) Move afoot
to internationalize (the issue).

Arrest American missionary : VHP the next days major item in
Janmabhoomi screamed, along with two other items (Police Raj in
Kilimanoor and Protests by America). On January 18, the paper carried a New
Delhi item of RSS leader, Madandas Devi, denying RSS role in Kilimanoor
incident and asking not to allow conversion that disturbs peace. The
same day it carried a front page box news alleging that Cooper, in his
speech, termed Lord Krishna as the first one to spread AIDS!

Apart from RSS Janmabhoomi, some other newspapers also spread
unfounded news items. The leading Malayalam daily, Mathrubhumi published
a New Delhi news item by its reporter on January 18, the title of which
proclaimed that the Prime Ministers Office said that the American was
attacked for insulting Ayyappa devotees. No other newspaper, whether
the Delhi-based ones or Janmabhoomi, carried such an item quoting
the statement issued by PMO. When cross-checked, Delhi-based journalists
pleaded total ignorance about such a sensitive statement issued by the
PMO on Kilimanoor incident.

Janmabhoomi (January 22), in its front page news item (50
missionaries like Cooper within the State) quoted Viswa Hindu Parishad State
Organising Secretary, Kummanam Rajasekharan : The VHP has been giving
day-today reports to the Intelligence wing at the Centre about Coopers
activities. It was based upon this that the Union Home Ministry demanded
the State Government to take action against Cooper. Another front
page box item on the same days Janmabhoomi captioned that Cooper went
hiding after leaving the hospital.

10. Some official versions from Honble Ministers from both the Central
and State Governments:

i) Mr. A. K. Anthony, the Chief Minister of the State of Kerala :
Denying that the Government had treated Rev. Cooper roughly by asking
him to leave the country while on treatment, Mr. A. K. Antony told the
post Cabinet Press briefing (Jan. 22) : We have behaved in an
impartial manner whether it is the attack on the missionary or the visa
violation by the latter.

ii) Mr. Chinamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, the Minister of State for Home
Affairs, Government of India:
At a New Delhi Press Conference on January 21 he was eloquent testimony
that no such civilization prevails within India. According to Mr. Rao,
the recent instance of the American missionary, Joseph Cooper,
overstaying in the country should serve as an `eye-opener' to all States.
The action taken by the Kerala Police asking Mr. Cooper to leave the
country within a week would send the right signal that the country would
not be soft on foreigners who violated the laws of the land. All the
States have the power to trace foreigners who overstayed and deport them.
Any foreigner can be deported for carrying on activities prejudicial to
the interest of the country, or affected social harmony or a threat to
maintenance of public peace. The Centre is constantly sharing
intelligence with the States, especially on visitors who overstayed or had
entered the country illegally and indulged in such acts (The Hindu,
January 22, 2003).

iii) The Minister of State for Urban Development, of the Government of
India, Mr. O. Rajagopal:

Mr. O. Rajagopal, was indulging in his oft-repeated characteristic acts
of pouring oil into the burning fire at Kilimanoor. Inaugurating the
State Council meeting of BJP at Kanjagad in Kasargode district on January
20, Rajagopal said : The State Government should explain for its
failure to take action against the US missionary. The missionaries were
making despicable remarks on Hindu deities like Lord Krishna and Ayyappa.
The missionaries are working in connivance with the State. The people
will be forced to react if such actions go unchecked. Terming BJPs
landmark victory in Gujarat as the beginning of political changes in
the country, he asked the Kerala Government to bring a legislation to
ban religious conversion and said : The Kilimanoor incident, in which
an American missionary was assaulted, is an indication of how the people
would react to religious conversions (The New Indian Express,
January 21, 2003).

Findings of the fact finding team:

1. The Friends of Bible Church had decided to organize Convention in
the local Church. This Convention was scheduled to be from the 13.01.2003
to 15.01.2003. Although pamphlets were distributed, the word Convention
does not refer to a very large gathering of people associated with such
Christian conventions in South India.

2. On 13.01.2003 the members of the Church who had presided over the
Convention, namely, Bishop Cooper, Pastor Benson Sam, the family members
of Pastor Benson Sam and a few others were brutally attacked with the
intent of killing them while they were on their way back after the end
of the first days convention along with some of the participants of
the Convention.

3. The attackers were identified as RSS members of the local RSS
Shakha. They initially threw bombs to scare the people and prevent them from
coming near the scene of the attack. They then beat Bishop Cooper,
Pastor Benson and the others who were along with them. As far as the other
followers of the Church were concerned some of them after realizing as
to what was happening got scared and went inside their homes while
others rushed to help those who were being attacked. The RSS attackers in
the meantime had beaten up Pastor Benson, Bishop Joseph Cooper and the
other very badly. The injured people tried reaching the vehicle so that
they could reach the hospital. But as the tyres of the vehicle had been
deflated by the attackers the injured could not reach the hospital.
Hence the injured somehow managed to call up the local Kilimanoor Police
station and reported the matter and also asked for help. The police came
at around 9:30 PM and took the injured to the Medical College Hospital.

4. Following the police action of arrests, there were attempts by RSS
and Sangh Parivar to cajole the witnesses as well as to threaten them.
They were approached by a batch of Sangh Parivar with promises of
constructing latrine and providing them ration and other facilities from
Central Government. According to David, on the following days of the
attack, RSS people used to come at night by blowing whistle and creating
commotion which instilled fear which forced many of them not to sleep
in their thatched huts. Nalinakshan said that the RSS activists also
pelted stones at some of the houses of Vedars. The fear psychosis
prevailing in the area was quite visible even one week after the attack
since the local people, particularly the terrified Vedars, were unwilling
to say anything. However, Vidhyadharan, father of the 13th accused
Koppam Shaiju, along with a few others went to the house of Kunjumon, the
prime witness and victim of the attack, on January 17 around 1.00 pm
and threatened him with dire consequence if he dared to give evidence
in the Court. Upon Kunjumons complaint, a case was registered (Cr. No.
23/2003 u/s 481, 506(2), and 34 IPC on the same day against
Vidhyadharan, one Unni and four others. Accordingly, Vidhyadharan was arrested
on January 19.

5. From our fact-finding it is very clear that this is the first time
that such an incident has taken place in this area which is not known
for any communal tension so far. Prior to this no incident of communal
disharmony have ever been reported from this area. Compared to North
India, Kerala has a novel historical background to where both Christianity
and Islam reached, peacefully without any violence, almost at the same
time it spread respectively in Europe and Arab peninsula. Keralas
history also records the peaceful co-existence of Keralites with
foreigners whether Jews, Arabs or Europeans who came here for trade and
commerce. Keralites also have the inborn tendency to go anywhere in the
world as well as to co-exist with the local populace there. A month
before the RSS attack on Rev. Cooper, which led to his controversial
expulsion from India, the President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, inaugurated
the 1950th anniversary of the arrival of St. Thomas to Kerala. Given
this background, the malicious campaign and unfounded allegations
showered upon Rev. Cooper not only by Sangh Parivar, but also by responsible
Union Ministers, shockingly evoked no protests from Kerala Government.

6. The murderous attack on Rev. Cooper and other Evangelist
Missionaries on January 13 were a result of well-planned conspiracy hatched up at
the RSS Sakha meeting on the same day morning. Deflating of the car
tyres before launching the attack is a clear indication of this.

7. The fact finding team tried its best to identify whether there could
be any other reason for this attack and finally has concluded that the
only plausible reason for this attack had been to use the occasion of
the Convention organized by the Friends of Bible Church in which it
was earlier mentioned that Rev Cooper would be participating.

8. Following the attacks there were rumors that during the Convention
the people who were presiding over the meeting had made provocative
statements regarding Lord Krishna. Our finding clearly proves that this was
not true. No such statements had ever been made by the members of the
Friends of Bible Church at any point of time during the Convention.
There was no truth in the propaganda that Cooper or others had made
derogatory statements to hurt the religious feelings and sentiments of others.
The very fact that, none from the colony within the hearing distance of
the speech had participated in the attack is evident. On the other
hand, that all the RSS attackers were mobilized from other areas and
localities show that there was much advance preparation and a conspiracy to
launch the attack even without hearing, or getting provoked by, the
so-called derogatory speeches.

Further, the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Attingal Mr. Murali
Gopala Pandala, had dismissed the criminal case filed against Rev Cooper
due to the petitioners failure to prove that Coopers speech hurt
religious sentiments. Pointing out the petitioners inability to produce
the cassette of the speech, the Court also said that the petitioner could
not understand what Cooper spoke in English due to his ignorance of
English language. This enables the fact finding team to strengthen its
findings in this regard as well.

9. There also had been extensive rumors ( which the team witnessed in
the local newspapers ) that the Prime Ministers Office had issued a
notice that Bishop Cooper had made provocative statements regarding Lord
Aiyyappan. These too were false as the Fact Finding team got cross
checked with the PMO that they had never issued any such statement.

10. Local non-Christian respondents also denied all these allegations
attributed to Rev. Coopers speech. According to Rajan, there was
nothing derogatory in Coopers English speech translated into Malayalam by
Pastor Benson. This was also concurred by Rajendran saying there was no
provocative speech at the Convention. According to Pastor Benson, the
main speaker of that day was Pastor Jaison while Rev. Cooper spoke only
for 20 minutes about Jesus and not about any other religion. Rev.
Cooper himself told this team members while convalescing at KIMS hospital:
I know only Jesus Christ and I talk only about Him. Also, I explain
as to how I became a missionary. I also provide healing touch relief to
the needy. Cooper said that he belongs to the Association of Pastors
and not to any particular Christian denomination. He had been
visiting India since 1979, mainly to Andhra and Kerala, and this was his 12th
trip. He visits different countries as well upon invitation from his
friends. But, this was the first time that he had to face such a
physical assault.

11. The team also concludes that the intention of the members of the
Friends Bible Church was never to coerce anyone to Convert to
Christianity. In fact it can be easily said that no conversions or for that matter
re-conversions had ever taken place in the area for quite some time and
this is also public knowledge and acknowledged by members of other
faiths as well in the area.

12. The Kerala State Governments action of serving the expulsion order
to Rev. Cooper was a highly detrimental act against all basic norms and
tenets of a democratic and secular society. Evidently, this action
came after demands made by RSS leaders, from the State to the Central
level, in an apparent attempt to satisfy them as well as to make a
posture of impartiality or equi-distance between the attackers and the
victims.

The ambiguity in visa rules is further illustrated in the rival Mujahid
Conferences held at Kozhicode and Cochin in December 2002, in which a
large number of foreign delegates, especially from Arab countries,
addressed the gathering about their religion. Action similar to that
initiated against Rev. Cooper by Thiruvananthauram Rural Superintendent of
Police was not initiated against any of these foreign delegates. The team
wonders whether it was because none of them were physically assaulted
by an RSS gang A more evident example is the presence of large number
of foreigners, both male and female, remaining for longer years almost
as permanent inmate-devotees at Mata Amrithananadamayi Ashram at
Vallikkavu in Kollam district, who used to accompany the Mata and occupy the
stage along with her as well as sing prayers wherever she goes. It is
not known how many of them are on religious visa. Astonishingly, no
investigation is being held whenever such foreigners die under
mysterious circumstances within that Ashram. A recent instance was of the
suspicious death of a French national, Ms. Caroline Abitbole, who claimed to
have committed suicide by jumping from the 8th floor on August 5, 2002,
and her body was found with head severed. Although the CHRO initiated
petitions seeking a probe, including to the French Ambassador at New
Delhi, no inquiry was known to be held by them or the State Government.

Similarly, the Central Government owes an explanation as to how the
Hare Rama Hare Krishna sect with Head Quarters at Kolkota and comprising
mostly foreigners are holding open Bhajan Yatras in big major North
Indian cities ever since its inception decades ago. Similarly, there
was no ban imposed on Dalai Lama preaching his religion ever since
India gave the Tibetans refuge in 1959, which earned repeated diplomatic
protests from China as violation of the 1954 Bandung Declaration.
Also, when Rev. Cooper was ordered to leave India upon Central directives,
Dalai Lama, along with the Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorji, who heads
another Buddhist sect, was leading the ten-day `Kalchakra Puja' festival
and prayers at Bodh Gaya, Bihar, in which large number of Buddhists
from different countries participated. There was also a move to confer
Indias highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, upon Dalai Lama which
invoked protests from All India Monks Association led by Bhante Anand,
who were also opposed to the holding of Kalachakra festival by Dalai
Lama. Similar to Mata Amrithanandamayi Ashram in Kerala, a large number
of foreign devotees remain as permanent inmates at Prashanthi Nilayam,
the abode of Sai Baba at Puttapparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra
Pradesh, whose visa status are not made public.

The team would like to therefore conclude that in the context of all
these contradictory stances of the Government, both State and Central, it
is necessary to assert the provisions of the Article 25 of the Indian
Constitution, namely, Freedom of Conscience and free profession practice
and propagation of religion which states :-
Subject to public order morality and health and to other provisions of
this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of Conscience
and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion

And the provisions of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights which reads : Every one has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom; either alone or in community with others and
in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching,
practice, worship and observance.

 

The provisions of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights ( ICCPR) which reads :
1. Every one shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a
religion or belief of his choice and freedom, either individually or in
community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion
or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom
to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest ones religion or beliefs may be subject only to
such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect
public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and
freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
respe3ct for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to
ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity
with their own convictions.

And the provisions of Article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child which reads, In those States in which ethnic, religious or
linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child
belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the
right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or
her own culture, to profess and practice his or her own religion, or to
use his or her own language.

The application of the special visa norms in the case of Rev Cooper
alone in such a hurry so as to ensure that the only person with the
evidence of misuse of the provisions of the Foreigners Act points out to
the arbitrariness of the use of any such legislation and indicates that
there is no evidence that this has not been done with political
interest. The team is further of the opinion that similar to the governments
special visa norms in Kerala, the RSS has also got their own special
agenda applicable only to Kerala.

13. Compared to North India, Kerala has a novel historical background
to where both Christianity and Islam reached, peacefully without any
violence, almost at the same time it spread respectively in Europe and
Arab peninsula. Keralas history also records the peaceful co-existence
of the people of the State of Kerala with foreigners whether Jews,
Arabs or Europeans who came here for trade and commerce. The people of
Kerala also have the inborn tendency to go anywhere in the world as well
as to co-exist with the local populace there. A month before the RSS
attack on Rev. Cooper, which led to his controversial expulsion from
India, the President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, inaugurated the 1950th
anniversary of the arrival of St. Thomas to Kerala. Given this
background, the malicious campaign and unfounded allegations showered upon Rev.
Cooper not only by the RSS and the Sangh Parivar, but also by
responsible Union Ministers, shockingly evoked no protests from the Kerala
Government.

14. The fact finding team is of the opinion that the very provocative
statements that have appeared in the RSS Malayalam journal,
Janmabhoomi from the 15th January 2003 onwards is further indicative of the role
of the RSS and hence the Sangh Parivar in the incidents that have been
mentioned supra and the need therefore for every secular minded and
anyone conscious about preserving the democratic polity and peace in the
country to prevent the Gujaratisation of Kerala, especially since
the recent BJP State Council meeting at Kanjagad declared to pursue
vigorous Hindutva agenda as its future goal in Kerala.

15. There is sufficient evidence in the form of press briefings and
statements by Ministers of the Government of India, occupying responsible
positions representing the BJP / NDA Ministry, where they have uttered
baseless, untrue and hundred percent lies on the Cooper incident.
These false allegations themselves could be responsible for fuelling
communal tensions. It is worth mentioning the names of the following
Ministers for the statements that have been attributed to them: i) Mr.Ch. Vidya
Sagar Rao, Minister of State for Home, GOI ; and ii) Mr. O. Rajagopal,
Minister of State for Urban Development, GOI;

For example, Mr. Rao has stated, The action taken by the Kerala Police
asking Mr. Cooper to leave the country within a week would send the
right signal that the country would not be soft on foreigners who
violated the laws of the land. All the States have the power to trace
foreigners who overstayed and deport them. Any foreigner can be deported for
carrying on activities prejudicial to the interest of the country, or
affected social harmony or a threat to maintenance of public peace. The
Centre is constantly sharing intelligence with the States, especially
on visitors who overstayed or had entered the country illegally and
indulged in such acts (The Hindu, January 22, 2003).

Mr.Rajagopal has stated, The State Government should explain for its
failure to take action against the US missionary. The missionaries were
making despicable remarks on Hindu deities like Lord Krishna and
Ayyappa. The missionaries are working in connivance with the State. The
people will be forced to react if such actions go unchecked. Terming
BJPs landmark victory in Gujarat as the beginning of political changes
in the country, he asked the Kerala Government to bring a legislation
to ban religious conversion and said : The Kilimanoor incident, in
which an American missionary was assaulted, is an indication of how the
people would react to religious conversions.

The team finds it pertinent to point out that there is no evidence that
Rev Cooper or the others with him were carrying on activities
prejudicial to the interest of the country, or affected social harmony or a
threat to maintenance of public peace. While so, a statement from a
Central Minister to this effect is grossly a mistake which calls for nothing
short of an apology.

The statement of Mr. Rajagopal to the effect that missionaries were
making despicable remarks on Hindu deities like Lord Krishna and Ayyappa,
that missionaries are working in connivance with the State and that the
people will be forced to react if such actions go unchecked only point
out to the indication that even Central Ministers are indirectly
supporting the acts of violence unleashed on Rev Cooper and the others by the
RSS gang members in Kilimanoor. This also offers a clear indication of
what the position of the Central Government is on the issue and how
they themselves indirectly condone the violence.

16. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. A. K. Anthony, a representative
of the Congress party which professes to uphold secularism throughout
the country as opposed to the BJP has stated We have behaved in an
impartial manner whether it is the attack on the missionary or the visa
violation by the latter. The team holds that such a manner of governance
on the part of the Chief Minister is not indicative of impartiality but
on the contrary of the Governments total inability to tackle such
serious threats to secularism . The Chief Minister has so easily given in
to the directives of the Central Government resulting in the expulsion
of Rev Cooper from Indian soil based on totally false allegations,
without providing him an opportunity to weigh the evidence in his favour and
ensuring whether there was any realistic threat to the freedom of
religion that was involved.

17. The team is of the strong opinion that when a citizen of India
owing allegiance to a particular faith has the right to go to the United
States of America or any other country and establish places of worship
and participate in public religious discourses, Rev Cooper who came to
Kilimanoor only to bear a testimony and pray for the sick, has every
right to do so since the same is protected by the universally accepted
right to freedom of religion which is universal in nature.

Recommendations:

I. To the Government of Kerala:

i. We demand that the Government of Kerala immediately initiate
criminal action against RSS Malayalam organ Janmabhoomi for many of its false
and baseless content with regard to Cooper incident. These have been
made with the sole intention of causing communal tension in highly
literate state of Kerala.

ii. We demand that the case in crime No.19/2003 of Kilimanoor police
station be handed over, for further investigation and filing of charge
sheet, to a highly specialized investigation wing of Kerala police so
that Junior police officers are not pressurized with the investigation of
such a sensitive case involving Central Government.

iii. We demand that the Honble Chief Minister of Kerala Mr.
A.K.Antony, who owes an allegiance to the Congress party, which publicly and
nationally profess to uphold secularism as opposed to the BJP Government,
to publicly make known the contents of the Cooper expulsion order
issued to Rev. Cooper under provisions of the Foreigners Act. The highly
literate secular public of Kerala and the rest of the country have a
right to know the basis of this order, in order to appreciate the
statement made by various Ministers both of the State Government of Kerala and
Central Government.

iv. We demand that the accused No.1 in crime No.19/2003 of Kilimanoor
police station Mr. Sunil Kumar and the rest of the accused be
immediately arrested without any further delay whatsoever, as delaying in arrest
will only lend support to the version that the Government of Kerala is
hand in gloves with the Sangh Parivars agenda of providing protection
to the accused in Coopers case.

v. We demand that the Government which hurriedly ensured the expulsion
of Cooper should now take responsibility to ensure the presence of
Cooper for the trial of the case in Crime No.19/2003 which should be
completed expeditiously.

vi. We demand that the Government of Kerala immediately ensure that the
people of Puliyam village in Thiruvananthapuram district are provided
immediate security and ensured that they are not subjected to any
further harassment from RSS and Sangh Parivar.

vii. We demand that the Government of Kerala provide public evidence of
the fact of overstay of Rev Cooper who according to the team was on a
valid 10 year multiple entry visa.

viii. We appeal that all political parties in Kerala, who stand by
secular content of the preamble to our Constitution and who uphold Articles
25 and 26 of the Constitution, to jointly bring a resolution in the
Kerala State Assembly condemning the incident, condemning Central
Ministers for the irresponsible, baseless statements about the incident and to
demand immediate intervention of the State Human Rights Commission of
the State of Kerala in this incident.

II. To the Central Government:

1. We demand an apology from Thiru Ch.Vidyasagar, Honble State
Minister for Home and Thiru O.Rajagopal, Honble State Minister for Urban
Development for their irresponsible, baseless and 100% bunch of lies issued
in the form of press statement. Nothing short of an apology would
suffice for such statements coming from persons to whom this country has
entrusted important portfolios of governance.

2. We demand the Right to Information, which is now a fundamental right
that the Government of India makes public the 1995 order which, it
claims, restrains foreign citizens visiting India on tourist visas from
preaching in religious meetings.

III. National Human Rights Commission / Kerala State Human Rights
Commission:
1. We demand that the National Human Rights Commission take suo motu
attention of the attack on Rev. Cooper and others as a human rights
violation and deputes one of its Special Rapporteur to conduct investigation
so that the right to freedom of religion which is one of the liberties
guaranteed under the Constitution and which falls within the definition
of human rights under Section 2 of the Human Rights Protection Act is
safeguarded from being transgressed. We urge that the state of Kerala,
within whose jurisdiction this gruesome attack has taken place
threatening the life of Rev. Cooper and others immediately, order the State
Government of Kerala through an interim order of the National Human Rights
Commission, to meet all the medical expenses of all the injured
including Rev. Cooper and later recover it from the accused who were
responsible for the same.

IV. UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance:

We appeal to Mr. Abdelfattah AMOR, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Religion or Belief to personally take note of this case as a very
serious indication of the extent of religious intolerance prevailing in
so called secular State of Kerala and urge him to address the Government
of India on the same.

V. Civil Society:
We demand that all civil society organizations in the State of Kerala
within India and abroad including NRI Community take very serious note
of this incident and realize that it is only action for the protection
of secularism that could prevent such communal forces from disrupting
peace. No amount of silence or prayer will bring solutions to issues.
It is protests, struggles, articles, statements, denouncements and such
acts by several people, in the individual capacity and as belonging to
different organizations, which will contribute to maintaining the thin
fabric of secularism that still prevails in this country of India. It
is such internal vigil by civil society organizations the world over
which will protect the freedom of religion which is an universally
acknowledged and granted human rights.
VI. The US Government :
We demand that the US Government, all its Senators and Congressmen who
uphold the freedom of religion with so much sanctity in their country
since the right to freedom of religion and religious beliefs is
universally applicable, take this case of Rev Cooper as a serious violation on
the part of the Government of India and raise the issue both
diplomatically and publicly.

for CHRO
Mukundan C. Menon
Secretary General

CHRO
3, Rams' Cottage
Ambalathumukku
Pettah
Thiruvananthapuram-695 024
(Ph.: 0471-2476262)