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The
Official Print-Newsletter
of LOCOA
[
Co News in Asis
]
We
are Getting
a Big Success!
 Japan
Thank you for your
support!
The Administration
Office of the Tokyo Eastern Parks urged the people to move out last November
because of the plan of the government to widen a road in the park. The office
said the people should move into so-called self-support centers, which were
opened in mid-November in order to help homeless people get jobs. However, most
of the people living in the park rejected this offer because it is difficult to
get jobs through the center now. The capacity of the two centers is only 150
people but there are more than 6,000 homeless people in Tokyo; and the centers
are already full.
The protest actions by the
homeless people everyday and the many messages from friends around the world
abruptly changed the attitude of the Administration Office of Tokyo Eastern
Parks. Finally, the office sat down with the homeless and the supporting
organization, to negotiate the matter.
The office apologized that
they did not inform and consult in this matter with the homeless people, and
promised never to evict nor force the people to go to the self-support center
against their will.
Moreover, the office
proposed the following. They will prepare another place in the same park for the
people live for at least six months. After six months, the office will negotiate
the future plan with the people again.
The people are
discussing whether they should accept the proposal or not. We will have a
meeting with the office again to negotiate their proposal and our
requests.
by
NasubiSanya
Welfare Center for Day-Laborers Association,
Tokyo,
Japan
Canal Evictions and ADB
Asian Development
Bank is funding the Calcutta Environmental Improvement Project to the tune of
16.5 billion rupees to renovate the canals of Calcutta. This will mean the
removal of some 5,000 poor families living along the canals. The city and state
governments had few plans of rehabilitating the families, according to Rabial
Mallick, secretary of the Calcutta NGO forum.
According to Malay Dewanji
of Kolkata Basthuhara Samity (Association of Shelterless People in Calcutta)
around 1,000 families have already been evicted without rehabilitation.
In the last quarter of 2000
Mallick and Dewanji contacted Denis Murphy and Ted Anana, coordinator of
Eviction Watch, who got in touch with ADB officials.
In a letter to Arjun Thapan,
ADB official in charge of the Calcutta project, KBS listed their demands as
follows: resettlement should not be more than two kilometers from their present
houses; compensation to be given to the people for the construction of their
houses; NGOs to monitor the project; project-affected poor people to be employed
as workers in the project; and NGO/CBO representation in Project
committees..
In December last year an ADB
official informed Denis Murphy that the ADB had told the Calcutta government
resettlement should be not more than two kilomenters from the affected families
present houses.
Calcutta ,
India
LOCOA :
Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia
28-B, Matino cor. Malumanay Street, Sikatuna
Village, Brgy
Malaya Quezon City, Philippines
Tel :
(632) 925-8432, 426-4119, 922-0988 Fax : (632) 426-4118
E-mail :
locoa2000@yahoo.com
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