|
|
A
Letter to the Chairperson of Board Inspection Committee
|
|
| |
| Personal
Response of Mushtaq Gadi sent to Chair of ADB Board Inspection Committee
regarding the Manipulation and Misrepresentation of facts by ADB Management
in its Mid Term Report on the Chashma Grievance Redress and Settlement
Committee (GRSC). |
|
|
|
Dated:
August 9, 2003
|
Mr. Stephen
Sedgwick
Chairperson,
Board Inspection Committee
Asian Development Bank
Subject: Mid Term Report of the Grievance Redress and Settlement Committee
(GRSC)
Dear Mr. Stephen Sedgwick,
One major reason that we stopped to engage with ADB Management was
our bitter experiences regarding Chashma Multi-Stakeholders' Dialogue
held in March 2002. Despite the fact that most important and relevant
information, such as resettlement survey report, environmental management
plan, etc. was not disclosed to us and the dialogue and consultation
process was not designed in an equitable and participatory manner,
we decided to engage with ADB Management and the executing agencies
(EA) in the hope that our voices would be at least heard. Instead,
the outcome of that process was an effort to impose the so-called
consensus in the form of "agreed action plan". Furthermore,
our demand to provide the detailed documentation of various field
visits and proceedings of the 'Chashma Stakeholders Dialogue' was
rejected by ADB Management and consultants. After this experience
of being betrayed, we decided to disengage from the dialogue and consultation
process with ADB Management and EAs, and opted to file inspection
claim.
After having gone through the Mid Term Report of the Chashma GRSC,
the same feelings of betrayal, dis-empowerment, tricky and shrewd
manipulations performed by the powerful, construction of truth out
of falsehood and uncivil and unethical manners of treating the violated
have once again been aroused in my heart. I was totally stunned when
I read the 'Minutes of GRSC' in which the detailed but totally one-sided,
biased and false description of its meeting with me and my two other
friends is given. In addition to it, 'a note to file' prepared by
Mr. Sohail Sober, ADB staff member in Pakistan, which falsely describes
my full satisfaction regarding GRSC was also attached. These 'Minutes
of GRSC' have been prepared without my consent and knowledge, and
both the minutes and notes prepared by Mr. Sober completely misrepresented
and manipulated.
In reality, the purpose of my meeting with GRSC was to get up-dated
about its activities and plan. Furthermore, the meeting was intended
to assure the members of the GRSC that we will not initiate any adversial
campaign against the GRSC despite the fact that we were neither satisfied
with its design nor the scope of its investigation and recommendations.
It was also made clear from my side that the requesters would not
like to engage with the GRSC because of the reasons narrated in the
'Second Supplement to the Chashma Inspection Claim'.
I consider this manipulation of facts completely unethical. It is
clear that the purpose of such an unethical practice is to make record
good for the forthcoming inspection. I strongly feel that my good
intention and remarks during the meeting are manipulated and filed
as formal part of Mid Term Report in order for ADB Management to achieve
leverage in review process and defend its obvious failure regarding
the GRSC. It was ethically and procedurally important to bring the
Minutes of the GRSC and other related documentation regarding my participation
in my knowledge and get my consent before filing those as formal part
of Mid Term Report.
I would therefore like to demand to BIC that these one sided, biased
and shrewdly manipulated version of my meeting with the GRSC and 'a
note to file' prepared by Mr. Sohail Sober should be detached from
Mid Term Report. In the case of failure to do so, I would stop any
future correspondence with BIC as inspection requesters and resort
to other peaceful and non-violent manners of protest to invoking the
conscience and will to excavate truth and perform justice.
After being deprived from the right of representation, we are now
once again being violated and misrepresented in this process.
With best regards,
Mushtaq Gadi
PS: Please note this is my personal response as one of the inspection
requesters and also being violated in this process. A collective response
from the inspection requesters will be hopefully sent to you later
on.
|
|
