OTTAWA: India’s Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil received severe tongue lashing on India’s dismal human rights record from Canadian Par Humanitarians who are members of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees. ‘The Canadian parliamentarians ex[pressed grave concern about the continuing violations of human rights in Punjab and Kashmir and urged the ‘Speaker to convince the Indian Government to allow independent monitoring of the human rights situation by internationally respected organizations such as Amnesty International ‘and Asia Watch. Liberal MPs Colleen Beaumier and Herb Dhaliwal questioned Indian Parliament’s Speaker Patil about the recent disappearance of an Indian human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Bill Graham, Liberal MP and Chair Of the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked Patil to undertake to find the where about of Khalra, whom he said the Canadian parliamentarians felt empathy for since they had met him only a few months ago in Ottawa, At that time Khalra briefed Canadian MPs about disappearances in the Punjab. Ironically, it seems Khalra has himself become victim of one of these disappearance acts.
Colleen Beaumier told the Foreign Affairs Committee that on his return to India Khalra had been threatened by a Tam Tam police officer about becoming victim of a staged disappearance because of his work on the human rights issue.
Herb Dhaliwal also expressed serious concern about the fate of Khalra ‘and lack of response on the part of the Indian Government to address the continuing violations of human rights in the Punjab, While welcoming the repeal of the TADA Act, Dhaliwal hoped that many innocent civilians who had been arrested without any charges under this infamous Act and are still languishing in Indian will be released soon.
The Reform Party MP Keith Martin asked the Speaker to encourage his Government to allow internationally respected human rights organizations such as Amnesty International to visit India and report on the situation.
Toronto area Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jesse Flies, told the Committee that while there are a number of issues such as trade that could have been discussed with the Indian visitor, he too was concerned about violations of human rights in India, particularly the untouchables and forced child labor.
The Montreal area Liberal MP Bernard Party expressed concern about the revival of Hinduism which has resulted in the desecration of the Babri Mosque and is fueling anti-Christian sentiment.
The only Canadian MP who did not address the human rights situation in India was Reform MP Bob Mills who asked about the effect on international relations of the growth of China as an world power following the end of Cold War.
In reply, the Indian Lok Sabha Speaker Patil, told Canadian parliamentarians not to rely on “the propaganda of those who are showering bullets on innocent civilians.” Patil invited Canadian Parliamentarians to ‘visit India, including Punjab and Kashmir, to determine for themselves the human rights situation.
Patil also told the Foreign Affairs Committee that India is a secular country, with an independent judiciary and free press: New Democratic Party MP Bill Blaikie was not pleased with Speaker Patil’s response that some of the matters raised are under the jurisdiction of the executive branch of government. However, MP Blaikie, who had visited Indian 1984, told Patil, “You are the Speaker and it is incumbent upon you to take the Canadian parliamentarians message back to your government.”
Article extracted from this publication >> October 13, 1995
