WASHINGTON, D.C.: Congress men Dan Burton (RInd.) and Wally Herger (RCal.) vigorously attacked the persecution of the Sikhs by India’s government during floor speeches on Nov 7 preceding a vote on a House resolution honoring the centennial of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Mr Burton asked: “Is this resolution the correct signal to send to India, which has the distinction of being the only democracy in the world has the distinction of being the only democracy in the world that refuses to allow Amnesty International inside to investigate the massive reports of human rights abuses. This fact alone should force members to ask themselves: What does india have to hide?”
Quoting from an Amnesty International report, Mr Burton noted that thousands of political prisoners are being held in Indian jails without charge or trail and that “political activists and those suspected of assisting them” are being killed and tortured without cause by Indian paramilitary and armed forces.
Said Mr Burton, “If this is what Amnesty learned working outside the country, God only knows what’s going on inside.”
Citing a long list of charges against India, Mr. Burton noted also that India had been caught selling hundreds of tons of poison gas components to Iran, Iraq and Egypt; had blocked the U.N. Human Rights Commission from censuring Cuba for holding 14,000 political prisoners in her Jails and that Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was giving diplomatic recognition to Afghanistan’s Soviet surrogate dictator, Najibullah.
Congressman Herger added that, in testimony before a House subcommittee on October 25, State Department Human Rights expert, Mr Richard Shifter, had admitted that “excessive force, brutality and torture by the security forces of India are not commonplace.”
Mr Herger called upon his col leagues in the House to request that Rajiv Gandhi allow indepen dent Human Rights groups like Amnesty International or Asia Watch to enter India to conduct their investigations. He also called for fellow congressmen to Co— sponsor the Sikh Human Rights Bill, H.R.1067, which would revoke India’s mostfayored nation status in the U.S. until India makes significant progress on Human Rights.
“Your cosponsor ship of this bill,” said Mr Herger, “would send a strong signal to india that it is particularly impor tant for a democracy to respect human rights.”
Congressman William S. Broomfiled (R-Mich.) said he was also “disturbed by the recent allegations of Human Rights violations by India towards some of its citizens” and again called on India to “allow international independent Human Rights groups access to all parts of India.”
Article extracted from this publication >> November 10, 1989
