CHANDIGARH: India should improve its human rights record otherwise it will stand isolated in the world community, Movement Against State repression (MASR) leader Inderjit Singh Jaijee, who attended the Unsponsored human nights conference (HRC) at Vienna last month, said here on July 19. Jaijee, who was invited by the United Nations to attend the conference, said nongovernment organizations (NGOs) sent to the conference by the Government of India, failed to convince a majority of participants that human rights were not being violated in the country, particularly Punjab and Jammu, Kashmir.
He said the Indian delegates who differed used “abusive language” against some of their own Compatriots attending the conference. On the other hand, the Asia Pacific NGOs coalition had demonstrated against the listed countries at the gate of the conference revenue. Answering questions, Jaijee admitted that human rights organizations in India had failed to mobilize public opinion in their favor. However, the figures which he had supplied to UN General Secretary Boutros Ghali about state repression in Punjab would convince impartial observers that there was nothing like human rights in the state, He said even BJP leader L.K.Advani had said that Punjab and Kashmir had been turned into killer laboratories. Jaijec said India had been severely: Griticized at the conference on issues like bonded labor, child labor, child prostitution, status of women and caste system. Next (0 Bosnia, Kashmir, Punjab and he Indian Dalits had received considerable attentions, Government sponsored NGO’s were of the view that human rights matters were internal affairs of India and should not be highlighted at international meets, The MASR leader alleged that the anti-Government NGOs were being watched but the threat did not work.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 30, 1993
