President Ronald Reagan
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As you are no doubt aware, political and religious violence in India has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent persons since the invasion of the Golden Temple and the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
We recognize that the Indian Government faces acute difficulties in dealing with the atrocities and attacks which have been attributed to Sikh extremists by the media. At the same time, the Indian Government and the authorities in Punjab state must remain accountable for their actions and have an obligation to adhere to Indian law and internationally accepted human rights norms in carrying out government policies. From a practical point of view, abuses of rights of Sikhs are more likely to promote further dissidence than to control it.
We are concerned about continuing reports of alleged human rights violations in India. Amnesty International has recently released its 1987 report on the human rights record of various countries. In the section of the report which focuses on India, Amnesty International expresses concern with regard to:
— “the detention of hundreds of political detainees held without charge or trial under special “anti-terrorist” legislation or preventive detention laws [which lack] legal safeguards required by international human rights standards and…[allow] people to be detained for non-violently expressing their opinions”;
— “allegations from most Indian states of ill-treatment and torture of detainees and some detainees allegedly died as a result”; and
— reports that “some alleged supporters of armed Opposition groups were deliberately killed in ‘encounters’ staged by the police. (Amnesty International Report 1987 at Page 228.)
In addition, we are concerned about the failure of the Indian Government to respond to repeated proposals from Amnesty International to send a delegation to India “to discuss the international protection of human rights as well as its human rights concerns in India.“ (Amnesty Inter a page 233.)
Although we do not have firsthand knowledge of these human rights violation the information above comes from a respected international organization which is known for its objective reports. While we recognize that India is the world’s largest democracy we are deeply concerned about allegation of human rights violations.
Mr. President, we respectfully urge you to discuss these important issues when you meet with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi later this month. We look forward to hearing from you with regard to this request.
Sincerely,
Tony Coelho
Norman D. Shumway
Jonn Edward Porter
Tom Lantos
Peter A/ DeFazio
Fran R. Wolf
Dan Burton
Robert T. Matsui
Nicholas Mavroules
Walter E. Fauntroy —
Jacky Fields
William 0. Lipinski
Morris K. Udall
Edward J. Markey
Robert J. Mrazek
Vie Pazio
Robert K. Dornan
George C. Wortley
‘Ronald V. Deilums
Bernard J. Dwyer
Wally Herger
Robert G. Torricelli
Frank McCloskey
