By Our Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C.: “If India is an open society, then why does it not allow amnesty international to investigate alleged human right violations in Punjab, and why did it seized the passport of Justice Ajit Singh Bains. By restricting Justice Bains, they are saying that he has something legitimate to say which they want to hide,” said Congressman Wally Herger’s chief legislative aide Doug Riggs.
A retired high court judge, Justice Ajit Singh Bains, is the president of Punjab Human Rights Organization. Indian authorities seized his passport in a bid to stop him from addressing the United Nations Human Rights Organization in Geneva (WSN Sept 1). His address was however read, in his absence, at the UNHRO (WSN Sept 15).
Riggs was reacting to a report in a section of the press which said that the house speaker Thomas S. Foley was presented a letter on September 6 by a Congress I party member of the upper house of Indian parliament. M.C. Bhandare, and Ambassador Karan Singh inviting him to visit India. Foley may visit India in spring next year. “Congressman Herger has raised serious concerns about well documented human rights violations. I notice that the letter which ‘Was quoted in the article claims that everything that was done satisfies the test of what they call proportionality. I don’t think that anyone would agree that instances such as the rape and murder of teenage girls and torture and crimes against women as documented by the World Sikh News and other newspapers meets that standard,” Riggs said.
The letter, signed by S6 members of the Indian parliament, mostly from the Congress I, and many nominated rather than elected, expressed their “anguish at the way in which allegations of human rights abuses were hurled at India” during a discussion last June on an amendment by Congressman Wally Herger which sought to deny aid to India till it allowed Amnesty International to investigate cases of human rights violations on Punjab, punished police officials guilty of crimes against women in Punjab It claimed that India was an “open society” and said facts on Punjab were “misinterpreted” because of what it called “disaffection by the terrorist lobby.”
Referring to the situation in Punjab where the government has been accused of human right violations, it said that “extraordinary situations require extraordinary remedies, but none has been adopted in India which does not satisfy the test of proportionality.
The letter thus sought to justify crimes against women including torture, rape and murder, extrajudicial killings of innocent Sikh youth by the police in fake enestes as well as using police commandos and criminals to commit murders and other crimes which are then blamed on the Sikh freedom fighters by this so called principal of proportionality.
Congressman Wally Herger has not received any invitation to go to India. His spokesman said he hoped that the speaker would go to Punjab and see the situation there for himself. He said he hoped that Foley would be allowed to meet both the sides.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 29, 1989
