NEW DELHI: India on Monday rejected suggestions by the United States House of Representatives that its armed forces should be better trained for observing human rights standards
Indian armed forces need no lessons from others in compassion morality and application of human rights an external affairs Ministry spokesman said terming the representatives amendment al casting an unwarranted slur on the Indian armed forces.
The spokesman said Indian armed forces were renowned the world over for being a thoroughly professional trained and disciplined force. Even in the face of Sustained and widespread violence abetted from across the border the forces had been acting with bravery valour and utmost restraint he added.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the International Military Education Training Program (IMET) amendment which calls on the U.S. President to make IMET conditional on India instilling in its armed forces program participants enhanced understanding and ability to apply internationally recognized human rights standards.
Under the IMET program India and the United States began exchanging armed forces personnel in each other’s military training institutes in 1962 The program was suspended in 1971 and restarted in the mid-eighties. The IMET program facilitates professional contacts and specialized training between the armed forces of the two countries the spokesman said.
The training slots are identified by the govt’s of the two countries annually on the basis of reciprocity. India offers U.S. army personnel slots in the prestigious national defence college and defence staff college Wellington.
The programs were intended for mutual benefit and India was not the sole beneficiary he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 28, 1991
