In another amendment vitally concerning India’s domestic affairs Congress asked the Bush Administration that the training the USA provides to India’s armed forces must adhere to international recognized standards of human rights.
The amendment to the US Foreign Aid Bill which was proposed by Congressman Wally Herger was adopted in the house along with the controversial move dragging India into the non-proliferation Pressler law which governed the US military and economic assistance to Pakistan ‘The move by Herger a known supporter of the Khalistani lobby which went unnoticed earlier seeks to establish policy guidelines for the $345000 military training program with India.
It formed part of en bloc amendments which the house accepted to the $25.9 billion Foreign Aid Bill. i am hopeful that the strong message the house is sending to the Indian Government about human rights abuses by Indian security forces will be heard loud and clear in Delhi Herger later said in a statement.
Of theabout$100 million that India would receive as aid from the USA in the fiscal year 1991 beginning October 1 $345000 had been earmarked for military training.
In his speech in the house Herger had said he would prefer that Congress went even further and imposed sanctions on India at this juncture. I for one believe (political) instability is no excuse for the Indian authorities detaining tens of thousands of its citizens without trial as has been reported by The New York Times he added. If the next year we do not see an improvement in India’s human rights record I will be back urging my colleagues to join main an effort to make further US assistance to India conditional on respect for human rights Herger added.
Commitment forgotten earlier he referred to the unfulfilled promise of the now defunct V.P.Singh Government to permit the Amnesty International to visit Punjab and Kashmir and investigate alleged police atrocities in the two border states.
In fact the issue was reopened by the Janata Dal Ministry. George Fernandes. the then union minister during his visit to the USA had promised an Amnesty investigation in sharp contrast to the previous Congress Government’s policy of not permitting foreign groups to meddle into India’s domestic affairs.
However India’s troubles with the US Congress appear to be far from over. According to reports the house may take up yet another bill of Herger seeking to deny most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status to India in the USA.
Also pending before the house is Republican Congressman Dan Burton’s bill seeking to cut off American developmental assistance to Delhi.
Both the measures are concerned with the alleged violation of human rights and favor an Amnesty investigation into them which India had declined.
This move by the US House of Representive was aimed at asking the American government to teach the Indian armed forces the importance of observing human rights.
The amendment among other things Observed that international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Asia Watch and documented numerous instances of human rights violations by the Indian security forces against the Indian people especially in Punjab and Kashmir. Such abuses reportedly included rape torture detention without charge or trial summary executions disappearances and so-called encounter killings.
Direction to secretary of state The US Congress also urged the American Secretary of State to raise Indian human rights abuses with the Government of India.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 23, 1991
