WASHINGTON: Indications that the US Senate’s planning w censure India for alleged human rights abuses m Kashmir, Punjab and clse where have sent Indian Embassy officials here scrambling in an effort to prevent such an action, The stinging rebuke, in the form of an amendment, was expected to be introduced on Sept.8 by Republican Senator Jesse Helms when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee takes up the Clinton Administration’s foreign aid request for the fiscal year 1994 Helms, an ascorbic critic of India, has over the years been an ally of Kashmiri Americans that ¢spouse independence for Kashmir from India and the proKhalistan lobby.
These groups have been assisted by the proPakistan lobby against India, on human rights and nuclear and ballisue missile proliferation.
What ts troubling India and is friends here is that Helms, for all his rightwing and ultra conservative views, 15 an influeatial legislator who is a ranking minority member of the powerful policymaking Senate Foreign Relations Commitee.
The Indian Embassy political wing, led by acting Ambassador K.Sibal, was fanning out on Tues Tuesday, both at the State DePartment and on Capitol Hill, hoping to get some friends of India like Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Harris Wofford, both Democrats, to introduce a Substitute amendment.
They were working late into the night trying to convince Moynihan and Wofford to include the human rights violations by militants in the substitute amendment as well as acknowledge some of the positive steps taken by the Indian Govemment to alleviate the human nights constitution in the country.
At the very least, Sibal and his aides were hoping that they could get other Republican Senators on the committee like Larry Presler and Nancy Kassebaum to persuade Halms to water down his amendment.
The amendment calls for the funds allocated for India under the International Military Education and Training Program (IMET) to be suspended unless the US President certifies to Congress that New, Delhi has implemented certain conditions with regard to human nights. These conditions include:
Permission by the Government of India to International humanitarian organizations to provide their services in areas of conflict.
Official access to international human rights organization to areas of conflict.
Establishment of an independent human rights commission with powers Lo Investigate allegations of human rights abuses, including allegations of abuses committed by security forces, and to make recommendations to end such abuses.
+A presidential certification that the Indian Government has taken Steps to identify and prosecute violators of human rights, including violators which are members of the security forces, and to publicize those actions taken.
Mr.Helm’s amendment, diplomatic observers acknowledged was much stronger than the amendment authored by Representative Vic Fazio, a Democrat from California, which was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives in June.
This amendment too called for the suspension of MET funds to India unless India anitiated tangible measures to alleviate the human rights situation in the country. But the Helms measure went further in calling on the Govemment of India to permit international human rights and humanitarian organizations into areas of conflict.
Observations said that even if Indian officials were successful in getting Indiaphiles like Moynihan and Wofford to introduce substitute amendment that Republican Senators like Pressler and Kasseaum could go along with, thereby killing the Helms amendment it would still express concern about the human rights situation in India, Such a Senate resolution expressing concem over human rights in India would be unprecedented, one observer noted.
In recent years it has always been the Senate that has killed resolutions blasting India for human rights violations which have been initiated in the House of Representatives.
However, this time around even a watered down substitute amendment, which the Indian Embassy was trying to get Moynihan and Woffors to introduce would be virtually admitting to human rights abuses in India if it were to get the votes to pass.
Meanwhile, sources said that the person responsible for drafting the Helms amendment was the Senator’s chief foreign affairs aide Danielle Platka who had visited India last year.
The sources said that Helms’ aide was adamant that India be censured and had convinced him to go along with the strong amendment despite plans from Indian Ambassador Adhartha Shankar Ray.
In a state ment to WSN Mrs,Pletka the Senators director of foreign affairs said that the IMET compromise was a positive step in getting India to back up their talk with actions.
Although the IMG funds represent only $345,000 dollars of a multimillion dollar budget, the fact that India is feeling the censure of such influential senators as Jesse Helms and Vic Fazio makes the Senate take notice of the Human Rights abuses that have gone on unchecked for years.
Palatka stated that she received full cooperation from the govemment during last year’s visit, going to Delhi and Punjab as well as many other places.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 17, 1993
