PHRO is concerned that New Delhi did not pay any heed the UN recommendations to review its antiterrorist laws which violated international covenant on civil and political rights These special laws, according to the U.N, Human Rights Committee, gave ‘security forces the right to shoot ‘as sight, conduct summary trials ‘and detain persons without a warrant.
PHRO understands that Japan, political power backed by its newly acquired economic clout, put up politico-military conditional ties including the one of respecting human rights before it ‘gave aid to India only because of India’s poor record in the field of human rights especially in case of Punjab and Kashmir.
Significantly, India did not en ‘sure even one conviction for the violations of human rights in hundreds of cases involving killings of innocent persons and other excesses against civilians despite the continued international pressure during the past few years Most often the registration of cases was designed as a means to neutralize outside pressure rather than punish the wrongdoer Often such ‘wrongdoers were publicly honored.
The Indian army killed six Sikhs devotees in May at Sangha village in Tam Tam police district at ‘Amritsar Gang-rape and molestation of women followed the army action the entire village
was ransacked The army and paramilitary forces were motivated by the urge to teach a lesson to the villagers in the border district of Amritsar for sustaining, militancy and generally execute the threat given by Army Briga dier RPS inha to “decimate the Sikhs and to breed a new race” Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) is concerned over the way the fornicate especially the Press Council of India (PCI) has acted as the fifth column and whitewashed the excesses in Colluding rapes committed by the armed forces in Kashmir It also concerns the PHRO that the PCL went to the extent of justifying the restrictions imposed by the Government on the press in Punjab, the police offensive against the nonconforming newspapers and journalists notwithstanding “The PHRO is deeply concerned why the PCT team did not visit Punjab when certain Sikh, journalists were prosecuted, dismissed from service and put behind bar for years tis intriguing why the PCT has totally ignored the Sikh journalists” view point The PCI report on Punjab is highly one sided and it does not suggest anything to reflect the SoCal variety in the composition of the media management Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Dalit’s are ‘grossly underrepresented in the media groups And that is why most of these groups have become mouthpieces of Arya Samaj, RSS ‘or other Hindu fundamentalist organizations, which come: in frequent conflict with Sikhs and Muslims.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 29, 1991
