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Amnesty International urges
Obama to raise 1984 pogrom issue with Indian PM
WSN
Network
 WASHINGTON: In an unprecedented move, globally respected human
rights organization Amnesty International has urged US President
Barack Obama to take up with the visiting Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh the issue of pogrom of the Sikhs in 1984 and "include
human rights concerns in India in your joint communiqué" with the
premier. The global body focused special attention on the killings
of the Sikhs in October-November 1984 in
Delhi, India's
capital, where as per government figures, more than 3,000 were
killed, many of them burnt alive, even as security forces watched
passively or actively participated in the massacres. Sikhs in India
have been seeking justice for a quarter century with little success.
Here is the text of Amnesty International's letter:
November 18, 2009
The
Honorable Barack Obama
President of the
United States
The White
House
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
On
behalf of Amnesty International USA, I urge you to candidly address
human rights concerns in
India during
your upcoming meeting with the Prime Minister of India Manmohan
Singh and to press him to make substantive improvements. Prime
Minister Singh will be the first leader to receive a state visit at
the White House after you became the President. While you are
honoring him with this state visit, Amnesty International urges you
not to forget the plight of women, men and children who are facing
numerous human rights abuses in
India
and to make public statements emphasizing that human rights are
central to US-India relations.
Your meeting
with Prime Minister Singh in the White House represents an
opportunity for you to directly communicate your concerns about
human rights in
India.
While you discuss economic cooperation and civilian nuclear
partnership with the Indian Prime Minister, it is vital that you
also raise human rights concerns affecting millions of Indian
citizens. Amnesty International strongly urges you to include human
rights concerns in India in your joint communiqué with the Indian
Prime minister Manmohan Singh and to address human rights concerns
during your joint press conference with Prime Minister Singh.
Some of the
specific contexts in which mass abuses were or continue to be
committed include: Mass killing of Sikhs: Over three thousand Sikhs
were massacred when the governing Congress Party incited mob
violence targeting Sikh civilians in reaction to the 1984
assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh
bodyguards. Scores of women were gang raped and some were burnt
alive. After two decades, a judicial commission concluded that
members of the governing Congress Party were involved. Twenty five
years have passed since the massacre, but only a few have been
brought to justice for this mass killing. Mr. President, Amnesty
International urges you to secure a meaningful commitment from Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh to improve
India's human
rights situation. It is essential that human rights be treated as an
important issue like trade and civilian nuclear partnership.
At a minimum, we
urge you to press Prime Minister Singh to take the following steps:
Justice: Bring
to justice those involved in the mass killings of Sikhs.
Mr. President,
we urge you not to miss this opportunity to speak for those whose
rights have been violated in
India. They need
your help.
Sincerely,
Larry
Cox
Executive Director
25
November 2009
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