|
US refuses visa to hate agent
Narendra Modi,
snubs Indian establishment
WSN Network
 Washington:
Ina clear snub to Indian establishment, brahamnical party BJP and
striking a blow for the cause of Human Rights, the US State
Department has refused once again to grant a visa to Gujarat CM
Narendra Modi, widely believed to be instigator of massacre of a
large number of Muslims during 2002 riots and later.
It may be
recalled that Indian government, though led by Congress, had also
objected to denial of visa and tried to play an advocate for Modi.
The US State
Department confirmed this to Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN)
that Modi was not be granted a US visa for the World Gujarati
Conference in New Jersey held on the weekend of August 29-31, 2008.
Amidst lobbying
efforts by his supporters to get his
US visa
reinstated, Modi was invited to attend the World Gujarati Conference
by its organizers.
Responding to
the July 8th letter written by Congresswoman Betty McCollum,
Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, Mr. Matthew
Reynolds said: “The Department of State is extremely sensitive to
your concerns and we are cognizant of the human rights abuses Mr.
Modi has committed”. It further stated: “We have thoroughly searched
Department records and located no current nonimmigrant visa
applications for Mr. Modi. However, should we receive an
application, we assure you it will be adjudicated in strict
accordance with the Immigration and Naturalization Act, including
Section 212(a)(2)(G) which states that ‘any alien who, while serving
as a foreign government official, was responsible for or directly
carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of
religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C 6402) is inadmissible’”.
Commenting on
the letter, Dr. Hyder Khan of the Coalition Against Genocide said
“the current response from the State Department has virtually made
Narendra Modi a persona non grata to the
US.”
The Coalition
Against Genocide campaign had earlier gathered further momentum when
Congressmen Mike Honda (D-CA), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Andre Carson
(D-IN) joined several other lawmakers in writing their own letters
to the State Department.
A total of 32 US
Lawmakers have so far written letters to the State Department
expressing concern over human rights abuses in
Gujarat and
urging the denial of US visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
for his impending visit to New Jersey.
A concerted
grassroots campaign by member organizations of the Coalition Against
Genocide generated over 12,000 individual letters to US lawmakers
across the
United States.
These letters were written by members of the Indian Diaspora and
mainstream Americans, expressing alarm and concern over Modi’s
reported US visit and the continuing persecution of minorities in
his state.
A delegation
from Coalition Against Genocide met with offices of several
Representatives of the House and Senators and appraised them with
Modi’s gory record of aggravated human rights violations of minority
citizens in the state of
Gujarat.
Letters from the constituents were also delivered to the respective
senators and congresspersons. The delegation also had detailed
meetings with the foreign policy and human rights legislative aides
to 11 Senators including Senators Barack Obama (IL), John Kerry
(MA), Richard Durbin (IL), Edward Kennedy (MA), Charles Schumer
(NY), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Norm Coleman (MN), Benjamin Cardin
(MD), Mel Martinez (FL), Bill Nelson (FL), Frank Lautenberg (NJ).
The offices of a
number of Senators and Congresspersons have since spoken with the
State Department officials and have placed requests for monitoring
the visa status of Modi and incidences of human rights abuses in
Gujarat.
The Coalition
Against Genocide has appealed to the organizers of the World
Gujarati Conference, for which Modi was invited, to abandon the
politicians and politics of division and hate as embodied by
Narendra Modi.
“By persistently
inviting the most notorious human rights abuser in India and
propping Narendra Modi as their icon and hero, the organizers of the
World Gujarati conference have brought shame to the Indian American
community and have tarnished the name of India” said Dr. Hari Sharma
The Coalition
Against Genocide includes a diverse spectrum of organizations and
individuals in the
United States
and Canada that have come together in response to the Gujarat
genocide to demand accountability and justice.
3 September 2008
|
Read Also