Pramila Jayapal | SabrangIndia

Indian Foreign Minister refuses to meet Pramila Jayapal for raising concerns about Kashmir

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 04:50:28 +0000

After External Affairs Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar communicated to chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot L. Engel, that he will not attend a meeting on Capitol Hill if Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, who represents Washington’s 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives, were to be present there. This snub comes in wake of the resolution introduced by Jayapal recently where she called upon the Indian government to lift the communications blackout imposed on Kashmir since August, end detentions without charges and respect religious freedom.

Jayapal, however, refused to back down and responded in a polite but firm piece in The Washington Post saying, “It is wholly inappropriate for any foreign government to try to dictate which members of Congress participate in meetings on Capitol Hill. It’s also a sign of weakness for any great democracy to refuse to allow those who have some criticisms to participate in a meeting — a giant missed opportunity for two countries that value dialogue and dissent.”

Detailing the Indian governments failure to defend human rights of Kashmiris, Jayapal writes, “The Indian government’s imposition of a media blackout in Kashmir is now the longest-running Internet shutdown ever to occur in a democracy. While some landlines have been restored, millions still have no access to mobile services or the Internet. Foreign journalists have largely been kept out of the region and even Indian members of Parliament have been unable to visit the area. Hospitals have been unable to get supplies, emergency health services have been severely disrupted and people with serious health conditions have been unable to access critical medicines.”

Jayapal adds, “Disturbingly, the Indian government has also “taken into preventive custody” over 5,000 Kashmiris, including about 144 children — many under the Public Safety Act, a controversial law that allows authorities to imprison someone in Kashmir for up to two years without charge or trial. These “preventive” arrests afford detainees no due process and are clear violations of international human rights. As of Dec. 4, 609 people remained in custody in and outside of Kashmir.”

Jayapal also showcases how the Indian administration had refused to communicate with her all along. She writes, “Prior to introduction of the resolution, I had two meetings scheduled with the Indian ambassador to the United States, both of which were canceled by the ambassador’s office.”

But Jayapal didn’t just raise concerns about Kashmir. Now, she is also not holding any punches when she asks tough questions about the idea of citizenship and secularism in wake of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the upcoming nationwide exercise along the lines of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC). Jayapal writes, “Unfortunately, in the weeks since we introduced our resolution on Kashmir, India has passed a new citizenship law that excludes Muslim migrants from its majority-Muslim neighbors from a new pathway to citizenship, an unprecedented break from India’s secular constitution. Taken together with the National Register for Citizens — a citizenship survey piloted in the state of Assam that led to the exclusion of nearly 2 million people from the state’s citizenship records — many fear this new citizenship law could be used to prevent Muslim migrants from becoming citizens and voting.” She also took on the Indian government when it issued an advisory demanding that cable television stations in the country abstain from broadcasting any content that “promotes anti-national attitudes.”

Reiterating her commitment to defending human rights, Jayapal ended the piece with the following words, “As a member of Congress and as an Indian American, I will continue to speak out on fundamental principles of democracy such as freedom of the press, religious freedom and due process. Protecting these rights — particularly in the most difficult of circumstances — is the only way democracies can survive and thrive.”

The original piece by Pramila Jayapal, that appeared in The Washington Post, may be read here.

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Allow international human rights observers, media to access Kashmir: US lawmakers

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 05:13:09 +0000

In a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, two members of the American Congress, Pramila Jayapal and James McGovern, raising “significant concerns” about what they call “humanitarian and human rights crisis in Jammu & Kashmir”, quoting “credible reports” from journalists and advocates on the ground” have said that “the Indian government has detained thousands of people with no recourse, imposed de facto curfews on residents’ and cut off internet and telephone access in the region.”

Seeking Pompeo’s intervention, Jayapal and McGovern, writing on “behalf of our constituents and those of many of our colleagues who have informed us that they are unable to contact their loved ones on the ground”, argue, “As the world’s largest democracy, India shares a unique and important relationship with the United States,” one reason why “it is incumbent upon us to speak out when our shared democratic principles are being undermined.”

Both Democrats, while Jayapal, born in Chennai, immigrated to US in 1982 when she was 16, and has headed a pro-immigrants advocacy group, McGovern, an international human rights advocate, is known as one of the most liberals members of the Congress.

Pressing upon Pompeo to tell the Indian government “to immediately lift the communications blackout and adhere to international human rights standards in Jammu & Kashmir”, they give instances of how amidst communications blackout there are “increasingly disturbing reports of human rights abuses.”

Text:

We write to raise significant concerns about the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Jammu & Kashmir. In particular. we are concerned about credible reports from journalists and advocates on the ground that the Indian government has detained thousands of people with no recourse, imposed de facto curfews on residents’ and cut off internet and telephone access in the region.

We also write on behalf of our constituents and those of many of our colleagues who have Informed us that they are unable to contact their loved ones on the ground.

As the world’s largest democracy, India shares a unique and important relationship with the United States. While we have deep regard for that relationship. it is incumbent upon us to speak out when our shared democratic principles are being undermined.

Regardless of the complexity of any situation, we firmly believe that democratic principles of due process and human rights must apply. For this reason, we urge you to press the Indian government to immediately lift the communications blackout and adhere to international human rights standards to Jammu & Kashmir.

The communications blackout persists even as increasingly disturbing reports of human rights abuses have emerged from a range of credible sources. Multiple reports indicate that over 3,000 people have been indefinitely detained by Indian authorities without any charges. some as young as 11 years old. Those jailed have included elected officials. lawyers, business executives, religious leaders and doctors.

McGovern

Reports also indicate that the Indian government has severely curtailed access to life-saving medical care for the Kashmiri people. The largest hospitals in the capital city of Srinagar and across Jammu & Kashmir have apparently run out of life-saving medication while people in dire need are restricted from traveling to doctors and pharmacies.

Further reports indicate that Indian authorities have arrested doctors for speaking out about these shortages. Moreover, international media outlets have documented multiple instances of medical examiners being pressured to withhold the causes of death for their patients in order to avoid blaming Indian authorities.

Alongside these reports, we are concerned about the surge in attacks against religious minorities throughout India. Both the signatories of this letter did raise similar concerns directly to Prime Minister Modi during a Congressional delegation to India in early 2017 and urged the Prime Minister to speak out against such religious extremism.

We urge you to work across the Administration to press the Indian government to immediately expedite the process of reviewing and releasing individuals “preventatively” detained

Unfortunately, these kinds of attacks have continued, with horrifying reports of lynchings by Hindu nationalists targeting Muslims, Christians and lower-caste Hindus. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has repeatedly condemned these attacks and criticized the Indian government for its “allowance and encouragement of mob violence against religious minorities?”

Most recently, we are disturbed to hear reports that Muslims in Kashmir have been prohibited from observing communal worship and celebrating their most significant religious holiday of the year.

We appreciate the communications we have received from representatives of the Indian government refuting some of these reports. However, the most credible way to refute these reports would be for the Indian government to allow independent media and international human rights observers access to the region in order to properly investigate them.

With the near-total blackout of communications in Jammu & Kashmir, independent verification has been impossible. Instead, there are continuing reports that both local and international journalists face serious restrictions including outright physical assault from Indian authorities.
We urge you to work across the Administration to press the Indian government to immediately end its communications blackout of Kashmir, expedite the process of reviewing and releasing individuals “preventatively” detained, ensure hospitals have access to life-saving medicine and protect the rights of the Kashmiri people to freedom of assembly and worship.

Furthermore, international media and independent human rights observers must immediately be allowed into Jammu & Kashmir to investigate reports of abuse. We also urge the Indian Government at its highest levels to make it clear that religious tolerance — long a principal of Indian history and democracy — must be upheld.

UN experts have already spoken out forcefully to condemn India’s actions and potential abuse of human rights in Kashmir. At this month’s meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, we urge the United States delegation to push for immediate action on these issues. The United States must send a clear message that democracy requires transparency. due process and freedom of assembly and speech, even in the most complex of situations.

First published on https://www.counterview.net/

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