For the first time, India uses 'right to reply' to cut short Pak's Kashmir blame game

blueblood

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NEW DELHI: Amid reports of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at Ufa in Russia, the two countries were locked in a bitter tussle at the ongoing United Nation Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva where New Delhi, for the first time, used its 'right to reply' to send a strong message to its neighbour. The right to reply is a special rule allowing a delegate to interrupt a speaker.




Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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Finally the FO grew a pair. Leadership does matter.
 

Neo

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Amnesty slams India on AFSPA; wants spl. rapporteur for probe on disappearances

July 2, 2015

In a report that called for an end to the use of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir, human rights group Amnesty International has released a detailed report on the basis of 58 case studies of alleged excesses by the armed forces in the State.

The report, which is likely to spark a strong response from the government, recommends that India withdraw AFSPA, turn over cases of alleged human rights violations and disappearances to civil courts, and invite the UN Special Rapporteur and the UN Working Group on disappearances to visit with “unimpeded access” to victims and witnesses.

“By not addressing human rights violations committed by security force personnel in the name of national security, India has not only failed to uphold its international obligations, but has also failed its own Constitution,” said Minar Pimple, senior director of global operations at Amnesty International, while releasing the report in New Delhi on Wednesday. “Impunity only breeds further violence and alienation, making it more difficult to combat abuses by armed groups,” he said.

The report — “Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu &Kashmir” — suggests that the government has neutralised all the allegations with AFSPA’s Section 7, which allows the armed forces to kill anyone in the State on the basis of a mere suspicion.

Amnesty researchers had interviewed the family members in the 58 cases and they said they hold the armed forces responsible for the deaths of their dear ones at various stages of the 25-year-long Kashmir conflict.

While it acknowledges progress on a few cases like the Machil ‘fake’ encounter, where five soldiers were sentenced to life imprisonment, the report concludes that most cases involving areas where AFSPA is used go uninvestigated.

“Till now, not a single family interviewed for the report was informed by the authorities of the status or outcome of a sanction request in relation to their case,” adds Divya Iyer, Research Manager at Amnesty International India.

The issue of AFSPA has often been a point of contention between the Centre and State government, with the latter repeatedly demanding the withdrawal of the law that protects Army personnel, especially from areas where the Army is not operating. However, despite several promises in the past, the Cabinet has never accepted the demand.

One of the grim examples of AFSPA’s disastrous consequences, says Amnesty International, is the case of Javaid Ahmad Magray, 17-year-old student of Nowgam district. According to the report, on April 30, 2003, Magray was picked up by personnel of Assam Regiment. A few hours later, his family found him dead in a hospital.

The report suggests that an enquiry, led by then district magistrate of Nowgam, concluded that “deceased boy was not a militant…and has been killed without any justification by a Subedar [a junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army] and his army men being the head of the patrolling party.”

The State Home Department, as per the Amnesty report, wrote a letter to the Ministry of Defence in July 2007, seeking the prosecution of nine Army personnel of Assam Regiment. After six years, the report says, the Ministry rejected the application, arguing that “the individual killed was a militant from whom arms and ammunition were recovered. No reliable and tangible evidence has been referred to in the investigation report.”

The Amnesty report says the Army has dubbed “more than 96 per cent of all allegations of human rights violations against its personnel in Jammu & Kashmir as false or baseless.”

“However the evidence for finding the majority of allegations false is not publicly available. Few details of the investigations or military trials conducted by the security forces are available to the public,” the Amnesty report states.

Exclusive: Read "How I was deported from India", a first-person account by Christine Mehta, a former researcher with Amnesty International India, on how she was forced to leave India her report on the AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir.
 

Neo

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Well it seems like India is losing ground and credibility in this socalled blame game.
 

Neo

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With Aakar patel being head of amnesty international india, we care two hoots about what amnesty has to say about india.

I used to care about amnesty before, but not anymore. Atleast as long as Aakar patel is at helm of things.
The EU cares, most western countries care about Amnesty and HRW reports, the free western media cares. You can show a cocky attitude but its not going to get you any support on Kashmir. You are losing ground.
 

EXPERT

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well, you can rule out the possibility of unwanted work done by our security forces..
 

Mad Indian

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The EU cares, most western countries care about Amnesty and HRW reports, the free western media cares. You can show a cocky attitude but its not going to get you any support on Kashmir. You are losing ground.
Only in the heads of the deluded pakis does the world side with them.

As for the EU, they are the same hypocrites who do business with saudi barbarians and allow people like you inside their country. they dont give two shits about anything so long as there is money to be made:bplease:
 

Neo

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Only in the heads of the deluded pakis does the world side with them.

As for the EU, they are the same hypocrites who do business with saudi barbarians and allow people like you inside their country. they dont give two shits about anything so long as there is money to be made:bplease:
No need to get personal, you curry eating piece of shyt.
 

fyodor

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Who cares about the Amnest International except the hypocrite and puny and weak small european countries.
American only cares about business and the european mouth can be shut with a few business deals.
 

blueblood

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Dear Amnesty and Aakar Patel.



@Neo

Amnesty is just another Greenpeace or PETA. All that hulaboo about banning them and nothing happened. No body gives a fuck about them. Europeans like Finns or Dutch, maybe but not the big boys like Germany or France.

Also Kashmir issue is between India and Pakistan and them only, remember the Shimla agreement.:laugh: So it doesn't matter anyways.
 

Mad Indian

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No need to get personal, you curry eating piece of shyt.
I am not being personal you little shit bag. I am just being factual - EU has no problem admitting sister fuckers like you, who support isis and shooters of Charlie hebdo , to live inside them, and so there is no reason why they wont do business with India. Thats just logical.
 

Zebra

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The EU cares, most western countries care about Amnesty and HRW reports, the free western media cares. You can show a cocky attitude but its not going to get you any support on Kashmir. You are losing ground.
'Jab Saiyan Bahe Kotwal Toe Ab Dar Kahe Ka'.
 

angeldude13

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Bwahahahaha....... So we have to trust reports from NGO's from now on because an al baki wants us to :lol:
What is Amnesty International??
The thing is Al bakistan is loosing face on international ground. The so called proof you were going to give to international community at UN is nowhere to be seen because there isn't any.
Your country is a terrorist country and everybody knows it. It's your country who has been criticised by the international community for hiding the likes of daud,hafiz and lakhvi.
Last time we tear you a new one when you were having a more powerful sugah daddy i.e USA.Let's see how long can your new sugah daddy china can save you from us.
The only choice you have is except hegemony of India in south asia and become our punk f@ck b8tch like bangladesh.It shouldn't be too hard for your country after all you've had sugah daddy's from the independence :lol:
 

hit&run

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The EU cares, most western countries care about Amnesty and HRW reports, the free western media cares. You can show a cocky attitude but its not going to get you any support on Kashmir. You are losing ground.
Indians those who matter know how atrocity literature works and how these NGOs use it as tool to scam money from all the parties involved. You could have been able to sell these links couple of years back to many Indians. But I would request you not not get carried away by such articles and seriously stop putting much weight behind these.

Like another poster said no one in India gives two hoots about Amnest et al. Those who take such nonsense seriously In India are called out and fixed on social media.

Having said that you must take my words on face value that whenever there is a genuine criticism the same people humbly accepts it, and do honest retrospection and discussion. But these preaching from NGO's who publishes their rants with superfluous choice of words and grandstanding is a give away from the very instance.
 

avknight1408

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The journalist who did this report got deported last year.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-...ia-for-her-report-on-afspa/article7375878.ece

How I was deported from India

  • CHRISTINE MEHTA


AP
“Despite the need for reform amongst the ranks, the Indian government remains extremely sensitive to the image of its Army and other security forces.” Picture shows paramilitary soldiers on patrol in Srinagar.

In an exclusive first-person account to The Hindu, Christine Mehta recalls how she was forced to leave India ostensibly for her scathing report on the draconian AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir
On Friday, November 8, 2014, as I was leaving my house in Bengaluru with a friend, three police officers approached us. I knew why they were there. The night before, I had received a mysterious phone call from the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Bengaluru. The woman official on the phone told me to report to the FRRO the next day, a holiday. I sought reasons. She refused, insisting instead that I report to the FRRO urgently. An American citizen of Indian origin, I had been living in Bengaluru for about three years, working on a valid visa as a researcher for Amnesty International India (AII). I told her that I would consult with my employer and revert to the FRRO on Monday.

The police officers who had come for me wanted me to go with them to a police station. When I asked for a reason they said it was “confidential”. “You need to come with us, and then we will escort you,” one of them said. I was told that a complaint had been filed against me by the FRRO, and that the officer was required to escort me to the office. He claimed he didn’t know the reasons for the complaint or its contents.

I refused to go with him. I told him I was not legally obligated to accompany him to a police station or to the FRRO without a legitimate reason or an arrest warrant. Frustrated, one of the officers called and spoke to someone rapidly in Kannada for a few minutes. He then handed over his phone to me. The man on the other end of the line repeated what the officer had told me. “Madam, you are required to come to the police station,” he said. “Then the police will escort you to the FRRO.” I again insisted on being given a reason. I mentioned to him my phone conversation with the FRRO official the previous night. “I will look into the matter and seek an appointment with you on Monday,” I said. It seemed to mollify him. The police officers left.

A little later, I received a call from Shashikumar Velath, the deputy director of AII. He claimed to have spoken to his sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and told me that the FRRO officials would present me with a list of ‘visa violations’. He advised me to prepare myself against intimidation. “Tell them you’ve been doing research in Jammu and Kashmir in a transparent manner for the past two years. They may even present you with a notice telling you to leave India,” he said. “Don’t worry, my sources tell me it’s just for show.”

I had been working as a researcher and campaigner for AII in Bengaluru since 2012. I had obtained a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card so that AII would be able to hire me without the complications associated with business and employment visas.

At the time, I was unaware of any restrictions on working as a PIO. I was allowed to work and live in India without a visa for 15 years. As of September 30, 2014, the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card — an identical immigration card — and the PIO card were merged. Both cards grant any person whose parents or grandparents emigrated from India permission to live and work in India without a visa for life. India’s progressive visa policy makes living and working in India easy for most second and third generation Indians living abroad, except for those working in environmental and human rights.

Work on AFSPA

In 2014, I was on the cusp of publishing a report on the abuses committed under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the need for reform amongst the ranks, the Indian government remains extremely sensitive to the image of its Army and other security forces. The state terms anyone who raises questions about the conduct of the security forces as “anti-national”.

There had been signs of official unease with my work in Jammu and Kashmir. In early 2013, an officer from the MHA had visited our office after I returned from a trip to the State. He claimed that he needed to conduct a background check because a Pakistani journalist with suspected ties to terrorist groups had listed me as a reference while applying for an Indian visa. I had not been in touch with any Pakistani journalist.

When he discovered that I was a PIO, and that my grandfather had migrated from India to the U.S., he stopped questioning me. He advised me to be wary of what Kashmiris tell me as they “have a special interest” in tarnishing India’s image.

In October 2014, Ananth Guruswamy, then the chief executive of AII, told me that the government had informed him that it would no longer tolerate my research in Jammu and Kashmir. The conversation sparked a discussion about my future in the organisation.

Notice to leave

This brings us back to the Monday when I had an appointment with the FRRO. Mohan Mundkar, the Director of Operations at AII, accompanied me to the headquarters. I was summoned into a room, but Mr. Mundkar was not allowed inside. Three officers waited for me; they did not give me their names or ranks. A young woman officer asked to see my OCI card; I gave it to her. A second officer, a man, handed me a paper titled “Leave India Notice”, which ordered me to leave India immediately. I looked for a reason in the notice, but there was none. Neither was there an option to appeal.

As I had done before, I asked the officials for a reason. They said they didn’t know; they had only been following instructions. “You need to leave in 24 hours if possible,” one officer said. “The sooner you leave the better. There must have been some mix-up with your paperwork. I’m sure you can sort it out in the U.S.”



“There had been signs of official unease with my work on AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir. An MHA official claimed that he had to do a background check on me, as a journalist with suspected ties to terrorist groups had listed me as a reference while applying for an Indian visa”

I was panic-stricken, but I smiled. “I have been living here for four years. I have my work, home, and friends here. And OCI is a lifetime status,” I said. “I can’t leave in 24 hours.” He replied sympathetically but firmly: “There is nothing we can do. Maybe we can give you a few days?”


Before I left, I asked the woman officer for my OCI card, but she refused to give it to me saying it was “cancelled”. She added: “I have to keep this. You are no longer an OCI. You have to leave quickly as you have no legal status to stay here.”

On my way back, I realised that the chance that I might be deported because of my research was likelier than ever before. Later in the afternoon, Mr. Velath called again. “You should prepare to leave in the time you’ve bargained for: ten days. That’s our plan A,” he told me. “We thought they would give you a reprieve, but that looks unlikely. They want to make an example of you.”

Although no official reasons for my deportation were provided, I could take a guess. In February 2012, when Amnesty International decided to move me to a research position, we discovered a restrictive clause listed on India’s Bureau of Immigration website stating that OCI and PIO were prohibited from conducting “research, missionary or mountaineering activities without the prior permission of the Government of India.” As I was being hired to research abuse of power and human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, there was a debate about the consequences I might face, including deportation and loss of my overseas citizenship status.

There are hundreds of PIO and OCI cardholders who have been working as journalists, development workers, and researchers in India without any problems. The provision seemed outdated. The AII management was confident that the United Progressive Alliance government wouldn’t use the little-known and apparently rarely used provision against me. It decided that attempting to apply for permission would only draw unnecessary attention to my work, and invite the government to deny permission outright.

I was 23 then and had graduated in journalism from a university in New York. I had reported a little on human rights issues in Latin America. Being hired as a researcher for Amnesty International was an exciting opportunity. I didn’t ask too many questions when I was hired.



“India’s progressive visa policy makes living and working in the country easy for most second and third generation Indians living abroad, except for those working in environmental and human rights”

After my deportation, I discovered that the restriction on research is also encompassed in the separate research visa issued by the Indian government for researchers and scholars conducting research projects in India. According to the research visa requirements, even OCI and PIO cardholders are required to request permission under the research visa guidelines, and can be issued permission to conduct research for up to three years with a possibility for extension. If the researchers’ sponsoring organisation is a non-governmental one, then it has to undergo a background check from the MHA. However, these specifics are not listed anywhere in the PIO or OCI guidelines; only under the research visa guidelines. Thus, few PIO or OCI cardholders working for NGOs go through the process to obtain permission, and the government seems to have never before revoked an OCI status or deported anyone as a penalty.


The U.S. Consulate in Chennai told me that given the historical precedence, it is highly unlikely that I will be able to return to India in the near future.

Current climate for NGOs

I left India on the evening of November 22, 2014. Six months have passed since I was deported, but I have refrained from telling my story publicly. Nor have I seriously considered a challenge in court — until now. Would speaking out about my deportation eliminate the possibility of the Indian government ever allowing my return to the country? Would my organisation be targeted if I spoke out, undermining the work that it is struggling to continue to do in the current climate?

Six months after my deportation, the Narendra Modi government continues to muzzle NGOs. Even organisations such as AII have struggled to address questions that are critical of the government, knowing well that doing so might threaten the survival of their operations. Richard Verma, the U.S. ambassador to India, was right to be concerned about the “chilling effect” on India’s NGOs and activists. Like many individuals and organisations, I stayed silent, hoping this might earn me another chance to publish or continue my work. Yesterday, my silence was broken. Amnesty International published the report I spent nearly two years working on. It was time for me to speak out.

My idea of India is a country of thriving debate, intellect, and diversity; a country that should be able to confront its darkest aspects and rectify its mistakes. There are many stories like mine. There are thousands who have faced worse, including imprisonment and torture for their work. My hope is that India won’t be indifferent to the stories told and the questions raised about the tactics the Indian government uses to suppress dissent. If individuals are targeted for no recognisable crimes, then this diminishes the democratic essence of a country that prides itself as being the world’s largest.



P.S: Its no coincidence she writes a op-ed in The Hindu which has been questioning the army ethics.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/afspa-who-rules-india/article4407851.ece
 

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