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Historic trip to South Asia

HRW urges Clinton

to give priority

to rights issues

WASHINGTON: US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), has urged President Clinton to give priority to pressing human rights issues in the region during his visit to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In a report released on Wednesday, HRW said human rights violations by all parties in occupied Kashmir have been a critical factor behind the escalation of fighting there. "Even if the current crisis is resolved, the conflict will not end unless the international community puts pressure on India to end widespread human rights violations by its security forces in occupied Kashmir, the report said HRW urged President Clinton to address specific human rights concerns while visiting Pakistan, as well as call for the immediate lifting of the state of emergency and announcement of a clear and reasonable timetable for returning the country to civilian rule, in his public and private remarks.

The report urged that President Clinton must put pressure on the Indian government to reverse the dangerous trend of Hindu fundamentalism and said "an alarming escalation in caste and communal violence is symptomatic of political and economic power struggles linked rhetorically to the creation of a Hindu nation. The assertion of Hindu nationalism has posed new challenges to India's constitutional commitment to secular democracy."

The HRW report points out that last month the international community reacted swiftly and unequivocally against the inclusion of an extremist right-wing party in Austria's coalition government. The report added that the policies espoused by India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its sister organisations, collectively known as the 'Sangh Parivar', are even more insidious and have already resulted in much violence against the country's Christian, Muslim, and Dalit populations.

The HRW report expressed concern that in response to mounting protest against the government's policies, and in some cases, an increase in aggression by militant groups, the Law Commission of India had recommended the introduction of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill (CLA) into parliament. If enacted, the CLA would reinstate a modified version of the notorious Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) of 1985 (amended 1987), repealed in 1995 after mounting opposition to the act. TADA led to tens of thousands of unjustified arrests, torture, and other violations against political opposition, social activists, and human rights defenders. Response to terrorism should not sacrifice due process, and President Clinton should make this point, privately and publicly.

The report also criticised the Public Security Act which was recently enacted as a law in Bangladesh, a decision that has become a flashpoint for widespread public protest in recent months. HRW report said that like its predecessors, the Public Security Act affords sweeping powers to the police, circumvents guarantees of due process, and is likely to be used against political opposition and peaceful dissenters. President Clinton should call for the law to be repealed or amended to conform to international due process standards.ÑPPI