US, UK, EU nudge India to allow Amnesty International to continue working; New Delhi counters

New Delhi asks foreign govts not to condone violation of its law by entities

Even as the United States and the European Union subtly expressed concern over the action initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in New Delhi against the Amnesty International, India on Thursday asked foreign governments not to condone violation of its laws by any organisation.

“(The) NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are expected to adhere to all our laws including in respect of foreign funding just as they presumably would in other countries including the US and in the European Union,” Anurag Srivastava, the spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said. He was responding to a question by a journalist on New Delhi’s reactions to the statements coming from the US Government and the EU after the Amnesty International announced suspension of its activities in India.

The Amnesty International India alleged on Tuesday that freezing of its bank accounts by the government had brought all works done by it to a grinding halt. It said that the action against it was “the latest in the incessant witch-hunt of human rights organisations by the Government of India over unfounded and motivated allegations”.

A senior official of the US State Department said that the President Donald Trump’s administration was “very, very closely” following the “situation involving Amnesty International in India”. The official also said that the issue had caught the attention of the members of the US Congress too. “It has received attention at the highest levels of our government.”

“The US is committed to the health and vibrancy of civil society in all countries, but also especially India. We believe that the strength of civil society and the openness of society is a strength of India, and it is something that is part of what powers our cooperation, our bilateral cooperation,” said the official, adding: “And, therefore, we’re concerned about obstacles to the work of civil society, whether in India or anywhere else in the world.”

The official also said that the US was looking forward to a response and a resolution to this situation that would be consistent with international principles and the rule of law.

New Delhi responded to the US official’s statement during the weekly media-briefing at the MEA.

“We also expect that other governments would not condone contravention of Indian laws by any entity,” Srivastava, the MEA spokesperson, said.

The EU too recently expressed hope that the Amnesty International would be allowed to continue its works in India. “Not prejudging the outcome of any investigation or judicial proceedings, the European Union highly values the work of Amnesty International worldwide and hopes that the matter will be resolved allowing Amnesty to continue its activities in India without interruption,” Nabila Massrali, a spokesperson of the EU, said in a statement issued in the headquarters of the 27-nation-bloc in Brussels. “The EU is committed to the protection and empowerment of civic actors, including human rights defenders, and to the promotion of space for civil society”.

The acting High Commissioner of the UK in New Delhi, Jan Thompson, also had a meeting with officials of the Government of India after the account of the human rights organization was frozen. She is learnt to have emphasised the importance of the organisations like the Amnesty International being able to continue works in India.