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| India-Pakistan |
| UN warns India against anti-Muslim prejudice |
| 2009-03-24 |
| NEW DELHI: The United Nations human rights chief urged India on Monday to counter suspicion against its Muslim minority following the Mumbai attacks and warned the country’s strict anti-terror measures threatened human rights. India is still on edge after gunmen killed 166 people in a three-day rampage on the financial hub last November. Hundreds of Muslims were detained and questioned over the attacks, angering rights activists who said innocent people were caught up in the backlash. “The horrific terrorist attack in Mumbai has also polarised society and risks stoking suspicions against the Muslim community,” said UN Human Rights chief Navanethem Pillay. “Both internal and external terrorist threats have led to counter-terrorist measures that put human rights at risk,” Pillay said in New Delhi during her India visit. Religious and caste-based prejudices remain entrenched in Indian society, she said. After the Mumbai attacks, the government rushed through new laws in December to allow police to hold suspects for up to 180 days without charge and created a new FBI-style national police force, in what was seen as an attempt to soothe public anger. But human rights experts at the time said India’s main political parties ignored concerns the new legislation could be misused in the absence of an independent supervisory body to monitor its implementation. Pillay also questioned India’s human rights record in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir, where security forces have been battling a 20-year separatist insurgency that has killed more than 47,000 people. Pillay said security forces have excessive emergency powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a law which lets them fire at civilians breaking laws in “disturbed” areas and make arrests without a warrant. “In the past two decades, hundreds of cases of disappearances have been reported in Kashmir,” Pillay said. “These cases must be properly investigated in order to bring a sense of closure to the families who for far too long have been awaiting news, any news.” reuters |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #9 "Or what, Hans Brix?" |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-03-24 15:18 |
| #8 Someone should warn the UN on it's pro-muslim agenda. |
| Posted by: Spanky Ebbereck2826 2009-03-24 13:28 |
| #7 Maybe India can take over Israel's whipping dog position at Durban II... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-24 11:15 |
| #6 And what is the UN going to do when India ignores their threats? |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-03-24 11:11 |
| #5 In the book on which the movie is based (written by an Indian Ambassador) the boy is called Ram Mohammed Thomas. In the screenplay, this boy of all faiths became a "noble Muslim". |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-03-24 09:18 |
| #4 I saw Slumdog Millionaire a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and my years with Rantburg added in some knowlege that most of the American audiences don't have. I got more of the jokes, too. Howerver, I couldn't miss the not-so-subtle approval of the depiction of Hindoo-on-poor-beleaguered-noble-Muslim violence by way of an Academy Award. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-03-24 08:26 |
| #3 The real enemy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-24 06:41 |
| #2 Navanethem Pillay AKA The U.N.'s Dangerous High Commissioner For Human Rights |
| Posted by: tipper 2009-03-24 01:38 |
| #1 UN warning against bigotry against Hindus by Muslims? ::crickets:: |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2009-03-24 00:18 |