[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 40 (Thursday, March 21, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E402-E403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND INDIA

                                 ______


                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 1996

  Mr. KING. Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International recently issued a report 
called Amnesty International and India detailing India's violations of 
fundamental human rights.
  On the very first page of this report, Amnesty International states 
that ``violations such as torture, including rape, and deaths in 
custody remain endemic, and * * * political prisoners continue to face 
unfair trials.'' The report goes on to tell us that ``human rights 
violations affect most segments of Indian society, with people from 
some groups, particularly the socially or economically disadvantaged, 
being particularly disadvantaged.'' The record bears this out. More 
than 150,000 Sikhs have been killed since 1984, over 200,000 Christians 
in Nagaland since 1947 and in excess of 43,000 Moslems in Kashmir since 
1988. Tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, and others have been 
killed, as have thousands of Dalits or black untouchables.
  The amnesty report cites the extensive use of disappearances as a way 
to circumvent the rights of detainees. Records of detentions are not 
maintained, allowing the regime to claim that the detainee died in an 
encounter, a form of extrajudicial execution. ``Thousands of people 
remain detained under the provisions of the now lapsed Terrorist and 
Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act,'' the report says. Many of us 
have spoken about the brutality of TADA. Amnesty reports that ``torture 
of detainees in police and military custody remains endemic.'' 
According to the report, ``the most common method of torture is beating 
with lathis (canes). Other methods included suspension by the wrist and 
electric shocks. Reports of rapes indicate that it is used as a method 
of torture.'' According to the report, ``in 1995 at least 100 people 
died in the custody of police or security forces throughout India, as a 
result of torture and medical neglect.''
  In the face of this kind of repression, no Sikh ever signed India's 
constitution. Instead, the Sikh Nation reasserted its claim to freedom 
on October 7, 1987 by declaring the independent, sovereign nation of 
Khalistan. Many Sikhs who are working peacefully to free Khalistan are 
denied their human rights by India. Human rights groups estimate that 
more than 100,000 Sikhs have been tortured, raped, killed, or made to 
disappear. Another 70,000 languish in India prisons without charge or 
trial, according to human rights groups. According to Amnesty 
International, ``lawyers and relatives are routinely denied access by 
police to people held in custody.'' The report tells us that ``most 
torture and ill-treatment in India occurs during the first stage of 
detention in police custody, when access to outsiders is routinely 
denied.''
  Amnesty International sharply criticizes India for these repressive 
practices. ``Whatever imperatives the Indian state has to maintain 
internal peace and security, the violation of rights protected by the 
Constitution of India as well as by human rights standards is 
avoidable,'' the report says. Strong action by free countries of the 
world is called for. There are two bills in the House that address 
these concerns. H.R. 1425, the Human Rights in India

[[Page E403]]

Act, would cut off United States development aid to India until basic 
human rights are respected, and House Concurrent Resolution 32 calls 
for a plebiscite in India under international supervision to let the 
Sikh nation have a free and fair vote on its political future. The 
sooner we pass these bills, the sooner the people of South Asia can 
live in freedom, security, and dignity. I call upon my colleagues to 
pass these bills as soon as possible.

                    Amnesty International and India

       This report is an introduction to Amnesty International and 
     its concerns in India. It answers basic questions about 
     Amnesty International: its role as a non-governmental 
     international human rights organization; its worldwide 
     membership, its mandate for action, its campaigning methods; 
     and its work and membership in India.
       The bulk of the report deals with human rights violations 
     that Amnesty International has documented in India over 
     several decades. It shows that violations such as torture, 
     including rape, and deaths in custody remain endemic, and 
     that political prisoners continue to face unfair trials. It 
     highlights a legal and judicial system that facilitates these 
     and many other abuses, often allowing the perpetrators to act 
     with impunity. Even the safeguards that do exist are 
     regularly disregarded. The report also summarizes human 
     rights abuses committed by armed opposition groups.
       Human rights violations affect most sections of Indian 
     society, with people from some groups, particularly the 
     socially or economically disadvantaged, being especially 
     vulnerable. In a complex society of approximately 920 million 
     people, speaking dozens of languages and dialects, living in 
     25 states and seven union territories, not everyone has equal 
     access to justice or an equal chance to be allowed to live in 
     safety and with dignity.

                          ____________________