The Hindu : Gujarat police directed mobs: report

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 01, 2002

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International

Gujarat police directed mobs: report

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, April 30. The Human Rights Watch Report charging Government officials in Gujarat with involvement in the killing of Muslims came at a time when the Central Government was facing a censure motion in Parliament, and was particularly sensitive to overseas criticism of what went on in Gujarat and the handling of the crisis by the Centre and State Governments.

The report says the police were not merely passive spectators but in many instances were directing the "murderous mobs, aiming and firing at the Muslims who got in the way.'' According to several witnesses, the refrain of the police was, "We have no orders to save you.''

"This is a crisis of impunity. If charges against members of these groups are not investigated and prosecuted accordingly, violence may continue to engulf the State and may even spread to other parts of the country," the author, Smita Narula says, going on to make the point that after two months of violence, "the international community is now waking up and needs to respond."

One of the major contentions of the report — made after the Human Rights Watch visited Ahmedabad and spoke to both Hindu and Muslim survivors of the murderous attacks — was that the State administration has been engaged in a massive cover-up of not only the State's role in the massacres but also that of the Sangh Parivar.

"Numerous police reports filed by eye-witnesses after the attacks have specifically named the local VHP, BJP and Bajrang Dal leaders as instigators or participants in the violence... Top police officials who sought to protect Muslims have been removed from positions of command,'' the report has contended.

Further, the argument is made that the Gujarat Government has failed to provide adequate and timely humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in the State. "Relief Camps visited by the Human Rights Watch were in desperate need of more government and international assistance."

It has urged the Central Government to actively seek the assistance of international agencies and to invite human rights experts from the United Nations to investigate state and police participation in Gujarat.

The organisation is also urging the international community to put pressure on the Government of India to comply with international human rights and Indian constitutional law and "end impunity for orchestrated violence against Indian minorities.''

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