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Ensure justice for Gujarat victims: U.K. Muslims

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON FEB. 2. Leaders of Britain's Muslim community have urged the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to press India to ensure "speedy justice'' for the victims of last year's widespread violence in Gujarat.

They met Mr. Straw and gave him a memorandum along with a copy of a report of the Concerned Citizens' Tribunal chaired by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer.

The report attacks the role of the State Government during the violence and urges the "international community to use all influence at its command with the Indian Government and the Gujarat Government ensure the speedy carriage of justice.''

The chairman of the Council of Indian Muslims (U.K.), Munaf Zeena, who led a four-member delegation to meet Mr. Straw, said that he promised to take up their concerns with the Indian Government.

In a statement, he said the delegation also demanded a ban on the activities of organisations such as the Hindu Seva Sangh and Sewa International which have been accused of funding anti-minorities campaign in India.

The memorandum appreciated the British Government for its report on the "Gujarat genocide'' and urged it to "put pressure on the BJP-led Government to safeguard the constitutional and human rights of Muslims and other minorities in India.''

It called for a ban on the entry of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, into Britain.

In a separate statement, Ebrahim Master of the Lancashire Council of Mosques said the British Government was taking the Gujarat issue "seriously'' considering that Mr. Straw met them despite his "preoccupation'' with Iraq.

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