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Indian civil society outraged
NEW DELHI, JUN 23 -
Human rights defenders and civil society leaders in New Delhi have expressed outrage over the hold-up of the newsprint imported by Kantipur Publications at Kolkota port. They have written to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to help release the containers carrying the newsprint.
Former Indian envoy to Nepal KV Rajan said the hold-up was "unnatural" and it would be detrimental to India itself. "It would be very unusual to hold up the newsprint and it's totally counterproductive to India. This is not the way in which a democracy like India functions, especially in Nepal," said Rajan.
India's noted human rights defender Gautam Navlakha said, "I am outraged." He said that being a member of the UN, India can't stop supplies to a landlocked country. "They are," he said, "in violation of the international law. But much more than being a legal issue, it's a political issue, a typical example of treating Nepal as its backyard, and that every one on its neighbourhood should fall in line."
Bijay Pratap, one of the conveners of South Asian Dialogue for Ecological Democracy, said, "If the Indian establishment also behaves irresponsibly it will not be good for democratic forces of Asia."
ACHR concerned
KATHMANDU: Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) has expressed “very deep concern” over the holding of 1,000 metric tonnes of newsprint imported by Kantipur Publications at Kolkata port for the last 26 days and urged the Indian prime minister to instruct the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to immediately release the newsprints, order an inquiry into the matter and make the findings public.
“This intervention by India will rightly be construed in Nepal as direct interference into its internal affairs. It will be seen as an attempt to close down the most independent and vibrant media house in Nepal and undermining Nepal’s nascent democracy by the largest democratic country in the world,” stated a statement issued by ACHR Director Suhas Chakma on Wednesday. ACHR said the act is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression.
Posted on: 2010-06-24 08:04
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