The Coalition Against Genocide, which includes a diverse spectrum of organisations associated with Indian Americans that have come together in response to the Gujarat Genocide to demand justice and accountability, in a letter addressed to Secretary U.S. Department of State Condoleezza Rice on July 1, called upon the State Department ‘not to allow’ Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi ‘to enter’ United States ‘as the circumstances under which he was denied a visa in 2005 remain largely unchanged, and the minority communities in his state continue to face systematic human rights violations’.
The letter was issued following the news reports that Mr. Modi is planning to apply for visa to enter the United States to attend a conference organised by non-resident Gujaratis there.
The letter says inter alia: “The United States should not unwittingly be the platform from which these unrepentant and yet ascendant forces in India exploit the opportunity to rally the support base among Indian Diaspora communities and raise international legitimacy and standing. It would be dangerous at this juncture of Indian political process to give Mr. Modi that long denied and therefore much coveted window.
“Not only was Mr. Modi responsible for the deaths of over 2,000 Muslims and the displacement of 200,000 more, but six years after the Gujarat-state sponsored violence, the Muslim community in Gujarat is subjected to a devastating economic and social boycott, institutionalized at every level. Most have received little, if no compensation for the deaths of loved ones and loss of property; thousands are still displaced, without homes, work, or access to decent schools for their children. At the level of the courts too, Muslims in Gujarat have received little justice, barring a few exceptions; and the few that have managed to push their cases forward have met with threats, physical harm and harassment.
“As recently as April 2008, Mr. Modi enacted the anti-conversion law in Gujarat that effectively bars religious conversions, thereby crippling the provisions of religious freedom in the state.
“In a recent expose by the investigative magazine Tehelka, the Gujarat state prosecutor appointed by Mr. Modi was captured on video confessing to protecting the perpetrators of the 2002 violence. Further, one of the accused involved in the killings, confessed to Mr. Modi having transferred several court judges as to protect him from any convictions.
“Noting the prejudice extending at every level of the state apparatus, the Supreme Court ordered cases related to the 2002 massacres to be moved out of Gujarat.
“Mr. Modi has not only expressed no remorse for the 2002 violence; but he has continued to justify them, as he has a spate of extra judicial killings (fake “encounter killings” by his police. And, the state continues to persecute civil society groups who have been trying to speak up for the victims under very difficult circumstances.
The letter which includes the reports of human rights organisations and related references on Gujarat, was forwarded to Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, India Desk, and Democracy and Global Affairs, for immediate action.
This letter was endorsed by as many as 25 constituent organisations of the Coalition Against Genocide, including Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia (ASDSA), Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM), Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH), Coalition for a Secular and Democratic India (CSDI), Dalit Freedom Network (DFN), Dharma Megha Inc., Friends of South Asia (FOSA), Gujarati Muslim Association of America (GMAA), Hindu Vaishnava Center for Enlightenment, India Development Society, India Foundation Inc., Indian Buddhist Association, Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA), Indian Muslim Educational Foundation of North America (IMEFNA), Indian Muslim Relief & Charities (IMRC), International Service Society, International South Asia Forum-NY (INSAF-NY), Muslim Vohra Association, Muslim Youth Awareness Alliance (MYAA), Non-Resident Indians for Secular and Harmonious India (NRI-SAHI), Seva International, Sikh American Heritage Organization (SAHO), South Asian Progressive Action Collective (SAPAC), Supporters of Human Rights in India (SHRI), and Vedanta Society of East Lansing.