Investigate police action against Burma refugees: Rights group
WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (UNI) US-based International Rights Group Human Rights Watch has called on the Indian government to order a "thorough and independent" investigation of possible police action against Burmese refugees and asylum seekers during demonstrations in New Delhi on November 12-13 this year.
The government should also ensure that none of the refugees, including those who participated in the demonstrations, are forcibly returned to Burma, where they would likely face persecution, the group said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch alleged that on November 12, riot police used water cannons, electric batons, and canes to forcibly disperse a group of 500 Burmese nationals who were staging a protest outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office.
Many of them were already recognized as refugees by UNHCR, it said.
Many of the Burmese nationals had been protesting since October 20 the decision by UNHCR to cut its allowance for refugees in India from Rs 1,400 a month by as much as 60 percent in order to cut costs and promote self reliance.
At least 25 of the demonstrators were injured.
Many of the injuries were severe, and included head and chest injuries, bruised backs and legs, and broken bones, the group charged.
"There was no need for the police to use violence to break up a demonstration," said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch.
"It is disturbing that the world's largest democracy would repress people who have already been victimized in their own country." On November 12, the group said, police officers detained several hundred protesters at four different police stations.
Most were released the same night.
Twenty-four protesters were sent to Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi and charged with rioting and obstructing the police.
In the days following the arrests, large numbers of protesters have continued to gather near the UNHCR office.
The UN basic principles on the use of force and firearms provides that law enforcement officials shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force, and they may do so only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result, Human Rights Watch said.
It urged the Indian government to investigate and prosecute or discipline as appropriate any police officer found to have used or authorized excessive force.
The group said the government must also ensure that those protestors charged with criminal offenses have access to legal counsel and that those not charged are released.
"India can demonstrate to these refugees that in a democracy the rule of law prevails even for the weakest," said adams.
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