Amidst the government’s crackdown on dissenting voices, Amnesty International has had to halt its operations in India on accounts of reprisal from the government. After a raid by the Enforcement Directorate earlier this month, all their accounts were frozen. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its statement accused Amnesty of trying to “circumvent the FCRA regulations” and accepting foreign funding for their non-profit research work and campaigns which goes against the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. They further added, “India, by settled law, does not allow interference in domestic political debates by entities funded by foreign donations. This law applies equally to all and it shall apply to Amnesty International as well.”
Denying all such claims, the organisation released a statement earlier today stating, “the continuing crackdown on Amnesty International India over the last two years and the complete freezing of bank accounts is not accidental. The constant harassment by government agencies including the Enforcement Directorate is a result of our unequivocal calls for transparency in the government, more recently for accountability of the Delhi police and the Government of India regarding the grave human rights violations in Delhi riots and Jammu & Kashmir. For a movement that has done nothing but raise its voices against injustice, this latest attack is akin to freezing dissent.”
The attack on the human rights watchdog isn’t an isolated incident and is in a series of successive attempts by the government to silence any and every voice that raises concerns or objects the government’s decisions. The onslaught is in compliance with the persecution of activists, researchers, journalists and human rights defenders during the lockdown under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
“Treating human rights organisations like criminal enterprises and dissenting individuals as criminals without any credible evidence is a deliberate attempt by the Enforcement Directorate and Government of India to stoke a climate of fear and dismantle the critical voices in India. It reeks of fear and repression, ignores the human cost to this crackdown particularly during a pandemic and violates people’s basic rights to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, and association guaranteed by the Indian Constitution and international human rights law. Instead, as a global power and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, India must fearlessly welcome calls for accountability and justice,” added Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty International India in the released statement.
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