Thu 13 July 2023:
New Delhi: The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution that called on Indian authorities to take “all necessary” measures to stop the violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities, especially Christians.
The resolution was tabled by five political groups and adopted by a show of hands during the plenary session of the European Parliament. The adoption took place in the afternoon along with other votes on schedule, just after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had landed in France for an official visit.
A day earlier, Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra had told reporters that this was an “internal matter”. He had also indicated that India had reached out to EU lawmakers on this issue ahead of the tabling of the resolution.
NO END TO DEADLY VIOLENCE IN INDIA’S ETHNICALLY-DIVIDED MANIPUR
The five parliamentary factions that authored the resolution were the left Greens-European Free Alliance, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the liberal Renew group and the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. They account for around 80% of the lawmakers in the 705-member parliament.
The resolution expressed concern that ethnic violence in Manipur over the last two months has left over 120 dead, with 50,000 displaced and destroyed 1,700 houses, over 250 churches and several temples.
The resolution called on India to “take all necessary measures and make the utmost effort to promptly halt the ongoing ethnic and religious violence, to protect all religious minorities, such as Manipur’s Christian community, and to pre-empt any further escalation”.
It also urged political leaders to “cease inflammatory statements, re-establish trust and play an impartial role in mediating the tensions”. The European Parliament also asserted that “those who are critical of the government’s conduct not be criminalised”.
The European Parliament also noted the violence had been instigated by “politically motivated, divisive policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism”, as well as, increased activity by militant groups.
It observed that “accounts of partisan involvement by security forces in the killings have increased distrust in the authorities”.
The European lawmakers asserted that human rights should be an important part of ongoing negotiations between India and the EU on the free trade agreement.
On Wednesday, during the debate over the resolution, Sven Simon from the largest EPP group said, “We wouldn’t like to wag fingers at anybody from here, but with this resolution from the European Parliament, we call on the most populous democracy to do what it is duty bound to do in its Constitution to maintain religious freedom, also for Christians in Manipur.”
Speaking on behalf of the ECR group, Bert-Jan Ruissen asserted, “Our joint resolution is crystal clear – we are calling on India to do everything within its power to end ethnic and religious violence, to punish perpetrators, and end Hindu extremism. Without ironclad guarantees in this area, we cannot talk about a new trade agreement with India”.
In the end, EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness told the lawmakers that the European Union was “following the situation in the state of Manipur closely, and we are very saddened, deeply saddened, by the large number of deaths and of injured and displaced persons since violence erupted in Manipur at the beginning of May”.
Stating that the EU is “ready to support” India “if requested in their efforts towards rebuilding peace and trust between the different groups in Manipur”, McGuinness recounted some steps taken by the Indian government like setting up a commission of inquiry and a peace committee.
“We hope that these measures will very soon bring results so that this wave of violence and the profound mistrust between the communities comes to an end,” she said.
Noting that India and the EU were strategic partners, the EU commissioner said that both sides regularly discuss human rights challenges in both regions, especially in “frank discussion” under the Human Rights dialogue. “Our relations are based on mutual respect, and the protection and promotion of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms are at the core of our partnership,” she said.
-The Wire
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