America
Shocking reversals in the struggle for justice mark Gujarat pogroms anniversary: IAMC
The Indian American Muslim Council, an advocacy group
dedicated to safeguarding India's
pluralist and tolerant ethos has marked the 13th anniversary of the Gujarat pogroms of 2002, by pledging to continue the
struggle for justice, regardless of the passage of time and the vicissitudes in
the electoral fortunes of the masterminds behind the genocide. IAMC has
expressed its dismay over the brazen mockery of justice in cases related to the
pogroms, since the new government came to power in May 2014.
The Gujarat pogroms of 2002 represent the most horrific case
of mass targeted violence against a specific religious community in independent
India.
In systematic and organized attacks against Muslims, over 2,000 people were
massacred and over 150,000 were displaced and rendered homeless. The
genocide was accompanied by brutal forms of sexual violence against hundreds of
women.
In several high-profile cases, the perpetrators have either
been acquitted by the infamous and compromised Special Investigations Team
(SIT), or granted bail after having been convicted. In parallel, activists such
as Teesta Setalvad, who demonstrated exemplary courage in pursuing justice for
the victims, are being hounded by the police and subject to harassment by the
state under trumped-up charges.
Last Friday, six people accused in the barbaric killing of
three British citizens during the Gujarat
massacres were acquitted by the court for "lack of evidence." The
three Britons were Saeed and Shakil Dawood and Mohammad Aswat. They were burned
alive near Prantij town of Gujarat's
Sabarkantha district.
"The denial of justice for the victims of the Gujarat pogroms compounds the enormity of the crimes committed against them in 2002," stated Mr. Umar Malick, President of IAMC. "The BJP government has continued in the tradition of the Gujarat government, of shielding the guilty and harassing those that are striving to bring them to justice," added Mr. Malick.
Indian American Muslim
Council is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States
with chapters across the nation.
For more information, please visit http://www.iamc.