All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC) ran into an argument at an event by Amnesty International India which was organized at Bengaluru’s United Theological College after anti-Indian Army program was found to be going on. The event by Amnesty was titled the “Broken Families.”
APMCC activist Sunil Trakroo along with other KP activists protest against Amnesty funded anti India, anti Indian Army event at Bangalore
— Vinod Pandit APMCC (@VinodAPMCC) August 14, 2016
APMCC activist Sunil Trakroo along with other Kashmiri Pandit human rights activists ran into a heated argument following which, as per Amnesty International India, a criminal case has been filed against the organization.
People are arriving at the #BrokenFamilies event in Bangalore this evening at UTC in Benson Town
— Amnesty India (@AIIndia) August 13, 2016
In its defence it has fallen back on the usual; the organization has chosen to target the people who filed a complaint against it by showing its links with the Bhartiya Janata Party. In a note it said:
According to media reports, the Bengaluru Police have filed a criminal case against Amnesty International India for organizing an event as part of a campaign to seek justice for human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. The event involved discussions with families from Kashmir, who were featured in a 2015 report, who had travelled to Bengaluru to narrate their personal stories of grief and loss.
The Newsminute has reported that a First Information Report was filed on the basis of a complaint filed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The FIR reportedly mentions a number of offences including ‘sedition’, ‘unlawful assembly’, ‘rioting’ and ‘promoting enmity’. Amnesty International India has not yet received a copy of the FIR.
It also gave the quote of Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International India, who said:
“Merely organizing an event to defend constitutional values is now being branded ‘anti-India’ and criminalized. The police were invited and present at the event. The filing of a complaint against us now, and the registration of a case of sedition, shows a lack of belief in fundamental rights and freedoms in India.”
But the same statement by Amnesty International India states that indeed slogans for Azaadi were raised by some people who were called to attend the event.
The statement by Amnesty International India reads:
Towards the end of the event, some of those who attended raised slogans, some of which referred to calls for ‘Azaadi’ (freedom).
Watch Kashmiri Pandit human rights activists protesting against anti-India and anti-Indian Army sloganeering.
APMCC activist Sunil Trakroo & other activists protest against Amnesty antiIndia,anti Indian Army event at Bangalore pic.twitter.com/4sERuuPUW8
— Vinod Pandit APMCC (@VinodAPMCC) August 14, 2016
You can read the full statement here.