Bush urged to discuss religious violence with Manmohan Singh

Washington, Sept 23 (PTI) Taking note of the recent
violence against the Christian community in India, the United
States Commission on International Religious Freedom
(U.S.C.I.R.F.) has urged President George W Bush to raise the
matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their meeting
on Thursday.

"The U.S. government can and should urge the Indian
central government to make more vigorous and effective efforts
to stem violence against religious minority communities,"
U.S.C.I.R.F. Chairman, Felice Gaer, said in a letter to Bush.

"If India is to exercise global leadership as the
largest and perhaps most pluralistic democracy in the world,
Prime Minister Singh should demonstrate his government’s
commitment to uphold the basic human rights obligations to
which it has agreed, including the protection of religious
minorities," Gaer told the President while pointing out the
attacks on Christians in the State of Orissa.

"The Indian government’s response to the egregious
violence in Orissa remains inadequate. When it was quickly
evident that Orissa state police were unable to contain
escalating violence in December 2007 and during the current
riots... The central government has also yet to commit to a
probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the current
Orissa violence," the Chair of the U.S.C.I.R.F. notes.

"We support Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s pledge
to offer urgently-needed assistance packages to survivors of
the communal riots in Orissa. However, post-riot humanitarian
aid does not obscure the need for both the Orissa state and
the Indian central government to take action to address
persistent sectarian tensions in Orissa, and to prevent future
eruptions of violence. We request that you, Mr President,
convey these concerns to the Prime Minister" she said.

She said: "...India has also been the victim of so much
terrorism on its soil, most recently with the bombings in
Delhi this past weekend, linked to Islamic extremists. Both of
our countries are joined in the battle against elements of
extremism originating from religious communities."

Mentioning the cosmopolitan culture of the country, Gaer
said "... in this majority Hindu country with one of the
world’s largest Muslims populations, the current Prime
Minister is Sikh and the national governing alliance is headed
by a Catholic. India recognises Buddhist, Christian, Hindu,
Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian holidays as public holidays.
Against this pluralistic backdrop, religious violence in
Gujarat, Orissa, and elsewhere are particularly unacceptable."