Friday, March 14, 2008

Tibet and Palestine: Why this double standard from GOI?

In a shameful incident, India has cracked down on protesting India-based Tibetans. GOI in a statement said

“The Government of India does not permit Tibetans to engage in anti-China political activities in India."

A leader of Tibetan activists, Chime Youngdrung condemned the crackdown and said

"We condemn this decision by the Indian authorities to treat these peaceful Tibetan marchers as criminals,"

India has in the past been sympathetic to the Tibetan cause but in recent years Delhi's relations with Beijing have improved and India has not allowed large-scale public protests for fear of embarrassing Beijing.

Meanwhile, Thousands of Chinese soldiers and police were surrounding two Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa yesterday in an effort to crush the biggest wave of street protests by Tibetan monks since the 1980s. The rare wave of demonstrations began on Monday when about 500 monks from Drepung monastery held a protest march in Lhasa to mark the 49th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

Why is Government and the communist Watch Dogs not protesting against this? Why is GOI taking using a different standards when addressing Israel/Palestine issue. GOI has used strongest words to protest the Blockade of Gaza. The Muslim Organisations in India also protested against the happening in Gaza. In fact, GOI even readied a assistance package for Palestine. A spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said

“The misery and hardship faced by the people of Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, is deplorable. India condemns the use of force on the civilian population of Palestine and calls upon all sides, including Israel, to exercise restraint.”

“A package of such assistance is being worked out and will be announced shortly. India also stands ready to help the peace process move forward,” said a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

While, Israel claims that the blockade of Gaza was to protect its citizens from Harm. They said

Since Hamas took over the Gaza strip in a coup in June last year, 697 Qassam rockets and 822 mortar shells have been fired on cities in Israel without provocation.

We can understand the position (or silence in this case) taken by Communists as they have to keep their masters happy but why is congress have such ballant double standards?

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