Human Rights of Minorities in the Asian Sub-Continent

Organized by Interfaith International

Tuesday, August 12 2003

Dr. Charles Graves of Interfaith International introduced the meeting stating that the problems between Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christians, and Buddhist minorities in the Sub-Continent appeared when Britons left the region in 1947.

Then, Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon took the floor to defend the rights of Sikhs in India. He presented a short historical review of violations of human rights perpetrated against his religious minority since the partition of British India in 1947. He denounced the persecution and gross human rights abuses against Sikh population in the Punjab's region. He accused the Indian government of being responsible of slaughters as during the so-called military operation "blue star" in 1984. He finally asked for an international investigation directed by Amnesty International on Human Rights violations in Punjab.

Rev. Prajnalankar Bikkhu spoke about the problem of non-respect of indigenous populations rights, about 700'000 people, in Chittagong Hill Tribe area in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. Chittagong Hill Tribes were part of an old Buddhist Kingdom and the problem appeared with the British colonization. It still unresolved due to the "second colonization" by the Pakistanis since 1947. After the partition of Pakistan in 1971 and the birth of the Bengali Sate, Chittagong Hill Tribes submitted to the central government a Memorandum for the autonomy of the region; it was rejected and a program of cultural and demographic assimilation was set up.

He added that 8 000 Indigenous Peoples were killed and thousands of peoples were displaced out of their ancestral land. In 1997 a peace agreement called "Chittagong Hill Tracts" was signed between indigenous communities and the Bengali government. However Rev. Bikkhu explained that nothing change for them since this agreement was concluded because the government didn't take initiative to integrate indigenous people in the local police and administration. Thus, he observed that the government still imposed military rule on Chittagong Hill Tribes, which are politically and economically marginalized. Finally, he asked the International Community for making pressure on "Bengali nationalist government to assure a sustainable peace" and for establishing rights for Buddhist in the Southern-Eastern Bangladesh.

M. M. Mir pointed out the absence of rights for populations in Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan). People who live in this area were systematically discriminated since half century and in particular concerning political and civil rights. Then he observed that the population of the region had no representative in the national parliament and the local "Consult" can't adopt any legislation. He highlighted the absence of freedom of expression in the Consult where it's "impossible to criticize the government".

Charles Graves summed up a debate centred on the original responsibility in the different massacres during the second part of the 20th century. He concluded on the need to continue the fight against racism and discriminations in the Asian Sub-Continent.

By: Didier Dutoit and Clément Therme

BACK