UK House of Commons debate death penalty, human rights violations in India

Saturday, 02/03/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/UK-House-of-Commons-debate-death-penalty_-human-rights-violations-in-India-.html

LONDON: The Kesri Lehar petition asking for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in India was debated in the Main Chamber of the House of Commons on Thursday, 28th February 2013. The two and a half hour debate, started with an opening speech by Rt. Hon. John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, who said that the national Kesri Lehar campaign urged the UK government to press the Indian Government to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which encompasses the death penalty.

Amongst  the many  issues on Human Right’s abuses  raised during  the debate, two  prominent  cases,  currently  on  death  row  in  India,  that  of  Balwant  Singh Rajoana, and, Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar were discussed at length.  Rt. Hon.  John McDonnell  referring  the  cases  of Balwant Singh Rajowana  and Prof  Davinder  Pal  Singh  Bhullar,  said,  “These  two  cases  carry  immense significance around the world, the Rajoana case for its historical context and the Bhullar case because it is almost now a symbol of the injustice meted out to so many Sikhs in recent decades.”

 “If Balwant Singh Rajoana symbolises  the suffering of  the Sikhs  in  that period, Professor Bhullar symbolises the injustice meted out to Sikhs, over the years at the hands of the Indian police and the judicial system Parliament was told that, “Balwant Singh was party to killing Beant Singh, the chief Minister of the Punjab. We now know that Beant Singh personally commanded the police  and  security  forces  in  the  killing  and  disappearance  of  possibly more  than 20,000  Sikhs—men,  women  and  children. 

Faced  with  the  failure  of  the  Indian authorities  to  take  action  against  the  former  chief Minister  for  his  crimes  against humanity, Balwant Singh and a  co-conspirator  took  the  law  into  their own hands. Nobody,  including Balwant Singh, claims  that he  is  innocent of  the killing, but Sikh organisations, human rights lawyers and human rights groups are urging the Indian Government to take into account the context of his actions, the scale of the human suffering  that  the Sikhs were enduring at  the  time, and  the anger  that young men such as Balwant Singh  felt at  the  failure of  the  Indian state  to bring  to  justice  the chief Minister responsible for the atrocities against the Sikhs in the Punjab. On that basis,  they plead  for understanding and mercy on Balwant Singh’s behalf and  that the death penalty is avoided at all costs.”

It was also pointed out  to Parliament  that,  the German courts have now  ruled  that that  deportation  of  Professor  Bhullar  was  wrong.  He  has  been  convicted  of involvement  in  an  attempted  political  assassination  solely  on  the  basis  of  a confession, which he retracted, with not one of more than 100 witnesses identifying him at  the scene, and on a split decision of  the court  judges. In split decisions  in India,  the  practice  of  the  courts  is  not  to  impose  a  death  penalty,  but  Professor Bhullar  has  been  sentenced,  held  in  solitary  confinement  for  eight  years  and, despite his deteriorating health, his plea for mercy has been rejected. 

Despite  a  further  petition  to  the  Supreme  Court,  the  fear  is  that  the  Indian authorities could move to execute him at any time. This is a shocking miscarriage of justice waiting to happen unless we can intervene effectively. There is also concern that India  is expanding  the scope of  the death penalty, new laws passed in 2011 which provide for the death penalty include for the making and selling of illicit liquor.

Rt. Hon. Virendra Sharma, MP  for Ealing and Southall,  stated  that,  “We must  kill the myth  that we are anti-India or  that we are  interfering  in  India’s  internal affairs. We are taking a matter of principle and fighting for the rights of the people living in India  and  abroad.”,  he  further  stated  that,  “We  cannot  always  assume  that  the judicial  system  is  faultless.  Therefore,  using  death,  an  irrevocable  act,  as  a punishment  for  a  crime,  puts  the  system  at  risk  of  punishing  the  innocent irreversibly.   On  talking  on  the  issue  of  the  judiciary  in  India,  Simon  Hughes,  MP  for  Bermondsey  and  Old  Southwark,  said  that,  a  Supreme  Court  bench  said  that people’s  faith  in  the  judiciary was  dwindling  at  an  alarming  rate,  posing  a  grave threat to constitutional and democratic governance of the country.

The house noted  that  “Amnesty  International points out  that  the use of  the death penalty in India is “riddled with systemic flaws”.  MP for Slough, Fiona McTaggart expressed her worries that the rights of religious, ethnic and caste minorities  in  India are not sufficiently well protected.  It seems  to me  that we  have  a  responsibility  to  say  to  India,  “We  expect  you,  as  the  largest democracy in the world, to promote the standards of democracy and human rights that we expect, and to recognise that if the death penalty is used in this way, there is  a  risk  that  you  will  deepen  the  divisions  between  ethnic  and  religious communities  in  country. There  is a  risk  that  you will make  your  country  less  safe and less peaceful for all who live in it.”

Concluding  the  debate,  Labour MP  John McDonnell  said,  “To  add weight  to  the British Government’s representations, I urge them to raise the issue again with our European partners and to seek a joint representation from Europe on the subject. I urge  the  British  Government,  working  with  other  Governments,  to  raise  this  call within  the  United  Nations. With  the  UN  Commission  on  Human  Rights  meeting imminently, this is an ideal time to put this back on the UN agenda.”

It seems to me that we have a responsibility to say to India, “We expect you, as the largest democracy in the world, to promote the standards of democracy and human rights that we expect, and to recognize that if the death penalty is used in this way, there  is  a  risk  that  you  will  deepen  the  divisions  between  ethnic  and  religious communities  in  country. There  is a  risk  that  you will make  your  country  less  safe and less peaceful for all who live in it.”