Montreal / Washington, DC / London / The Hague / New Delhi, February 26, 2022
Over 50 renowned intellectuals, thinkers, scholars, and activists are converging today at a virtual three-day Summit – called India On The Brink: Preventing Genocide[1]. The summit, with sessions on February 26 through February 28, 2022, has been organized by over 20 global civil rights organizations. The goal of the summit is to draw attention to the looming genocide of Muslims in India and the international community’s moral obligation to take urgent steps in preventing it.
Adama Dieng, former UN under-secretary-general and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General on Genocide; Anurima Bhargava, Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF); Gregory Stanton, President, Genocide Watch; Janet Rice, Australian Senator; Jason Stanley, Professor, Yale University; Nicole Widdersheim, US Holocaust Memorial Museum; Prem Shankar Jha, veteran Indian journalist; Angana P. Chatterji, scholar, UC Berkeley; and Aakar Patel, former head of Amnesty International India, are among those who will address the summit. (Full list of speakers) [2]
Widespread explicit calls for a genocide of Muslims by right-wing Hindu extremists last December coincide with the 20th anniversary of anti-Muslim pogrom carried out by Hindu supremacists in Gujarat on the watch of then chief minister Narendra Modi, in which over 2,000 people were killed.
A total of 17-panel discussions are being held over three days. The topics to be covered include genocide and gender; hijab ban; Hindu response to majoritarian violence; massacre of Muslims in Assam in 1983; and Hindutva hate speech in the digital space. (Full list of panels) [3]
“Muslims in India are facing a social, economic, and political apartheid and this will continue unless the world recognizes the human rights violations occurring in India,” said Aakar Patel, formerly of Amnesty India.
Australian Senator Janet Rice added: “Genocide is preceded by the systematic dehumanization of a community for years, accompanied by attacks on education, silencing independent journalism and stripping away of autonomy and freedom, which has been well underway in India for years.”
The Summit’s organizers have stated that the “rapid escalation” of human rights abuses against India’s religious minorities and marginalized communities had “reached a breaking point.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-Muslim policies, the daily incidents of violence and hate speech against Muslims and minorities, and government apathy over open calls for genocide of Muslims have created a deeply repressive and dangerous situation for India’s 200 million Muslims,” the organizing coalition said.
The goal of the summit is to bring awareness to the situation in India, to advance the discourse on the international community’s role in safeguarding lives, and to facilitate deeper conversations about a vision for India that builds on its longstanding tradition of pluralism and respect for diversity, the coalition said.
According to Dr. Stanton of Genocide Watch, “The international community has a moral obligation to act now to prevent a cataclysmic turn of events in India, where millions of Muslims and other marginalized communities are already living in fear and experiencing the rapidly shrinking space for civil rights and religious freedom.”
Angana Chatterji, UC Berkeley scholar, said Hindu nationalists use propaganda and conspiracy to “mount concerted, violent disinformation campaigns, seeking to efface minority rights and weaponize the identity of Hindu males as the warrior-protectors of majoritarian India.” Ram Bhat, a Fellow at the London School of Economics, said the Summit will also dwell on the role of digital media and the use of the internet.
“Unpacking the role of WhatsApp as a weapon for violence and hate speech involves three key factors: A historical understanding of caste-based societies in India that continue to structure social relations today; a relationship of mutual benefit between big capital at global-national levels and political formations in India, especially the BJP; and finally, the total abdication of responsibility by Silicon Valley firms towards the consequences of their business in the Global South,” Bhat said.
The leading organizations involved in the Summit are Alliance Against Genocide, CERAS, Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Genocide Watch, Hindus for Human Rights, India Civil Watch International, India Justice Project, Indian Alliance Paris, Indian American Muslim Council, International Council of Indian Muslims, Justice for All, “Never Again” Association, People Against Apartheid and Fascism, Scottish Indians for Justice, South Asian Diaspora Action Collective, South Asian Solidarity Group, Stichting The London Story, Strive the UK, The Humanist Project, and The Signals Network.
The organizations are committed to the prevention of genocide and are striving to seek the proactive participation of all in creating inclusive and peaceful societies.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
