Rep.
Joe Pitts (R-PA) recalled his visit to Gujarat and the site of the
massacre at Gulbarg Society, in the immediate aftermath of the Gujarat pogrom.
"
We saw the remains of the blood on the walls, the remains of the carnage.
...We met victims of the massacres, and the officials in Gujarat province, we
asked them, why did not the police respond to what was happening and the police
said, 'We had no orders to respond'," recalled Congressman Pitts.
In 2005, Mr. Modi's US visa was revoked and his entry to the US was
banned by the State Department, under the provisions of the International
Religious Freedom Act, which makes any foreign government official who "
was
responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe
violations of religious freedom" ineligible for a visa.
In the last
ten years, Mr. Modi's administration has engaged in systematic persecution of
religious minorities in Gujarat. In 2003, Mr. Modi's administration enacted the
"
Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act," which curtails the freedom of
individuals to convert to the religion of their choice. The
law is targeted and
primarily applied against religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims.
Although Mr. Modi has not applied for a visa recently, he has
intensified his efforts to have the ban revoked by hiring several lobbying firms
to give himself an image makeover. The Congressmen at the press conference
however, were emphatic that justice and accountability were higher priorities
than Mr. Modi's ambitions.
Rep. Trent Franks said, "Mr. Modi,
who failed his responsibility and his test of leadership in India, should not be
afforded the opportunity to gain a higher station of leadership in that country
until this issue is dealt with."
Rep. Keith Ellison echoed this
sentiment by calling on people of all backgrounds and all faiths to stand
together for the sanctity of human life, for human rights and for
accountability.
The letter, signed by eight Republican and seventeen
Democratic Congresspersons, urges the State Department to "deny Mr. Modi entry
due to numerous reports of his involvement in horrific human rights violations
in India." The letter also quotes the Human Rights Watch report on the 2002
violence, that states that the "attacks against Muslims (and other religious
minorities) in Gujarat have been actively supported by state BJP (Bharatiya
Janata Party) government officials and by the police." The Gujarat pogrom
resulted in the killing of over 2,000 people, brutal sexual violence against
hundreds of women and the displacement of over 150,000 people.
Among the
25 Congresspersons who have co-signed the letter to the State Department, some
notable designations are as follows:
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