On Thursday (25th April), the Ministry of External Affairs reacted to the ongoing police crackdown on pro-Palestine protests in various universities in the United States. It said that democracies should have a balance of freedom of expression, a sense of responsibility and public safety and order.
Addressing a media briefing today, EAM spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that democracies should, in particular, display this understanding for other democracies since “we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad.”
“We have seen reports on the matter and have been following related events. In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, a sense of responsibility and public safety and order. Democracies in particular should display this understanding in regard to other fellow democracies. After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad,” the EAM spokesperson said.
#WATCH | On protests at Columbia University and other Universities in the US, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "We have seen reports on the matter and have been following related events. In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression,… pic.twitter.com/15ycFpQ6vl
— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2024
This comes amidst reports of mass arrests in the US after a pro-Palestine protest which started at Columbia University on 17th April and then extended to New York University, Yale University, the University of Illinois, and the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Southern California among others. The pro-Palestine protestors have set up ‘Liberated Encampment Zones’ inside these universities.
As OpIndia reported today, the police on Wednesday started arresting the anti-Israel protestors from the University of South California. Meanwhile, dozens of protestors were taken into custody violently from Texas University. Police were seen in riot gear, holding batons, and surrounded a group of protestors before arresting them one by one.
Over 40 to 48 protestors were arrested on Monday at an encampment at Yale University, while 133 protestors were taken into custody at New York University this week. On Tuesday, around 9 pro-Palestine protestors were arrested from the University of Minnesota.
In addition to pro-Palestine protests in the US and subsequent arrests, MEA Randhir Jaiswal also reacted to the recently published US State Department’s controversial report titled: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The summary of the report talked about the violence in Manipur between 3rd May and 15th November. The report was rife with whitewashing of the likes of Umar Khalid, Atiq Ahmed, Siddique Kappan, Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar among others.
Reacting to a question regarding the said report, the MEA spokesperson said that the report is “deeply biased” and advised the media not to attach any value to it since it reflects the poor understanding of India.
#WATCH | On the US State Department report on Human Rights, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "This report is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same." pic.twitter.com/4XIHgnoswP
— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2024
“This report is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same,” Jaiswal said.
