U.S., E.U. should not condone Amnesty International’s actions: Government

Responding sharply to the U.S. and the European governments for expressing their concerns about the investigations into the Amnesty International, the government said foreign governments must not condone NGOs that break Indian laws. Over the past few days, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the United Kingdom Foreign Office and the European Union have issued statements expressing concern over the government’s decision to freeze the Amnesty’s funds that led the international human rights agency to close its India office on September 29. “The U.K.’s Minister for South Asia and our Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi met Indian government representatives after Amnesty International India’s accounts were frozen, to emphasise the importance of organisations like this being able to continue their important work,” said a British High Commission spokesperson, adding that “the U.K. is seeking further information on recent decisions affecting Amnesty and believes the freedom of civil society organisations to operate underpins any functioning democracy”. The U.S. State Department also issued a statement saying the moves on Amnesty International had been noted “at the highest levels” of the U.S. government as well as by members of the U.S. Congress, adding that the U.S. is “concerned about obstacles to the work of civil society, whether in India or anywhere else in the world”.