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India's Home Minister Vows to Push Ahead Controversial Anti-Terror Law
NEW DELHI, Dec. 8 (News Agencies) - Indian Home Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, on Saturday said the government would push on with a new, controversial anti-terror law regardless of resistance by opposition political parties and condemnation by human rights groups.
"Our government's approach has been of accommodating every viewpoint and attempting to build a consensus on various issues," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Advani as telling a public gathering. "However, even if there is no unanimity, we cannot abdicate our responsibility towards national security."
The home minister said the lack of consensus could not become an excuse for inaction on the issue.
The Indian cabinet had on Thursday reportedly bowed to pressure from the opposition by agreeing to major changes in its new anti-terror law, including curtailing its operational period from five to three years, said AFP.
The cabinet also recommended the deletion of a provision affecting the freedom of the press. The law had made it mandatory for anyone, including journalists, with information about potential acts of terrorism to pass it on to security officials.
The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), which was introduced last month by Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet, is yet to be passed by parliament and faces widespread criticism.
The measure seeks to curb funding to suspected terrorist groups, confiscate their property and intercept their communications. It will give police and paramilitary forces far-reaching powers for arresting suspected terrorists and raiding their hideouts, AFP reported.
Opposition parties fear that the law will be misused as it gives sweeping powers to the police to question and detain people suspected of having information about terrorists.
The legislation has to be passed by both houses of parliament or it will lapse on December 21.
Vajpayee's Hindu-nationalist BJP party has made a strong case for POTO, saying it is essential to curb growing Islamic militancy in India's northern Kashmir state and a rise in terrorist incidents in other parts of the country.
In their recent statements, some government ministers labeled those opposed to POTO as "anti-national," AFP said.
Amnesty International has severely criticized POTO, urging India should strengthen its "weak criminal justice system" rather than enact a controversial new anti-terror law that endangers human rights standards.
"The perceived heightened threat to security and law and order ... must be seen as an opportunity to further strengthen the criminal justice system rather than enact a new draconian law like POTO (Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance)," the human rights organization said in a statement carried by November 30 by news agencies.
"Amnesty International India is concerned that a weak criminal justice system of armed with draconian laws is only likely to end up victimizing the socially and politically marginalized," the statement added.
Last month, the Indian cabinet approved POTO - a legislation which gives Indian police sweeping powers of arrest and detention and, if enacted, would reinstate a modified version of the notorious Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), repealed in 1995 after widespread public opposition, according to Human Rights Watch.
TADA facilitated tens of thousands of arrests, detentions, and acts of torture in violation of international law, and was used to crackdown on political opponents, social activists, and human rights defenders. Rights groups fear that if enacted, POTO could be put to similar misuse.
Under the ordinance, any person "knowingly possessing information relating to offences under the ordinance" and keeping it from the authorities would be penalized under the provisions of the law.
"Ratification of POTO by parliament would be a setback to the protection and promotion of civil liberties and human rights in general," said Amnesty.
Amnesty said the ordinance could render "vulnerable sections of society and their political struggles susceptible to criminalization and state repression" in a clear reference to Kashmir and northeastern states.
Human Rights Watch also cautioned against ill-considered changes to laws in India that unnecessarily sacrifice due process and personal liberty in the name of fighting terrorism.
"There is a temptation to think that tightening controls on freedom of expression and association will enhance state capacity to resist terrorism, but we've repeatedly seen the opposite," said Sidney Jones, executive director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.
"The best way to guarantee security is to strengthen democratic structures," he said. "Respect for human rights must be part of any strategy to address terrorism."
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