The Indian government on Tuesday denied Amnesty International’s statement to halt all its activities in India due to the freezing of its accounts, claiming that the company is being subjected to a “relentless witch hunt” for unsubstantiated and motivated accusations.
The Union Interior Ministry said that all the “brilliant statements” about humanitarian work and speaking the truth to power are nothing more than a “ploy to divert attention” from its activities, which clearly contravene established Indian laws.
“The position taken and the statements of Amnesty International are regrettable, exaggerated and far from the truth,” the ministry said in a statement.
Amnesty International had received permission under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA) only once and that too, 20 years ago (19 December 2000).
Since then, Amnesty International, despite its repeated requests, has been denied FCRA approval by successive governments as, under the law, it is not eligible for such approval, the government clarified.
Due to these illegal Amnesty practices, the previous government had also rejected Amnesty’s repeated requests for funding from abroad, MHA said in a statement.
“This had led Amnesty to suspend its operations in India once during that period as well. This bipartisan and purely legal approach to Amnesty, under different governments, makes it clear that all the blame lies in the dubious processes adopted by Amnesty to secure funds. for its operations, “the ministry added.
Earlier today, Amnesty India, in a statement, said that the organization has been forced to lay off staff in India and halt all its ongoing campaign and investigative work.
“The complete freezing of Amnesty International India’s bank accounts by the Indian government, which came to light on September 10, 2020, stops all work being done by the organization,” he said.
The organization claimed that the attacks against Amnesty International India and other outspoken human rights organizations, activists and human rights defenders are only one extension of the various “repressive policies and sustained attacks by the government against those who speak truth to power.”
“This is the latest in the relentless witch hunt of human rights organizations by the government of India over unsubstantiated and motivated accusations,” Amnesty International India said.
Amnesty International India said that it fully complies with all applicable Indian and international laws.
“For human rights work in India, it operates through a different model of fundraising at the national level. More than four million Indians have supported Amnesty International India’s work in the last eight years and around 100,000 Indians have made financial contributions, “the organization said.
Obviously, these contributions cannot have any relation to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 2010 and the fact that “the government is now portraying this legal fundraising model as money laundering is evidence that the legal framework Overly broad is maliciously activated when human rights activists and groups question the government’s gross inactions and excesses, ”he alleged.
“Treating human rights organizations as criminal enterprises and dissident individuals as criminals without any credible evidence is a deliberate attempt by the Directorate of Enforcement and the Government of India to stoke a climate of fear and dismantle critical voices in India “Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty International India, said.
However, the government in its statement said that Amnesty is free to continue humanitarian work in India. “However, India does not allow interference in the internal political debates of entities funded by foreign donations. This law applies equally to everyone and will also apply to Amnesty International,” added MHA.
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