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U.K. Report: The Massacre In Gujarat “Pre-planned”
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| Indian policemen check the body of an unidentified Muslim man killed in Gujurat |
Report By Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL correspondent in Asia
NEW DELHI, April 27 (IslamOnline) - After maintaining an initial silence over the horrific anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat, the international community has started condemning the on-going ethnic cleansing, now entering its third month.
Britain was among the countries which sent a team to the troubled state to get a first-hand account of the macabre ethnic cleansing there. Britain had a special interest: four British nationals, all Muslims of Indian origin, were attacked by the marauding mobs while traveling in Gujarat.
Three of them were snatched from their car and lynched although the body of only one of them has been positively identified. The fourth was grievously injured and has since been treated and flown back to London. He will serve as a first-hand witness in cases soon to be filed in British, Belgian, American and Indian courts as well as the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The BJP leadership is shuddering by the very thought that soon an international red corner notice will be issued against their hero, the chief architect of the pogroms who still presides over the carnage. Proof of his direct responsibility is said to be stronger than that of Milosevic.
British High Commission's secret report was leaked a few days back by the Hindustan Times newspaper here giving red faces in the Indian Home Ministry which is presided over by Chief Minister Narendra Modi's godfather, LK Advani. He is keeping a studied silence although he represents in Parliament the burning state and had been quick to give clean chit to his protégé.
The British report sent to the Foreign Office in London said that the continuing violence in Gujarat is 'aimed at removing Muslim influence from parts of the state.'
The report placed the death toll at around 2000, against the government figures of around 800. The British team reportedly came to this figure from information shared by civil rights groups, victims’ families and state police officials.
The British report makes a very significant remark that the post-Godhra violence and massacre in Gujarat was pre-planned. It says that if the Sabarmati [train] tragedy hadn’t happened, another flashpoint would have been created to justify the pre-meditated violence as 'reaction.'
The report identifies the VHP and Bajrang Dal as the main instruments for realizing the ghettoization of the Muslims all over Gujarat. The team also observed that in some areas the police had been specifically instructed not to act while in some others the police force was communally polarized and looked the other way.
The BBC confirmed this report on Thursday, April 25. It quoted from the report that 'the violence had all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing' and that reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims is impossible while the chief minister remains in power.' The BBC quoted the document as saying that 'the violence, far from being spontaneous, was planned, possibly months in advance, carried out by an extremist Hindu organization with the support of the state government.… The aim was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas…'
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