Global Religious Persecution: Jakarta Post

Dear Editor

It may sound little over reaction to say that what Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday (that the United States will create a new international body to campaign for religious freedom, following a major meeting in Washington as reported in media https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/pompeo-announces-new-global... and also at US State Department website https://www.state.gov/2019-ministerial-to-advance-religious-freedom/ ) is as good or as bad as rubbing salt on the injuries of the victims of denial of religious freedom.

But the USA at this meeting absurdly said that people all across the world should organize such meetings to highlight the need of protecting religious freedom because the religious freedom is already enshrined in human rights related laws of UN, the ICCPR etc. The USA further said irresponsibly that the people should speak whenever religious freedom is in danger though the USA knows that the people have been and do speak whenever their life, properties honor etc are in danger due to Governments of their country or the majority community of their country (through complicit Government of their Country) are bent-upon denying religious freedom to and persecuting the minority community.

Two examples are sufficient to prove this charge being leveled against the USA, the promoter of UN and the so-called leader of free world:-

(i)- In Pakistan the media (including ‘Pakistan Christian Post’) has been reporting and highlighting the persecution of and atrocities on minority communities (Christians, Hindus, Sikhs etc) without any improvement worth the name, similarly in former East Pakistan the Bangladesh (20 % of the population of each of Pakistan and Bangladesh, who were Hindus, have been forced to leave these countries due to religious persecution after India’s partition in 1947).

(ii)- (A)- In India the Hindutva forces (including ruling parties BJP & Shiv Sena) were allowed to destroy Babri Basjid with impunity (and without restoring Status-quo-ante of Babri Masjid though it was demolished in 1992 in presence of observer of SCI) this emboldened the Hindutva forces which not only facilitated coming to power at Centre and in many States of Hindutva forces but it also caused communal riots in India, post Babri Masjid Demolition, including in 2002 at Gujarat under the watch of then CM and present PM Narendra Modi (in which mostly thousands of innocent Muslims were killed , injured, harassed, their properties destroyed and looted and their women molested and raped).
[The USA should not forget that Indian judiciary has not given its final verdict on Ayodhya dispute during last 70 years because (everyone who knows anything about law knows that) Hindus will not get the entire disputed site as they want and by the end of this year (when decision in appeal pending in SCI is expected to be decided) the Hindutva forces will constrain its elements BJP & Shiv Sena to practice majoritarianism for getting Ram Temple constructed (against Court order) at entire disputed site which (if the USA does not do the following) will again pose huge threat to the lives, properties and honor of Muslims all across India].

(B)- In Kashmir [instead of taking-on Pak military (if Pakistan does not handover PoJK on table) for solving Kashmir problem through plebiscite as mandated by ‘Instrument of Accession’ as mentioned at http://wadikinews.com/public-interest-writ-petition-under-article-226-of... ] India is not retrieving PoJK (for carrying out plebiscite) and instead the security forces of Hindu majority India are training their guns at civilians (mostly Kashmiri Muslims) in utter violation of their human rights (due to religious prejudices) as has been mentioned also in recent report of OHCHR at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IN/KashmirUpdateReport_8July20...

Therefore the USA should stop this drama (as was enacted at said meeting of 16-18 July) of protecting and promoting religious freedom and should stop shedding crocodile tears for the victims of denial of religious freedom and should stop saying that people (victims & their supporters) do not speak enough about destruction of their religious freedom (and other human rights) and instead should do the following if the USA is really serious about protecting religious freedom all across the world:-

(1)- During said meeting the USA took the name of Iran and China as countries where religious freedom is in great danger. Generally in Muslim countries the religious freedom (of religious or sectarian minority) is the first causality. One can understand why the USA took the name of only one Muslim country Iran against which presently the USA is very ill disposed (due to arbitrarily & unilaterally cancelled nuclear deal which has brought the mankind on the verge of Shia-Sunni World War). But it is surprising that the China is still allowed by the USA (and its NATO permanent member allies) as a permanent veto wielding member of UN despite China violating so blatantly & brazenly the religious freedom of its citizens which are enshrined in human rights related UN laws. Therefore in place of veto to 5 nations, in new UN (or any such new global organization) the voting power should be given to all member countries commensurate with their contribution of men (especially martial), money and material (especially military) and the record about human rights (including about religious freedom) of member countries.

(2)- In new UN the Optional-protocol OP-1 of ICCPR at UN should be replaced with Mandatory Protocol MP-1 in a way that even the citizens of member countries can move UN to protect their human rights including about religious freedom (even with military intervention of UNPKF)

(3)- Many member countries of UN on their own cannot manage their political affairs satisfactorily and this leads to even global terrorism which they export (even about religious freedom as happened recently in Sri Lanka after New Zealand where hundreds of people were killed in hate crimes) hence the ‘International Political Parties’ (IPPs) registered at UN should be launched by new UN.

(4)- The new UN should make it mandatory for every member country to have ‘National Human Rights Commission’ (NHRC) and under it the‘State Human Rights Commission’ (SHRC) which will be link between respective member country and the new UN in the interest of protecting human rights (including about religious freedom) in the respective member country where these NHRC & SHRC shall initiate various administrative and legal proceedings in the respective member country (also under direction of UN-HRC) and even by requisitioning UNPKF in extreme situations for protecting human rights (including about religious freedom) in the respective member country.

Instead of talking in the air the USA should carry-out experiment of planting religious freedom first in Indian sub-continent (SAARC + Myanmar) where it is needed the most and where all the religions of the world are being practiced and where constitutionally the secular democracy is being practiced or can be practiced by most of the people. Then based on this experience the religious freedom can be established in rest of the world. It is hoped that the USA (on who’s soil the UN is situated) will realize (as the promoter of UN and as the leader of free world) its responsibilities for protecting religious freedom (and related threatened human rights) all across the world as mentioned above.

Regards

Hem Raj Jain
(Author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’)
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India