Indian-Americans divided over invitation to Modi

rkm — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:40:50 -0400

NEW
YORK: The Indian-American groups across the United States are sharply divided
over invitation sent to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to attend the
second World Gujarati Conference to be held in New Jersey.

While some organisations are
working behind the scene mounting pressure on the US government to grant him
visa to attend the meet, the Coalition Against Genocide, an umbrella
organisation of some 25 bodies, has written a letter to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice asking her to deny visa to the chief minister.

The invitation was sent by the
Association of Indian Americans in North America (AIANA), organisers of the
meet, but its President Sunil Nayak had said issuance of visa is a matter
between American authorities and Modi. However, he had expressed the hope that
Modi would be able to attend the three-day conference beginning from Aug 29 in
which some 50,000 Gujaratis from the world over are expected to participate.

Modi was denied visa to the
Gujarati Conference in 2005 in view of anti-Muslim riots in the state for which
some organisations had blamed him but he did talk to the delegates and press
through a video link.

In its
letter to Rice, the Coalition Against Genocide requested her not to allow Modi
to enter the United States "under any conditions" as, it said, circumstances
under which he was denied visa earlier remain "largely unchanged" and "minority
communities in the state continue face systematic human rights violations."

"Modi has not only expressed
no remorse for the 2002 violence; but he has continued to justify them, as he
has a spate of extra judicial killings by his police. And, the state continues
to persecute civil society groups who have been trying to speak up for the
victims under very difficult circumstances," said the letter.

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Indian-Americans_...

Impact of Modiism

Indian-Americans divided over invitation to Modi