Human rights -- Advani gives clean chit to police, forces

Human rights -- Advani gives clean chit to police, forces
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, DEC 12: Union Home Minister L.K. Advani on Friday gave a law-enforcement agencies a clean chit on the issue of human rights violations and called criticism against the armed forces as motivated. ``We should take the criticism in our stride. Our security forces are working against odds tackling terrorists, who blow up innocent people with bombs,'' Advani said, while addressing the Delhi Police on World Human Rights Day on Thursday.

Reminding the West of their own human rights track record during the World Wars, Advani said Jews were discriminated against not just in Germany but everywhere in the world, except in India.

``Only in India which has a small Jewish settlement, were they never treated badly. It is inherent in the our culture and philosophy to accommodate people of diverse thought and religious beliefs. Our culture and Constitution give people the right to disagree,'' he said.

Referring to the Kashmir situation, the Home Minister said that the Indian security forces were exercisingrestraint even in extreme situations. ``They are showing rare restraint with people who have no qualms about killing and have little respect for human rights,'' he stated.

He said the fact that Delhi Police had organised a programme on human rights was a clear indication of the fact that enforcing the law doesn't mean they take the issue of human rights lightly. The Home Minister called upon all law-enforcement agencies to respect human rights of criminals as well.

Reading out a paper on human rights, Home Secretary Kamal Pandey said the Government would soon bring out a national plan on human rights education on par with the UN charter on Human Rights to sensitise the younger generation on the issue.

Meanwhile, former Chief Justice of India and Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah today criticised the role of the investigative agencies in the country, saying courts find it difficult to develop a sense of reassurance that investigations and prosecutions werehonest.

Speaking on the occasion of Human Rights Day here, Justice Venkatachaliah expressed concern over the large number of heinous offences.

``(This) is eroding public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Inefficient investigations are quite often compounded by lack of integrity and not too well-qualified and trained prosecutors, and too much of liberal judicial attitudes towards crime and punishment have disturbed the public's confidence,'' he said.