Washington: The US is committed to taking all appropriate steps to protect the diplomatic missions and diplomats in this country, a senior US official has said, days after two Indian missions in America were attacked by Khalistan supporters.
At a news conference Tuesday, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel condemned the incidents of violence at Indian diplomatic facilities in the United States, saying violence is never an acceptable form of protest.
“Consistent with our Vienna Convention obligations, the department is committed to taking all appropriate steps, including coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, to protect the safety and security of these facilities and the diplomatic individuals who work within them as well,” he said.
Patel was responding to a question on violent protests outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC and vandalism of the Indian consulate in San Francisco.
Last week, a group of Khalistan supporters held a protest in front of the Indian Embassy here and tried to incite violence and even threatened the country’s envoy, but timely intervention by law enforcement agencies prevented them from vandalising the property.
A few days earlier, pro-Khalistan protesters attacked the Indian consulate in San Francisco. India registered its “strong protest” with the US Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi over the incident and asked the American government to take appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
“We condemn the recent violent incidents that have taken place during protests at Indian diplomatic facilities in the United States. We support the First Amendment rights of protesters and engagement in free speech activities. However, violence or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of protest,” Patel said.
“Attacks against journalists are never acceptable and we condemn any incidents of violence against a member of the media just doing their job and any act of violence or vandalism against a diplomatic facility as well,” he said.
India has said it expects to see action against the perpetrators of vandalism at its missions abroad and hoped the host governments would prosecute those involved in these incidents instead of holding out assurances.
“I think we are not just interested in assurances, I think we would like to see action,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi Friday.
Indian missions in the UK, Australia and Canada were vandalised recently by pro-Khalistan activists following the police action against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
PTI