The Opposition on Tuesday called out the “hypocrisy” of the Narendra Modi government in signing overseas a G7 statement on resilient democracies open to pluralistic debate while silencing critics, including journalists, back home with imprisonment.
The contrast was stark on Monday as the G7 “2022 Resilient Democracies Statement” was adopted in Elmau, Germany, shortly after news broke in India about the arrest of fact-checking website AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair for allegedly hurting religious sentiments even as two former BJP spokespersons accused of denigrating the Prophet and igniting domestic and international strife continue to remain free.
The G7 statement hails all “courageous defenders of democratic systems that stand against oppression and violence” and commits all signatory countries including India to defending open and pluralistic debate, protecting pluralistic civic spaces, and enabling fair representation and political participation. Although not a member of the G7, India was among the six other invitees.
“Democracies enable open public debate, independent and pluralistic media and the free flow of information online and offline, fostering legitimacy, transparency, responsibility and accountability for citizens and elected representatives alike. We are prepared to defend these principles and are resolved to protecting the freedom of expression and opinion online and offline and ensuring a free and independent media landscape…; ensuring an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable and secure internet;… countering hybrid threats, in particular information manipulation and interference, including disinformation;…,” the statement says.
President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan receives Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the presidential airport in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. AP/PTI picture
It also pledges to guard “the freedom, independence and diversity of civil society actors, speaking out against threats to civic space, and respecting freedom of association and peaceful assembly”. The statement talks about “protecting civic space, upholding transparent, accountable, inclusive and participatory governance…”
The “leaders of Germany, Argentina, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union” also commit themselves to “protecting freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief and promoting inter-faith dialogue; promoting social cohesion, solidarity and the inclusion of all members of society, online and offline, while denouncing all forms of discrimination and violence”.
Referring to news reports on Zubair’s arrest and the G7 statement, Congress chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “Hypocrisy is the middle name of Vishguru!”
Trinamul’s Mahua Moitra posted on Twitter: “FIR (against Zubair) is a joke drafted by a half wit. Will not stand in court. Waiting now for Delhi police to keep adding random charges to keep @zoo_bear in custody. Meanwhile PM ji waxes eloquently in Germany about protecting online offline freedom!”
Given that Prime Minister Modi had at a diaspora event in Munich on Sunday billed the Emergency as a blot on India’s democracy, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha said: “Making hate speech is no crime but reporting/exposing such speeches are criminal activities and that’s why @zoo_bear has been arrested. And Irony dies hundred deaths… The great LEADER invokes #Emergency in the land of #ThirdReich & allows dissent in any form to be killed at home.”
The Modi government remained unfazed by the criticism at home over the arrest, anticipating fairly accurately that the western countries — which are the most likely to flag such issues — are way too preoccupied with the fallout of the Ukraine war to take it up at a collective level at the G7.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden and Canada PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit in Germany. PTI picture
At most, some pinpricks could come its way in the form of critical remarks but the external affairs ministry has now found offence to be the best form of defence.
This, however, did not stop international human rights and media watchdogs from raising an alarm over Zubair’s arrest, which comes close on the heels of the arrest of activist Teesta Setalvad.
“The arrest of Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of AltNews — an independent fact-checking website — for a 2018 satirical tweet shows the danger facing human rights defenders has reached a crisis point in India. It is clear that the Indian authorities are targeting Zubair for his crucial work combating the rise in fake news and disinformation and calling out discrimination against minorities,” Amnesty International noted.
The Asia head of the New York-based non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Zubair and called on the Indian government to stop harassing him for his work.
“The arrest of journalist Mohammed Zubair marks another low for press freedom in India, where the government has created a hostile and unsafe environment for members of the press reporting on sectarian issues,” Steven Butler, the CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator, said in Washington.
