Indian Americans Rally In Support Of India At San Francisco Consulate After Khalistani Attack
Several Indian Americans held a peaceful rally in front of the Indian Consulate to express solidarity.
After a recent arson attempt at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco by Khalistan supporters, several Indian Americans held a peaceful rally in front of the diplomatic facility to express solidarity, as reported by the news agency PTI. A video was posted by Khalistan supporters on Twitter, dated July 2 showed the act of arson at the Indian consulate. The protesters termed it an act of terrorism and demanded that those responsible for violence be brought to justice.
Earlier on Thursday, India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu visited the Consulate and met Indian diplomats and officials at the mission. India has asked its partner countries such as Canada, the UK and the US not to give space to “extremist Khalistani ideology” as it is “not good” for bilateral relations, PTI reported.
VIDEO | Indian Americans hold peace rally in support of India after Khalistan supporters' attempted arson at San Francisco consulate.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 15, 2023
(Source: Third Party)https://t.co/zP5Q7UB3Y6 pic.twitter.com/yffieSUvcR
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the “radical, extremist Khalistani ideology” is not good for India or its partner countries such as the US, Canada, the UK and Australiain New Delhi. On March 19, a group of pro-Khalistan protesters attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.
The protesters were seen raising pro-Khalistan slogans and they also broke open the makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags inside the Consulate premises. The flags were later removed by two consulate personnel.
Last week, US lawmakers and influential Indian-Americans condemned the arson attempt and called for expeditious action against those behind the “criminal act”. They also berated the "violent rhetoric" against India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and said that free speech does not mean license to incite violence or vandalise property. The condemnation came after a video was posted by Khalistan supporters dated July 2 and posted on Twitter showed the act of arson at the Indian consulate in San Francisco, as per a PTI report.
The video was emblazoned with the words "violence begets violence" and showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Congressmen Ro Khanna and Michael Waltz, co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said in a joint statement on Thursday that violence against diplomatic facilities will not be tolerated. "As the co-chairs of the India Caucus, we strongly condemn the attempted arson and vandalism at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and the posters circulating on social media with violent rhetoric aimed at Indian diplomats, including Ambassador Sandhu," they said.
"We support the right to free speech and freedom of expression for every American but that is not a license to vandalise property or incite violence. Violence against diplomatic facilities is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated. We urge the State Department to coordinate with law enforcement in their investigation of the damage at the Indian Consulate expeditiously and hold those involved accountable," they added.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick termed the attack as unacceptable. "I firmly condemn the repeated hateful attacks on the Indian Consulate and look forward to those involved being held accountable with appropriate legal action," he said.
A spokesperson of the National Security Council of the White House said the US takes the safety and security of diplomats very seriously.
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