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India March 10, 2006
H.E. Abdul Kalam
President
Republic of India
Fax: (011.91.11) 301-7290
H.E. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister
Republic of India
Fax: (011.91.11) 301-6857
Your Excellencies:
We write to protest your government’s arrest of Alok Tomar, editor of the Hindi-language magazine, Shabdarth, after a cartoon of the prophet appeared in the magazine. New Delhi police also are reported to have confiscated several hundred copies of the magazine and ordered police in other states to seize all copies of the magazine, too.
This case is especially dismaying since the cartoon, one of those originally published in Denmark, was re-printed to illustrate an article that criticized the publication of the drawings and argued that all media should refrain from criticizing religious practices. To the best of our knowledge, no charges have been filed against Tomar, but at last report, he was still being held in jail.
Your Excellencies, this controversy has been provocative in its origins, mischievous in its exploitation and tragic in its consequences. We hope it may subside without further damage. But it would be harmful indeed if the episode served to justify suppression of the basic human right of freedom of expression. We hope you will call for moderation and non-violence in protesting the cartoons, but we also urge you to underscore the value of a free exchange of views.
Thank you for your attention. We would appreciate a reply.
Respectfully yours,
Larry Martz
Kevin McDermott
Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee
cc:
H.E. Abdul Kalam
President
Office of the President
Rashtrapti Bhavan
New Delhi 11004
Republic of India
Fax: (011.91.11) 301-7290
H.E. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
152 South Block
New Delhi 110011
Republic of India
Fax: (011.91.11) 301-6857
Ronen Sen
Ambassador of India to the U.S.
Embassy of the Republic of India
2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington , DC 20008
Fax: (202) 483-3972
Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Republic of India
to the United Nations
235 East 45 th Street
New York , NY 10017
Fax: (212) 490-9656
David C. Mulford
U.S. Ambassador to India
Embassy of the United States of America
Shanti Path, Chanakaya Puri
New Delhi 110021
India
Fax: (011.91.11) 241-9017