Indian diplomat in trouble |
Fresno, Calif., city councilman Clint Olivier has withdrawn a resolution he authored that declared the 1984 riots following the death of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — who was killed by her Sikh bodyguards — a “genocide” against Sikhs.Olivier temporarily withdrew his resolution after meeting with Indian Consul General in San Francisco Venkatesan Ashok .The Fresno Bee interviewed Ashok after he met with Olivier and published the interview June 22, in which the consul general said “extremists” are pushing for the resolution. Olivier told The Fresno Bee that he introduced the proposal after speaking with members of the Sikh American community, but has since changed his mind. But, Ashok’s June 22 interview with The Fresno Bee, in which he termed the organization Sikhs For Justice “extremists,” has generated considerable backlash, with the group filing a complaint with the U.S. State Department. SFJ filed its complaint June 24 saying Ashok abused his diplomatic status by violating Article 41.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, which says every diplomat has “a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the State.”
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