S. Jaishankar said that India does not demand lessons from others on the concept of freedom of expression.
Washington:
Stating that India does not require lessons from others on the concept of freedom of expression, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in an apparent reference to Canada, said that freedom of expression should not extend to incitement to violence.
At a press conference in Washington DC on Friday, Jaishankar said: “…I have pointed this out here (in the US) and I have also conveyed this to Canadians. We are a democracy. We don’t have to learn from other people what freedom is.” It’s about freedom of speech, but we can tell people this… we don’t believe that freedom of speech extends to incitement to violence. For us, this is an abuse of freedom, this is not a defense of freedom.”
He also questioned how other countries would react if they were in India’s position and their diplomats, embassies and citizens were subjected to intimidation.
“How would you react if you were in my shoes?” “If it were your diplomats, your embassy, your people, how would you react?” he added.
When asked about India’s concerns over the attack on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco in July this year, the EAM said the issue was raised during his visit to the US and described it as an ongoing discussion.
“Yes, of course we brought it up. What’s the status… it’s an ongoing conversation… Yes, I spent some time on it… Yes, we discussed other things… Our relationship has many dimensions, many areas of cooperation. When we look at the world, there are areas where we have convergences and intersections of interest where we work very closely together, we do all of that,” Mr Jaishankar said.
He added: “Look, I want to be fair. If something is discussed, I will be transparent about it. I have no problem saying we discussed it. I don’t want you to think that India-US relations is just one topic. I would say yes, it’s an ongoing conversation.”
In July this year, a group of pro-Khalistan supporters allegedly tried to set fire to the consulate in San Francisco. There was no major damage or injuries and police were investigating the incident.
Following the incident, the US strongly condemned the reported vandalism and attempted arson by pro-Khalistan supporters against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.
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