'Absolutely unacceptable', US condemns attack on Indian Consulate in San Francisco
4 min read 21 Mar 2023, 09:52 AM ISTWhite House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the vandalism at Indian Consulate absolutely unacceptable.The country has also pledged to defend the safety, and security of these facilities as well as the diplomats who work within them.
PremiumAs the Punjab government cracks down on Amritpal Singh, have started creating chaos across the world. The United States has condemned the attack on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and any attack against diplomatic facilities within the US.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the vandalism at Indian Consulate "absolutely unacceptable." The country has also pledged to defend the safety, and security of these facilities as well as the diplomats who work within them.
"We certainly condemn that vandalism, it's absolutely unacceptable. State Department's diplomatic security service is working with local authorities to properly investigate. State department will work on infrastructure perspective to repair the damage," Kirby said.
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Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson told ANI: "The United States condemns the attack against the Indian Consulate and any attack against diplomatic facilities within the United States. We pledge to defend the safety and security of these facilities as well as the diplomats who work within them."
The Indian Americans in the country expressed outrage at the incidents of vandalism and urged the city police and law-enforcement officials to take immediate and necessary actions against those responsible.
"We call on the San Francisco Police Department to take immediate action against those responsible for the recent vandalism at the consulate and provide safety and security to all working there and visiting the embassy for their needs," community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said a day after the Sikh separatists vandalised the Indian consulate in San Francisco.
"We want to take action against whoever did that violent act in San Francisco, because this country allows us to do peaceful protests and we want to keep it that way. Whenever there are some issues, we have the right to demonstrate peacefully. But we would like the authorities to take strict action against people who committed violence in San Francisco at the Indian Consulate," Jassee Singh from the Sikhs of America said. Indiaspora in a statement condemned the violence and vandalism at the Indian Consulate. "We hope our friends at the consulate and our community in the Bay Area are safe and that swift action is taken by law enforcement."
Strongly condemning the attack, Bhutoria said it is important to remember that everyone has the right to protest peacefully, but violence, threats, and abuses have no place in society and are unacceptable.
"We must ensure that the staff of the San Francisco India consulate are provided with a safe and secure environment to provide services to their constituents. It is unacceptable that members of our community should feel unsafe when trying to visit the consulate," he said.
After vandalism in London, Khalistan supporters allegedly attacked Indian Consulate in San Francisco (SFO). Videos of supporters breaking the doors and barging into the office surfaced on social media.
Khalistan supporters have started creating chaos across the world. After vandalism in London, Khalistan supporters allegedly attacked Indian Consulate in San Francisco (SFO). Videos of supporters breaking the doors and barging into the office surfaced on social media.
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The visuals of the San Francisco consulate vandalism have been doing the rounds on social media, however, it is yet to be confirmed by Indian officials. As per visuals, it can be confirmed that this happened outside the consulate, but the date cannot be confirmed.
Visuals shared online show a huge mob brandishing Khalistan flags mounted on wooden poles, using them to smash glass doors and windows of the consulate building. They raised pro-Khalistan slogans as they broke through makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two Khalistani flags inside the premises.
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Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), an Indian advocacy and awareness group on Sunday (local time) said that it "strongly suspect Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is behind," attacks on Indian missions in UK and US.
"We strongly suspect Pakistan's ISI is behind instigating and funding Sikh radicalization with false propaganda. We ask Indian Americans including the Sikh majority to rise against the extremism," read the FIIDS statement.
"We are also appalled by the complete law and order failure in both in London as well as in SFO where a few radicalized separatists attacked India's diplomatic missions," added the statement.
"It is extremely concerning to see that the United Kingdom and the United States of America are failing to fulfil the commitments as per the Vienna convention to protect diplomatic missions. We would urge law and order institutions like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI as well as the CIA to ensure that terrorism finds no place and support in the United States of America," added the statement.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the release of the 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, said: "The Report makes clear that in countries across every region, we continued to see a backsliding in human rights conditions, the closing of civic space, disrespect for fundamental human dignity."
(With inputs from agencies)
