John Kerry calls Shivshankar Menon to express regret about Devyani's treatment; defends US laws

[takeiteasy]

“Mail circulating among South Block officials shows Bharara has come under the scanner for targeting people of Indian origin,” according to a British newspaper.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/world/is-p...hobragade-1295701.html?utm_source=ref_article

 

[adwityagrata]

Bhara has made a length comment on the issue. It was moved forward by Bharara's office alone. The state department has no powers to prosecute a case of this nature, only give permission or deny it. Bharara's office was still the driving force.

Bharara has political ambitions so he was required to make those comments. I am sure there were forces at work that would have directed him to do so.

The DA of NY do not have the power to influence the US embassy in India to employ Sangeeta Richards husband and then exert enough influence to grant them a Visa and then subsequent US asylum. Those kind of actions requires REAL MUSCLE, the kind only US State dept. has.

Those things can ONLY be done by someone in Washington and State department. Someone who would be at least 3 levels or more above Bharara.

The permission to prosecute this case was give by the US justice department sanctioned this action and US state dept. cleared the arrest. NY DA could never do this unless it was directed by someone at the top.

Bharara would just be one of the puppets on a string. It would be foolish to lay the blame for the whole thing at his footstep.

 

[takeiteasy]

American Indians online - most are seen justifying their laws and their nation. they have no ears for Indian media or our POV. just like NYPD.

 

[Bang Galore]

U.S. prosecutor Preet Bharara on Thursday defended the action against her and confirmed that her maid’s family has been “evacuated” from India.
Acknowledging that maid Sangeeta Richard’s family has been brought to the U.S., Mr. Bharara said a legal process was started in India to “silence her and attempts were made to compel her to return to India“.

Bharara just admitted to an attempt to subvert the Indian legal system in a matter concerning Indian citizens......and these chaps are taking the moral high ground??

 

[he-man]

american indians become americans the day they take green card.

nothing wrong in it except that they should stop behaving like pseudo indians and try to teach us stuff

 

[Bang Galore]

Bharara has political ambitions so he was required to make those comments. I am sure there were forces at work that would have directed him to do so.

The DA of NY do not have the power to influence the US embassy in India to employ Sangeeta Richards husband and then exert enough influence to grant them a Visa and then subsequent US asylum. Those kind of actions requires REAL MUSCLE, the kind only US State dept. has.

Those things can ONLY be done by someone in Washington and State department. Someone who would be at least 3 levels or more above Bharara.

The permission to prosecute this case was give by the US justice department sanctioned this action and US state dept. cleared the arrest. NY DA could never do this unless it was directed by someone at the top.

Bharara would just be one of the puppets on a string. It would be foolish to lay the blame for the whole thing at his footstep.

I disagree, Bharara is no one's puppet even if others have joined in to do their bit here. Prosecutors like Bharara have enormous leeway in what they can do though collusion of authorities at state is guaranteed. Dept. of Justice has plenty of powers in matters like that & can influence the U.S. embassy by themselves.

Not saying that it was what exactly happened here but that is probably the likely scenario. Bharara has been the one attempted to target foreign diplomats. Couldn't get at the Russians, must have thought that he could show how strong he was with Indians and also earn kuddos for not sparing even the birth country of his parents. This will be a good lesson for him.

 

[adwityagrata]

I disagree, Bharara is no one's puppet even if others have joined in to do their bit here. Prosecutors like Bharara have enormous leeway in what they can do though collusion of authorities at state is guaranteed. Dept. of Justice has plenty of powers in matters like that & can influence the U.S. embassy by themselves.

Not saying that it was what exactly happened here but that is probably the likely scenario. Bharara has been the one attempted to target foreign diplomats. Couldn't get at the Russians, must have thought that he could show how strong he was with Indians and also earn kuddos for not sparing even the birth country of his parents. This will be a good lesson for him.

Everybody is a puppet. When enough leverage is available and exerted, everybody dances.

US is trying to shift the blame and put it on Bharara's door step to absolve themselves of any wrongdoing and so that they can continue to take the high moral ground.

Why did the US not grant A3 visa's to Indian staff ?

Why did the US embassy in India grant visa to the maid when the stated salary of her employer was only 4,000 $ per month ?

Bharara had NOTHING to do with either of the above mentioned questions.


Bharara might have his own agenda, but those are not the prime forces at work here. It only played a complementary role.

 

[he-man]

Everybody is a puppet. When enough leverage is available and exerted, everybody dances.

US is trying to shift the blame and put it on Bharara's door step to absolve themselves of any wrongdoing and so that they can continue to take the high moral ground.

Why did the US not grant A3 visa's to Indian staff ?

Why did the US embassy in India grant visa to the maid when the stated salary of her employer was only 4,000 $ per month ?

Bharara had NOTHING to do with either of the above mentioned questions.


Bharara might have his own agenda, but those are not the prime forces at work here. It only played a complementary role.

yes u are right

this was planned from above

 

[WAR-rior]

Dude let's be rational, this is $hitty but there is no indication they did it because of race.

Dude, Lets not get rejective just coz Race word is used. You know American Marshals use the procedure of frisking, cavity check, etc etc on 3rd level criminals. Now, post 9/11, all Brown Asian people are considered as Arabs. This is big tym ignorance among Americans. You remember Miss. USA was an American Indian and twitter had all that, 'So Arab is Miss. USA. Since when Terrorist start becoming one'.

Point is, An Indian can be only termed in general as an Arab if and only if people are detected on basis of their color. Our color is very infamous in USA and hence, they did to our Dy Counsellor same what they do to Pakistanis and Arabs.

 

[Developereo]

Bharara just admitted to an attempt to subvert the Indian legal system in a matter concerning Indian citizens......and these chaps are taking the moral high ground??

Indian legal system is irrelevant on US soil.

Let me give you an (admittedly extreme) example.

-- Let's say you and I come from a country where slavery is legal.
-- We sign a contract saying I will be your slave and we go to America.
-- Once on US soil, I run away.
-- You harass my family in the old country to force me to return and "honor" my contract.
-- You ask the US authorities to arrest me and deport me to the old country.
-- The US will not do that and may even help my family escape being held hostage.

 

[adwityagrata]

Indian legal system is irrelevant on US soil.

Let me give you an (admittedly extreme) example.

-- Let's say you and I come from a country where slavery is legal.
-- We sign a contract saying I will be your slave and we go to America.
-- Once on US soil, I run away.
-- You harass my family in the old country to force me to return and "honor" my contract.
-- You ask the US authorities to arrest me and deport me to the old country.
-- The US will not do that and may even help my family escape being held hostage.

WRONG.

If you and your slave is in a country where slavery is legal, then US would/Should have rejected the visa application of your slave, because of his status as a Slave. That slave would never EVER get to visit the US.

Assuming you would still get a visa as a slave owner.

 

[Developereo]

WRONG.

If you and your slave is in a country where slavery is legal, then US would/Should have rejected the visa application of your slave, because of his status as a Slave. That slave would never EVER get to visit the US.

Assuming you would still get a visa as a slave owner.

Unless you lied on the visa application about the slave status.

Bingo!
Now the analogy gets even closer to this case.

 

[Devil Soul]

Devyani Khobragade: Bureaucratic and diplomatic negligence
By PJ CrowleyFormer US Assistant Secretary of State

Every crisis theoretically provides an opportunity. But the current diplomatic rift between the United States and India seems to be a lost opportunity to avoid a crisis.

Rather than deepening relations, the two countries are deep into a lengthy period of crisis management.

The brouhaha was triggered by the arrest of the Indian deputy consul general in New York, Devyani Khobragade.

Ms Khobragade was accused of lying on an application for her housekeeper's work visa, over-reporting the amount of money the housekeeper was paid.

This is the third case of alleged mistreatment by Indian diplomats in New York in three years.

The US contends that Ms Khobragade's limited diplomatic immunity does not cover private conduct that violates US law.

'Despicable and barbaric'

Political hell has broken loose in India over the manner in which Ms Khobragade was detained. She was handcuffed after dropping off her child at school, subjected to a strip and body cavity search, then placed in a cell with the general jail population.

Barricades were removed from the front of the US embassy in Delhi, apparently in retaliation
A high-level Indian official characterised the treatment as "despicable and barbaric". Secretary of State John Kerry called Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon to express regret.

New Delhi has retaliated by taking away privileges accorded US diplomats in India and removing security barriers guarding the American embassy there.

It has also elevated Ms Khobragade to a position at its United Nations mission that carries full diplomatic immunity. Whatever this means for the court case, it clearly indicates the dispute is no longer just a diplomatic problem but a political one as well.

The strip-search was an unforced error.

The US Marshals Service says it followed "standard arrestee intake procedures," a cringe-worthy bureaucratic phrase that means it went by the book.

Ms Khobragade was treated like every other female defendant awaiting a court appearance.

Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The US could have declared Ms Khobragade persona non grata, demanded her immediate departure and refused further work visas for domestic help for Indian diplomats”

But the arrest of a diplomat is never just another case. If the state department did not know she would be strip-searched, it should have - and should have demanded special handling.

In diplomatic circles, any perceived slight is reciprocated. You step on our toes, expect the same. The political and public fallout was predictable, particularly in a country like India with a vigorous and sometimes inventive media.

En route to the courtroom in lower Manhattan, both countries lost sight of the big picture and the broader interests that should shape the relationship between the world's oldest and largest democracies.

Other options
India is a rising power the United States has been cultivating for years.

Frustration over the consulate's dismal human rights record is understandable, but a prosecution is necessarily a lengthy process that is bound to cast a shadow over the relationship even under the best of circumstances. The Italian case of American Amanda Knox comes to mind.

The state department alerted India about the case in September, but it's unclear what diplomatic efforts were undertaken to resolve the underlying issues short of prosecution.

The US could have declared Ms Khobragade persona non grata, demanded her immediate departure and refused further work visas for domestic help for Indian diplomats.

But once the United States chose to prosecute, it had not just to do everything by the book but do everything right, to keep the case focused on her. That obviously did not happen.

Devyani Khobragade at a fundraiser on 8 December
On the Indian side, it is unclear why the Indian ambassador to the United States or the country's foreign ministry failed to clean house when first alerted by US authorities.

Indian diplomats surely understand that disrespecting US law and international norms undermine its emergence as a constructive global actor.

India's removal of security barriers is excessive and irresponsible.

Even if the remaining security arrangements are adequate - India has primary responsibility for embassy security under the Vienna Convention - New Delhi should understand how sensitive such a move is given last year's attack on a US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

Once charges were pending, both sides should have worked together to ensure the case did not undermine vastly improved, but still occasionally testy, relations between the two countries. That didn't happen either.

That India and the United States have allowed a minor legal case to become a major test in US-India relations is bureaucratic and public diplomacy negligence.

After all, tending to the big picture is supposedly what governments and foreign ministries do for a living.

There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about US-India relations. Mutual interests far outweigh differences. But if this week is any indication, the road ahead will be bumpy.

PJ Crowley is a former Assistant Secretary of State and now a professor of practice and fellow at The George Washington University's Institute of Public Diplomacy and Global Communication.

 

[Star Wars]

Unless you lied on the visa application about the slave status.

Bingo!
Now the analogy gets even closer to this case.

thing is..she did not lie in the application ..... she was arrested on false charges ...

 

[Android]

Oh you mean 'sangh parivar' has other religious denominations too ?



Seriously ? ...........Maut ka saudagar

no dude you are wrong over here she actually called him "Moth ka saudagar" not "maut". My Gujarati friend told me its a popular joke over there that people still don't understand what she actually meant by that