Stressing that India had to take cognisance of Uyghur Leader Dolkun Isa’s red corner notice which was not highlighted during the visa application process, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has claimed that he had suppressed facts while obtaining a visa. China has made it clear to India that it should honour the Interpol Red Corner notice against him. However, the US and other European countries have already refused to comply with China’s red-corner notice against Mr Isa.
“Isa applied for a tourist visa under the electronic travel authorisation system. He was accordingly granted the visa. After obtaining the visa, Mr Isa stated publicly that he was coming to attend a conference in India—a fact that was suppressed in the visa form and something that a tourist visa does not permit. Further more, it came to the notice of authorities that Isa was the subject of an Interpol Red Corner notice”, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
The latest development has raised questions about whether India has buckled under pressure from China. However, the spokesperson rejected the charge that the visa revocation was done under Chinese pressure, saying the facts were “suppressed” by Isa which led to the revocation of his visa, and no other “meaning” should be read into the Indian action. Responding to a question about whether China had raised its objection on granting the visa to Isa by India, Mr Swarup said that they had made their position clear that Isa had an Interpol Red Corner Notice, and all countries that are members of the Interpol should honour that.
China had objected to India’s decision to grant a visa to Mr Isa. India’s reaction to initially grant a visa was seen as a tit-for-tat decision after China had blocked a move in the UN against Masood Azhar, the mastermind behind the Pathankot terror attack.
India had earlier granted a visa to Mr Isa to attend a conference in Dharamsala. A leader of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), Mr Isa was invited to attend the conference being organised by the US-based organisation Citizen Power for China. Many Uyghurs and other Chinese dissidents in exile are expected to attend and discuss democratic transformation in China during the conference.
Mr Isa and some of the other WUC members are considered terrorists by China, and are accused of provoking separatism in the Xinjiang province.
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