New Delhi – Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg said on Thursday that ‘hate’ and ‘threat’ would not prevent her from speaking out in support of thousands of Indian farmers trapped in a deadlock with their government. Thunberg shot online again when police in India launched an investigation reporting her tweets, which had provoked a vicious reaction online.
“I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hatred, threat or human rights violation will ever change that. #FarmersProtest,” the young Swedish campaigner wrote on Twitter.
Indian police have begun investigating what the government is labeling as ‘propaganda’ by ‘vested interest groups’ trying to ‘mobilize international support against India’.
The investigation may involve a number of social media posts, including some shared by Thunberg, in support of farmers’ months-long protest.
Delhi Police quoted her tweets in a First Information Report (FIR), the first step in the investigation process under Indian law, alleging that there is a ‘criminal conspiracy’ and an attempt to ‘fend off’ enmity between different groups. based on religion, race, place of birth, place of residence, language … and actions that are harmful to the maintenance of harmony, ”said Indian news outlet NDTV.
Earlier on Thursday, Thunberg shared a “toolkit” in a Twitter post advising people on how to support the protesters.
Delhi police said on Thursday that their investigation into an “overseas conspiracy” was directed not against Thunberg, but the “toolkit” they tweeted, which they say came from a Sikh separatist group.
Thunberg first expressed solidarity with farmers after pop star Rihanna drew worldwide attention to their protest against three controversial new agricultural laws. The demonstrations have been halted since November, with occasional violent clashes in Delhi.
Altaf Qadri / AP
The Indian government took on the celebrities on Wednesday after their tweets garnered worldwide attention and the social media posts dismissed as “sensational” and “neither accurate nor responsible”.
“The lure of sensational hashtags and social media commentary, especially when used by celebrities and others, is neither correct nor responsible,” India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Several other public figures, including activists and US politicians, also tweeted in support of the farmers.
“It is no coincidence that the world’s oldest democracy was attacked less than a month ago, and right now the most populous democracy is under attack. This is related. We should ALL be furious about India’s internet stop and paramilitary violence against protesters farmers, ”wrote the niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris Meena Harris.
“Events in India are disturbing. As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, I keep a close eye on the situation. The right to peaceful protest must always be respected,” wrote US Representative Jim Costa, a Democrat from California who has written in both the committees of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture.
Hundreds of thousands of farmers in India have been in a challenging stalemate with the government over three agrarian reform laws passed in September last year.
The government insists that the reforms will provide farmers with more market access and more flexibility. But farmers say the measures will help large businesses and destroy the livelihoods of small farmers. They demand complete repeal of all three laws.
Eleven rounds of talks between the leaders of the farmers’ protests and the Modi government have not resolved the impasse.
The Indian agricultural sector contributes nearly 15% to India’s $ 2.9 trillion economy and employs nearly half of the country’s 1.3 billion residents.
The Indian government reiterated its justification for the reforms on Wednesday, claiming that only a “very small proportion of farmers in parts of India” “have any reservations about these reforms”.
The government insisted that the laws be passed after “full debate and discussion” in parliament.
Standoff around the capital
Indian police have stepped up efforts to prevent protesting farmers from re-entering the capital, pending a call for a second nationwide shutdown this weekend in support of the protest.
Farmers on Saturday threatened to block roads across the country in protest at what they call government intimidation, including the cutting of water, power and the Internet to the protest camps.
Manish Swarup / AP
Internet services were shut down earlier this week at three major access points along the highway to Delhi, where farmers have been camping for more than two months.
Several Indian news outlets reported that the police had placed iron spikes, barbed wire and concrete walls at various entry points into the capital.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Indian government to drop lawsuits against eight journalists who have been arrested following their coverage of the January 26 protests and clashes.
MONEY SHARMA / AFP / Getty
“The Indian authorities’ response to protests has been aimed at discrediting peaceful protesters, harassing government critics and prosecuting those reporting the events,” said HRW South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly.
Twitter warning
The Indian government warned Twitter on Wednesday that it could take some unspecified action against the social media platform for its move to “ unilaterally ” unblock over 250 accounts that it had suspended Monday at the request of the government for its use. of a controversial hashtag related to the farmers’ protests.
The government had labeled the tweets with the hashtag, accusing officials of planning a “genocide” on farmers, as part of a “motivated campaign to abuse, fuel and create society on baseless grounds”.
“Incitement to genocide is not freedom of expression; it is a threat to public order,” the government has urged the social media company to comply in its warnings to the social media company.