India-US Strategic News and Discussion

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 21 Dec 2013 20:04

Is the case against DK a civil or a criminal?

If Criminal what degree? (misdemeanour or felony)

If Criminal then only DK will decide what

1. Will she plead (Guilty or non-Guilty)?
2. Whether Jury or Judge.

Otherwise if it is a misdemeanour then it will be judge only.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Dec 2013 20:10

Sagar G wrote:Indian retaliation

Well enjoy the moment India, this is what you get when you choose fake leaders.

It was a complete congi thing, papa khobragade was name dropping furiously on all his TV appearances.

Egg on everyone's congi face. The BJP should keep quiet.

Madhusudhan · Post by **Madhusudhan** » 21 Dec 2013 20:17

This has been an eye opener to me. Maybe I am just slow but I truly regret voting for democrats in the past. I shall vote for Republicans in the future. The condescension the liberals have shown to India and Indian culture has been disgusting. At least the right-wing nutcases are useful idiots. We should just learn to mould them to serve useful purposes like the Israelis have learnt.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 21 Dec 2013 20:44

Putting Islamists like Uzra in charge who goes on around the world defending Islam in non-islamic countries is a dead give away that Obama is a closet Muslim.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 21 Dec 2013 20:50

Chanakyaji,
400% correct.I have a post for you in OT thread.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 21 Dec 2013 20:54

SBajwa wrote:BRakshaks!

It is Obama/Kerry vs. the IFS where Congress (Salman, Anand, etc) are blaming themselves. IFS is not backing down and it is now opened how Obama and Kerry are helping the Islamists against Dharmics.

Well you are giving way too much credit to babus as if they are lilly white. But it is verboten to discuss why it is in this state because Indian establishment is capable of introspection.
Babus and politicos are brothers in arms, no need to split hairs as to who dropped the ball. It just gives a nice feeling to see/talk that as if politicos dropped the ball, but that has nothing to do with reality.
In reality, the only redemption factor is to rebuild painstakingly the babucracy and all other important institutions. Any retrofit fix will only yield apparent improvements, because the structure is conceptually built on a colonial framework, meant to serve the needs of a not who it is supposed to serve. That is something no one wants to see/talk/hear. The common refrain is "it is what it is". Well, the results of the performance is easy to see why if one chose few random individuals to man babucracy the results would have been any more different.
The lack of complete support from the 'aam admi' for even babucracy is only a symptom.

The score before this saga was:
US: +10 India: -10
Please note the GOI (inclusive of both politicos and babus) were painting a very incorrect picture of pulling the great Indian rope trick by concealing the -ve sign and spinning the scores were equal equal only.

During this crisis:
US:+10 India: -5
During this crisis that -ve sign had to be exposed and now for a ephemeral period looks like -5 from the original -10.

After this crisis:
US:+10 India: -15
After this crisis it will settle down to -15.

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 21 Dec 2013 21:12

This has been an eye opener to me. Maybe I am just slow but I truly regret voting for democrats in the past. I shall vote for Republicans in the future. The condescension the liberals have shown to India and Indian culture has been disgusting. At least the right-wing nutcases are useful idiots. We should just learn to mould them to serve useful purposes like the Israelis have learnt.

NRIs should have never voted Democractic party! Democratic party has traditionally sided with the Islamist

We all have right to our opinions..but IMO it is a huge mistake to make too much into differences between Dems and Republicans. When it comes foreign policy they represent common front. When it comes to passing resolutions, in the interest if nation NSA or wars, they all are passed regardless of their internal rift. Dems are as much republicans and republicans as much democrats when it comes to national security.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 21 Dec 2013 21:14

So nothing is going to come out of it, as GOI is skedaddling...only BRFjingos got their BP up. Only hope is babus got their eyes opened.

Madhusudhan · Post by **Madhusudhan** » 21 Dec 2013 21:25

This Uzra Zeya angle does not appear to be getting much airtime. Wish we had quality investigative journalists that can truly investigate the depth of this conspiracy.

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 21 Dec 2013 21:28

Karan M wrote:So nothing is going to come out of it, as GOI is skedaddling...only BRFjingos got their BP up. Only hope is babus got their eyes opened.

Karanji, not unless BRFites decide to channel their BP by establishing full blown think tank type institution at the international level. And start directly impacting the establishment through public and private sector BRFite force.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 21:29

Arjun and Bade, recall the fisherwoman in Mumbai after 26/11 claimed she was taken abroad for interrogation and brought back? All the media and people here credited her with over imagination? Same person said DCH was in the team that came to talk to her?
So spiriting people from India is bhayan haath ka khel for massa.

I think some one high up knew there was a game going and prevented Richard's arrest by Delhi Police despite repeated requests (per Khobargade's father) and allowed the family to leave as a silent pro.

In return he got the DK arrest and humiliation as a quid.

I had posted a few pages back that there was a conspiracy to tag India and Indian diplomats with humna trafficking charge and transfer the guilt of slavery fromm US to India.
This was the gift that UPA was giving the US!!!!

It backfired because common people in India now understand what is rape.
Unfortunately people in US don't as they are used to all sorts of imagery via p)rn and crime shows and Abu Ghraib atrocities. They think this repugnant practices are normal for humans.

More upon the discourse here.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 21 Dec 2013 21:37

It is time we downgrade US Embassy to a trade mission just like Taiwan has in India. We should just remove their whole diplomatic-intelligence presence in India, in India through an ordinance, in Pakistan and Bangladesh through our greenest friends.

Time to say a big no to USA, to break their diplomatic spine, and to give the Democrats a big kick on their butts for messing around with Yindoo! Then the Democrats can go to elections, trying to explain how they bombed one of the most important relationships in Asia.

The thing is this must escalate, escalate to great heights where US starts getting acrophobia. Lessons need to be taught.

rajanb · Post by **rajanb** » 21 Dec 2013 21:41

RajeshA wrote:On twitter I see many people who usually tweet along national interest but on this Devyani score sound a lot more like those Aam Aadmi types, speaking about low wages to maid, Adarsh flats owned by Devyani, etc. even though it has zero relevance to the current situation.

Really a shame. They have simply forgotten when it is about national interest and when it is internal politics.

May be PM-in-waiting Narendra Modi should give some thought on downgrading Indo-US relations to simply trade missions aka Taiwan. He has any way said that in the future, politics among countries is going to be commerce oriented mostly.

Na rahega baans, na bajegi bansuri!

Rajeshji, while we have every reason to agonise about the congi backdown, we should also realise that the topic of "Adarsh" and DK's property are irrelevant to the case, showing us in a divisive mode.

This whole incident is about Bharat Mata. Not about politics or parties or other irrelevant personal details. Some of us speak about the media being a paid media; some about how the United States is powerful because of its well - oiled and brilliant agencies like the USA. And how their influence and money power has seeped from the top to the bottom of our country's fabric.

We must remember, that the founding fathers of the United States made them United. Whereas, we as aam aadmi present the dis-united states of Bharat Mata. Let us first "walk the talk" before we expect our uneducated, pompous politicos, seeded with corruption scandals, present a brave and united front. (recent history has shown us that united aam aadmis have the power). We need to keep the DK issue, an insulting one, in a box and only propagate relevant points.

On the other hand, current generations of US Presidents have done the utmost damage in reducing the US to the sorry, bigoted country it is. I hasten to add, my decades of working for US MNCs has shown me that the normal Joe and Jane are a decent, warm and friendly lot, by and large.

PS. Staying in Bangalore I have no choice but to be a NOTA

Added later: Your latest post is +++

vasu raya · Post by **vasu raya** » 21 Dec 2013 21:42

if there is to be reciprocation why not on sq. ft. of embassy space as well? no. of personnel too

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 21 Dec 2013 21:47

but IMO it is a huge mistake to make too much into differences between Dems and Republicans. When it comes foreign policy they represent common front. When it comes to passing resolutions, in the interest if nation NSA or wars, they all are passed regardless of their internal rift. Dems are as much republicans and republicans as much democrats when it comes to national security.

All the Muslims in U.S.A are supporting Democratic party and for this reason alone Indian-Americans should not vote Democratic party.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 21 Dec 2013 21:52

This whole incident is about Bharat Mata. Not about politics or parties or other irrelevant personal details.

With these kind of Babus and Netas in charge! Patriotism is totally empty! Indians should vote those people who will protect and project Indian ethics and ethos around the world. So go out and VOTE for the best! NOTA will put more corrupt people in charge and they will appoint more of their ilks around the world!

Dipanker · Post by **Dipanker** » 21 Dec 2013 21:55

SBajwa wrote:Is the case against DK a civil or a criminal?

If Criminal what degree? (misdemeanour or felony)

If Criminal then only DK will decide what

1. Will she plead (Guilty or non-Guilty)?
2. Whether Jury or Judge.

Otherwise if it is a misdemeanour then it will be judge only.

It is criminal and felony carrying up to maximum of 15 years of jail sentence.

Abhi_G · Post by **Abhi_G** » 21 Dec 2013 21:57

ramana wrote:
Unfortunately people in US don't as they are used to all sorts of imagery via p)rn and crime shows and Abu Ghraib atrocities. They think this repugnant practices are normal for humans.

More upon the discourse here.

Ramana, this is precisely what I was thinking today that since p*rn is not illegal in the US and it is a recognized industry, people over there are quite immune to it. Just as Scarlett Johanssen says "p*rn can be productive."

So orifice searches may not cause much revulsion until of course some islamst does a similar gruesome gaddafi act on US officials in foreign lands. Check cavity search on highway in youtube - you will see a female police officer poking two blonde women and one of them is apparently smirking while the fingering is going on. The women were stopped due to some traffic violation and the officer smelt marijuana inside the car. So as per "standard procedure" as parroted by the Harf babe, since this was a case of drugs, there was a cavity search. Nothing is found with the women. At the end one of them protests about violation of her body but the officer mumbles something and the blondes drive away saying "ok" as if nothing had happened. Where was drugs in DK's case. It was custodial rape.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 21 Dec 2013 21:58

vasu raya wrote:if there is to be reciprocation why not on sq. ft. of embassy space as well? no. of personnel too

The reciprocation is by other means such as visas, green cards and other assorted perks for the kith and kin, hence sq.ft and no of personnel is really not a metric.

vasu raya · Post by **vasu raya** » 21 Dec 2013 22:09

^^^

Not sure if there are rules around this other than mutual understanding, what you mention is also a conflict of interest. The sq. ft. metric is important because one can put as many dish antennas.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 21 Dec 2013 22:12

I think the understanding now is that they will maintain status quo. US will give Devyani immunity, but she can't be arrested as long as she has that immunity. The charges will stay on the books. She can be arrested and jailed the next time she visits US without immunity. India will probably just move her back home as soon as she gets immunity, and that will be end of story. She will have the arrest record and warrant still pending in US. India will claim victory, and slowly restore all withdrawn privileges back to US quietly without fanfare. Devyani will probably never be able to go back to US even if her husband is a naturalized US citizen. End of story.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 21 Dec 2013 22:18

Precisely. The vulnerabilities arise when conflict of interests get accomodated, and present it as enlightened and humanistic approach to resource allocation. A country of billion people should always be able to find the precise people/resources that are very apt (with least or no vulnerabilities) to advance what is needed.
Heck if one has minor disability, which does not impinge on ones function, the military does not go out of the way to allow such distractions however minor it may be to become a factor in selection process. Why? because it can always find people/resource who do not have any such either real or even virtual liability.
But with all kinds of excuses, these vulnerabilities and baggages are overlooked and resources/people are mis-allocated. With such gross incompetency, the results cannot be wished differently.
Yes, from strictly unbiased perspective, the sq.ft, number personnel are objective metrics to adhere to. But reality is different.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 21 Dec 2013 22:22

Katare wrote:
Prasad wrote:
This nonsense again? Listen to an ex-diplomat @29.30 - http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-bu ... /301928?hp
This has been a practice in place for two decades under mutual understanding with the us. So can we shut it with the nonsense about 'this woman lying'?
Dude, first learn to think and do basic research about the issue b4 asking others to shut up. Agreement with who in USA? Law enforcement agencies are independent of all these understanding. They only go by law, if u know of any law i wud be more than interested in learning about it.

If u intimidate family members of the maid, get non-bailable warrants issued against them from domestic courts than a DA in USA has legal tools to protect victims and witnesses to continue prosecution.

State department was involved in this case right form the start. The DA doesn't give out human trafficking visas or sign off on arrest by the DSS of foreign diplomats. So you please do your research.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 21 Dec 2013 22:42

Diplomat arrest row: Maid could be CIA agent, says Khobragade's father

Mumbai: Uttam Khobragade, former IAS officer and father of Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York on Saturday alleged her daughter's former maid Sangeeta Richards could be a "CIA agent".

<snip>

"Going by the developments that have taken place over the last one year, the government of India feels that it appears to be a conspiracy," Khobragade said at a press conferernce with Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athawale.

"Also from the given circumstances, we suspect that Sangeeta Richards is an agent of the CIA," Khobragade said.

"We were made scapegoat in the whole case. Devyani is a brave woman and she has been performing all her duties regularly."

Athawale said the case was bogus and the maid could be "CIA agent". "Government should probe this angle," he said.

Athwale said "I appeal to all my party workers that till the charges framed against Devyani are not dropped, they should continue the agitation."

archan · Post by **archan** » 21 Dec 2013 22:56

sanjaykumar wrote:If the implication is that India needs the US more than the US needs India - please to shove it up...

Sure Mac, hope you got your three meals today.. I mean that in all sincerity.

You have been warned for this personal attack. Calm down.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 23:01

Cartoon in WSJ about Christmas. It also gives an idea of the ideology behind targeting India by a Muslim Indian American Ms Zeya. Bharara is a patsy as I had said earlier. A useful idiot he specializes in 'maid/victim' prosecution from his track record shows that.

WSJ

Christmas is most grumble filled season. May be the new sepoys wanted to preent America with the Ghost of Christmas future by tarring India with human trafficking tag.

The Most grumble Filled Thing of the Year

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 21 Dec 2013 23:04

Karan M wrote:Pretty clear in this discussion who the habitual supporters of Khan are. Reflexive, almost.

Habitual supporters and pathological haters are all visible.

Saral · Post by **Saral** » 21 Dec 2013 23:10

Pasting this piece by Ashok Malik as it gives a comprehensive overview. It does appear that GOI has retaliated, far more so than in the past, going by this article. I haven't followed this thread but couldn't see a reference.

Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, accused of violating US labour laws, seems to be the victim herself, entrapped by her domestic help on the one hand and an over-ambitious district attorney on the other.

Why did the Devyani Khobragade case blow up into a diplomatic crisis? Three factors have to be kept in mind. First, Ms Khobragade’s arrest has so angered the Indian system because there is genuine belief in the Ministry of External Affairs that she did no wrong. She is not guilty of any individual crime. If she used a short-cut — and one a clever lawyer can defend in court — it was with the approbation of both countries.

Contrary to media reports, Ms Khobragade’s contract with her housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard, does not promise her a composite sum of US $4,500 a month or anything of the sort. It promises an hourly wage — “minimum wage in New York or prevailing wage, whichever is higher” — and agrees to make deductions for perquisites such as medical insurance, room rent, food and so on. This contract was shown, not submitted, to United States Embassy officials by Ms Richard to get her visa. Ms Richard also submitted a form that stated her employer’s salary — a third figure altogether and if considered strictly in terms of its cash component, itself in violation of New York’s minimum wage.

Some but far from all Indian diplomats posted in the US take along domestic staff. These employees are paid high salaries by Indian standards and all expenses are taken care of. Obviously hourly wages in New York (or Washington, DC) are much greater and some of the domestic employees are tempted to moonlight. On occasion, they have alleged mistreatment by the diplomat, gone to human rights NGOs and sought to institute legal proceedings. In some cases, Indian diplomats have been indicted. In some cases, the police has found no case against them and recognised the charges are false. However, so strong is the organised human rights/anti-trafficking lobby that in all cases — irrespective of the veracity of their charges — the cooks or housekeepers have got their green cards or legal resident status in the US.

So why didn’t Ms Richard allege the Khobragade family was beating her up and why did she bring up the salary discrepancy? This is because Ms Khobragade had done something different from other Indian Foreign Service colleagues who take along domestic staff. She had signed a second contract, promising to pay Ms Richard Rs 30,000 a month. The entire money was transferred to a bank account — since Ms Richard had no expenses in New York — and the second contract was signed to make the employee feel secure. Such second contracts are certainly not usual practice. The MEA believes Ms Khobragade signed the second contract in good faith. Ms Richard’s insistence on this is now being viewed as ‘entrapment’ and part of a pre-conceived migration plan.

Second, it is likely somebody in the US Embassy — probably an official or a family member, acting in a private capacity and knowing Ms Richard and her in-laws personally — advised Ms Richard to exploit the two-contract loophole, use anti-trafficking laws to bolster her case, approach certain anti-trafficking NGOs and then District Attorney Preet Bharara’s office. This person possibly made Ms Richard aware that if, at this stage, the district attorney’s office asked for Ms Richard’s family to be ‘evacuated’ to the US as witnesses in an anti-trafficking case, their visas could not be denied. Adult family members would be given the requisite T category visa to live and work in the US.

In South Block, there is belief this elaborate plan was drawn up even before Ms Richard left for the US. That is why External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid called Ms Khobragade the victim of “a conspiracy”. The end purpose of the conspiracy was to facilitate the Richard family’s permanent migration.

Third, the motivations of Mr Bharara and the State Department are different. Mr Bharara is an ambitious man in New York, looking to take on the high and mighty — usually white collar criminals on Wall Street — project himself as ‘Mr Clean-up’ and build a political career. Targeting a diplomat who seemed to violate a contract, especially a diplomat from the country of his origin, appealed to him. New York is home to hundreds of diplomats, working in consulates or at the United Nations. Some can be pushy, emboldened by their immunity status. This has made the diplomatic corps unpopular with ordinary New Yorkers. Ironically, Indian diplomats are relatively well behaved in this construct. Nevertheless, Mr Bharara grabbed his chance.

The State Department was asleep at the wheel. Old India hands had moved out in recent months and a new team was handling New Delhi. Its communication channels were blurred. It clearly did not anticipate the Indian reaction. As for the US Embassy, it has known for years that the contract shown by domestic employees while applying for a visa is not necessarily indicative of true cash wage. It informally advised this subterfuge as part of an arrangement between two foreign offices, which gave each other privileges that technically may have violated local laws.

So what happens next? Ms Khobragade’s lawyer will contest Mr Bharara on grounds of jurisdiction, contending the contracts can’t be adjudicated by a New York court. Mr Bharara will push for conviction. The State Department can back Mr Bharara’s legal case or it can grant Ms Khobragade a G-1 visa and agree to her transfer to the Indian mission at the UN. This will give her full diplomatic immunity. Alternatively, it can declare her persona non grata and expel her. In that case India will similarly expel a US diplomat.

Whatever happens, the Indian system is determined to walk down the path of reciprocity. Unilateral privileges given to US diplomats have been withdrawn. The blanket airport passes for US officials have gone. The barricades outside the US embassy in New Delhi, which blocked a major city road, have been removed. They were not there because of any specific threat perception but followed a verbal request made to an earlier, expansive Lieutenant Governor of Delhi by the then US Ambassador.

The US gives officials at the Indian embassy in Washington, DC, full diplomatic immunity but denies this to diplomats at Indian consulates in other cities. In India, however, it has sought full diplomatic immunity even for its consulate officials in say Chennai or Mumbai. India has revoked this. Consulate officials will have lesser consular immunity. Their identity cards will be stamped with “No immunity from felony”. This is exactly what cards of Indian consulate officials in the US say.

Next, the Indian taxman will get into the act. Indians employed by the US Embassy and by US diplomats in a personal capacity will be required to submit income as well as tax documentation. If irregularities are found, to assist the course of justice their American employers may be ‘requested’ to come to the tax office to help ‘clarify doubts’.

A host of privileges, some of them extracted in the aftermath of the 1962 war with China, when India was vulnerable, are being reconsidered. Foreign nationals (like spouses or friends of diplomats) teaching in the American Embassy School in India are allowed tax-free salaries. This regime is being re-assessed. Foreign teachers at such schools do need work permits. Do they have them? Are Indian teachers too being paid tax-free salaries, which would be illegal? These are all questions the tax bureaucracy will ask. It will not be a picnic.

Lastly, what of Sangeeta Richard and her family? Frankly, their migration project is complete. India will never see them again.

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 21 Dec 2013 23:17

ramana wrote:chetak, What relevance is the DK's property to this thread?

Do you want one step ban along with others?

Another example of moderator controlling the direction of discussion by threats. You make the environment for ppl with counter view points so hostile that they would choose to stay silent. DK's caught red handed lying in writing in both cases and she is being prosecuted for both. If that is not relevant what is? Wait - p0rn, slavery in US, a muslims, EJs, skin color are more important and relevant

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 21 Dec 2013 23:20

nsriram wrote:Pasting this piece by Ashok Malik as it gives a comprehensive overview. It does appear that GOI has retaliated, far more so than in the past, going by this article. I haven't followed this thread but couldn't see a reference.

posted by sivab
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 4#p1562384

Madhusudhan · Post by **Madhusudhan** » 21 Dec 2013 23:21

*deleted*
thanks chaanakya for posting the link

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 23:22

Second warning to katare given.

in case anyone needs to be reminded this is Bharat ie India Rakshak forum. Not to trash India and support foreigners trashing Indians due to petty grouses in the guise of intellectual freedom.

Thanks,

ramana

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 21 Dec 2013 23:27

Katare wrote:
Another example of moderator controlling the direction of discussion by threats. You make the environment for ppl with counter view points so hostile that they would choose to stay silent. DK's caught red handed lying in writing in both cases and she is being prosecuted for both. If that is not relevant what is? Wait - p0rn, slavery in US, a muslims, EJs, skin color are more important and relevant

Again you are digressing and making false statements. If you read previous pages this has been answered in respect of Adarsh Scam though it is not germane to the issue at hand. She is not being prosecuted for that But if she has done wrong , we will prosecute her in either of the case. It is none of USA business to touch Indian diplomat in violation of VC. She has not committed any crime meriting violation of VC. She has not applied for visa , it is SR who applied based on letter from GOI. Of course you need to read pages here.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 21 Dec 2013 23:29

RamanaGaru,

Being on travel, I missed quite a bit of news today, but is there a link to what you say above, namely,

It also gives an idea of the ideology behind targeting India by a Muslim Indian American Ms Zeya.

Who is this Ms. Zeya and how is she relevant to DK case?

That said, checking all the news tit bits now, and it seems to me that after all the huffing and puffing, MMS & Co are doing some downhill skiing TSP style, while US continues its insulting tirades, latest salvo being that change of diplomatic status does not mean charges will be dropped.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 23:31

Chanaakya what this episode is showing is that self loathing is ot confined to only the media. We had posters who repeatedly showed the self loathing for India due to their perspectives.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 21 Dec 2013 23:35

BTW: Anyone knows who is DK's husband, who is a US citizen?

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 21 Dec 2013 23:37

A case of missing diplomacy
Vivek katju
The writer is a former ambassador to Afghanistan

In the US and European countries, the initiative is passing from the foreign offices to prosecutors and courts. The Khobragade affair illustrates this.

The intense national outrage at the arrest and humiliation of Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general in New York, on December 12, is justified. There was no reason for the American authorities to treat her like an ordinary criminal, even if they believed she had breached US criminal laws and her actions were not covered by the immunity provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). By handcuffing, strip-searching and locking her up with criminals, the Americans clearly violated the provisions of the VCCR, which requires that consular officials be treated, at all times, with respect.

The cleverly worded statement of the New York prosecutor, Preet Bharara, does not deny the substance of the way Khobragade was treated after her arrest. Indeed, it does not deny that Khobragade was handcuffed; it merely says that she was not handcuffed at the time of her arrest. Worse, it implicitly casts doubts at the integrity of the Indian judicial process.

Among the many issues brought into focus by Khobragade’s arrest is the question of diplomatic and consular immunities and privileges. These are codified in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) and the VCCR. These conventions provide the formal basis for the conduct of diplomatic and consular intercourse among nations.

The VCDR provides complete immunity from any criminal action to accredited diplomats. It also ensures that embassy premises as well as homes of diplomats are secure, and cannot be entered by any person of the receiving country. The VCDR also protects the communications of diplomats, though it is well known that intelligence agencies try to clandestinely pry into them.

The VCCR provides all the immunities to consular officials that diplomats enjoy, except that it significantly excludes immunity against grave crimes. The reason for this vital difference lies in the fact that the representative status of the consular officials is circumscribed to commercial, economic, cultural and scientific work, apart from looking after the interests of their nationals and servicing passports and issuing visas.

Both diplomats and consular officials enjoy privileges and facilities that are sometimes the subject of misinformed comment. These privileges are almost exclusively in the area of freedom from personal taxation of the receiving state, though not of their own country. Diplomats and consular officers are allowed to import duty-free goods, though these are subject to the policies of the receiving state.

Immunities and privileges are meant to ensure that the conduct of diplomacy and consular work can take place without impediment and harassment and in a conducive environment. The main objective of diplomats and consular officials is to foster good and beneficial bilateral relations through cultivating the government and opinion-makers of the countries of their postings. As such, all countries provide diplomats with the wherewithal to accomplish this task. The increasing personal interaction between leaders and senior officials has not diminished the importance of diplomats, though it has changed their working methods.

In addition to the formal framework of the VCDR and the VCCR, there were informal customs and understandings that sought to ensure that aberrant or disturbing behaviour of diplomats and consular officials was managed in a discreet manner, so that it never reached a point where it cast a direct shadow on relations between countries. In extreme cases, diplomats and consular officials were declared persona non grata and asked to leave. As the diplomatic world is governed by the principle of reciprocity, their countries asked an equivalent number of their counterparts to leave as well, and the matter ended there.

Over the past four decades, the US and the European countries have unilaterally eroded these approaches and have allowed their local laws to intrude more and more into areas relating to the working of embassies and consulates and the conduct of diplomats and consular officials. Thus, the initiative is passing from the foreign offices to prosecutors and courts who cannot and do not want to view the issue through the larger perspective of bilateral ties. Bharara is an obvious case in point, and it is striking that, instead of reining him in, the state department actively colluded with him. So the Americans, even while pursuing a track with Indian diplomats to address this matter, simultaneously followed a separate track that allowed Khobragade to be arrested and traumatised.

Most developing countries still follow the traditional norms and handle issues relating to diplomats quietly. Ironically, the US and the European countries not only encourage developing countries to do this, but arm-twist them to prevent their nationals — often with dubious diplomatic and consular credentials — to be put through the full judicial process in these countries, even when they are accused of murder. The case of Raymond Davis in Pakistan demonstrates how far the US is willing to go to protect its people from the jurisdiction of local courts and normal processes of criminal law.

That the US acted in bad faith is obvious. It is equally obvious that neither the top level of the Indian foreign office, nor the embassy in Washington DC, looked at this matter with the seriousness it deserved. As a result, it was allowed to assume this unhappy dimension. Perhaps they considered it in the light of similar cases in the past. This should have been avoided, and a different set of solutions could have been considered. Still, it is good that at least the general issue of domestic assistants of our diplomats is now receiving purposeful attention

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 23:41

CRS after the Iraq war showed the depravity and loss of moral capital, US elites have latched on to human trafficking as a way to regain their lost moral stature.

An activist couple in rural America told me that US itself suffers from this malaise as its $20 billion dollar industry in three fields; sex trafficking, agricultural labor*, and slave domestics. Nearly a million adolescents are lured to the cities into this racket. They also told me its the foundation block for the criminal underworld networks in US. Its the lowest entry point of the criminal networks in US. The criminals have transformed the old American rugged individualism into a nightmare. Young impressionable people are constantly told to become independent and they run away and are sucked into this nightmare.

I gave them $100 bucks for their cause of stopping trafficking in US.
So US has to be told "Physician heal thyself first!"

* Read about Global Crossings case in San Francisco about how agricultural laboe was brought into Hawaii and the process of slavery brought back. The case was dismissed due to high connections.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 23:47

Human trafficking is hot button issue and Ms Zeya and her cohort worked hard to fix India with that label. Why they wanted is for people to ken. But that is the end result.
DK was collateral damage.

The whole cahin is using Indian Americans and Indian assets is a premediated conspiracy to provide palusible deniablity.

Look at the chain:
Zeya, Sangeeta Richard, Richards family US embassy connections, Preet Bharara, we don't know if the USM were also Ind Ams, Air India to exit India.

its a four sigma event. In Talib's terms a near black swan.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Dec 2013 23:50

Ms Zeya could be Omar Khalidi type of person.