May 30, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17,1423

NEW DELHI, May 29: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged India on Wednesday to investigate the deaths of two British Muslims in communal riots in Gujarat.

Straw said he raised the issue of riots in Gujarat during a meeting here with Indian Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani.

“I raised consular issues to include constituents of mine ... There were two people who were killed who were British citizens,” Straw said at a joint press conference with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh.

“I did meet their relatives in London and I emphasised the importance of there being a thorough investigation in Gujarat state to bring those culprits to justice,” he added.

Javier Garrigues, secretary general of the Spanish foreign ministry, in an April 24 “demarche” expressed concern to the Indian ambassador in Madrid on behalf of the European Union over the bloodletting in Gujarat.

But the EU has stopped short of publicly condemning India over the violence as New Delhi warned it would not accept “interference in its internal affairs.”

Gujarat is one of the few states ruled by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Hindu nationalist BJP party, which international and local rights groups say took part in the violence against Muslims.

Straw dismissed speculation that Britain would seek the removal or even a trial of Gujarat’s provincial chief Narendra Modi for not doing enough to quell violence targeting at Muslims living in his state.—AFP