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NEW DELHI, Aug 25: India protested on Friday the Netherlands’ detention of 12 Indians following a mid-air security scare, saying it was ‘shocked’ at their treatment, but the Dutch government said it was just following procedure.
The foreign ministry in New Delhi summoned the Dutch ambassador to India, Eric Niehe, and called for a detailed report on the detention of the 12 Muslims who were taken off a Mumbai-bound Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam.
A government source said the Indian outrage stemmed partly from the handcuffing of the 12 men when they were detained on Wednesday after the Boeing returned home escorted by Dutch fighter jets.
“India has lodged a strong protest at the way the incident was handled,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters.
“We are shocked at the incident which is not in conformity with the friendly relations between India and the Netherlands,” he said. “The manner of treatment of the Indian nationals was objectionable.”
“It took tremendous amount of persuasion to get consular access to our nationals,” Mr Sarna added.
He described the incident as ‘regrettable’ and said India hoped the detention did not indicate a racial bias.
“We hope these are not reflective of larger issues and the ambassador told us that racial profiling was not the intention and that he would get back with all the details,” Mr Sarna said after Mr Niehe was handed India’s official protest.
Indian junior foreign minister Anand Sharma said the Dutch envoy had ‘apologised’ during his talks with Indian foreign ministry officials.
“The government of India has taken a strong notice of this development. It is an incident which is not only unfortunate but should have never happened,” Mr Sharma said.
But the Dutch government said there was no apology due for the detentions as it was just following security procedures.
The Indian nationals were suspected of attempting an act of violence during the flight, but were cleared on Thursday by Dutch authorities and released.
The ministry’s statement came after relatives of the 12 Indians and Muslim leaders said the incident reflected growing international bias against Muslims.
“Because of this global war on terror, Muslims today feel the same way as Jews in the 1930s did,” said Shabnam Hashmi, a spokeswoman for a New Delhi-based human rights movement, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy.
“This calculated, systematic demonisation of Muslims is going to get worse in the coming days.”
ANGER IM MUMBAI: In Mumbai, where the 12 men were born, there was anger among their families over their treatment.
The relatives of 32-year-old Ayub Kolsawala said the incident showed religious bias. “This is happening to us only because we are Muslims,” said Kolsawala’s sister-in-law, Lubna.
Indian media reported the men were in the export trade and knew each other.
They were arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Wednesday after the plane turned back because of what the pilot called ‘behaviour of concern’ by some passengers.
According to one passenger, quoted by the De Telegraaf newspaper in the Netherlands, the plane turned around because ‘the men began telephoning, searching in plastic bags and moving about the plane when it wasn’t allowed’.
Dutch prosecution spokesman Ed Hartjes said the police inquiry focused on the passengers’ cell phone conversations and fears that their baggage contained explosives but no evidence of wrongdoing was found.
The head of the Indian government’s National Commission for Minorities called for restraint in countering terrorism.
“While security is a valid concern for all countries, there’s also a need to be rational,” said Mohammad Hameed Ansari.—AFP
