London/New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) A pro-Khalistani protester attempted to breach the security perimeter outside Chatham House here as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar left the think-tank, drawing condemnation from India over the provocative activities of this “small group of separatists and extremists”.
The small group chanting pro-Khalistan slogans and waving separatist flags was barricaded and monitored by a significant police presence outside the venue on Wednesday night, with officers rushing to restrain the man as he ran past the barricade in an attempt to block the path of the minister’s car pulling at an Indian flag.
He was swiftly taken aside by Metropolitan Police officers and no arrests have been reported so far.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi condemned the incident of the security breach and called on the UK government to “live up to their diplomatic obligations”.
“We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of the external affairs minister to the UK,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.
“We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists. We deplore the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations,” he said.
The UK strongly condemned the security breach, saying such attempts to “intimidate, threaten, or disrupt” public events are “completely unacceptable”.
“We strongly condemn the incident that took place outside Chatham House yesterday (Wednesday) during the External Affairs Minister’s visit to the UK,” a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said.
“While the UK upholds the right to peaceful protest, any attempts to intimidate, threaten, or disrupt public events are completely unacceptable. The Metropolitan Police acted swiftly to address the situation, and we remain fully committed to ensuring the security of all our diplomatic visitors, in line with our international obligations,” the spokesperson said.
A Met Police spokesperson added: “As the Minister left the event, a protester ran in front of his stationary car waving a flag.
“He was quickly intercepted by officers and moved out of the way. He did not get close to the Minister who was able to leave the area without further incident. There were no arrests.”
It follows Jaishankar’s talks with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House on Tuesday and Wednesday, when both leaders covered the “entire gamut of bilateral ties”, including the relaunched Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, regional and global issues.
“It is shameful that this attack comes when Dr S Jaishankar is on a UK tour and had just completed a successful meeting with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy where they discussed bilateral ties,” said community organisation INSIGHT UK, posting footage of the incident on social media.
Earlier, during his session at Chatham House, Jaishankar was asked about human rights concerns pertaining to India.
“A lot of this is political. We have been for political reasons at the receiving end of a lot of expressions and campaigns on human rights. We listen to it. We are not perfect, nobody is perfect. There can be situations which require redressal and remedy,” said Jaishankar.
“But I would argue, if one looks around the world, we have a very strong human rights record,” he said.
“As a credible democracy, where people have growing faith in our democracy, where representation has broadened in every conceivable way over the last many decades, where the state has been very fair in terms of treatment of its citizens, I think any sweeping concern on human rights is misplaced. I don’t see any justification for it at all,” he added.
