Retaliatory attacks on Indians in Congo trigger concern

Even as the government heaved a sigh of relief with African diplomats agreeing to attend the Africa Day event organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) here on Thursday, reports of attacks on Indian establishments in Congo's capital Kinshasa has triggered concerns.

The attacks were an apparent backlash against the killing of a Congolese national Masonda Ketada Oliver in New Delhi recently.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) handed over a "note verbale", an unsigned diplomatic communication prepared in third person, to the Congo ambassador Felix Ngoma, asking him to ensure the safety of Indians in the African country. A similar note was handed over by Indian ambassador Ashok Warrier to the Congo foreign office in Kinshasa.

A day after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj stepped in to control the damage in India-Africa ties due to frequent attacks on African nationals, sources here said the government was putting up elaborate plans to reach out to the African countries over the next few months.

A number of high-level visits to the continent are being planned to broaden engagements . Visits by President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swaraj are being lined up in immediate future. Vice President Hamid Ansari will embark on a five-day tour to the north African nations of Morocco and Tunisia from May 30.

With an eye to counter the growing influence of China in the region, India last October announced assistance to African nations, with $10 billion in concessional loans over the next five years.

After minister of state for external affairs Gen VK Singh met a delegation of African diplomats, African diplomats agreed to attend the Africa Day event to "continue with the tradition" of marking the event. The diplomats were shown the CCTV footage of attack on the Congo national Oliver by some goons, where some Indian bystander was shown trying to protect him and in turn getting also trashed by goons.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop said it would be unfortunate to generalise a few isolated incidents and portray a climate of insecurity for African students. "It is also not right to characterise criminal acts as being racially motivated," he said. He said India was committed to working closely with African diplomatic and student communities to ensure full safety and security of African students in India.
But, he said, the reports of attacks on Indian shops and establishments in Kinshasa were a cause of concern.

"It has come to the notice of our mission in Kinshasa that some Indian establishments and shops in the commercial areas were attacked on May 23 and May 25 as a reaction, perhaps to the killing of the Congolese national in New Delhi last Friday. It has also been reported that there were some gunshots fired injuring a couple of Indians living in the area," he said.

Dean of African group head of missions and ambassador of Eritrea, Alem Tsehage Woldemariam, told reporters the worry of the envoys of 42 African countries. In February, a 21-year-old Tanzanian woman was allegedly stripped and beaten up by a mob in Bengaluru after a Sudanese man ran over a local. A few months before that, three African men were beaten up by a mob in New Delhi after they objected to locals taking their pictures. In January 2015, a minister of the Delhi government even raided a neighbourhood inhabited by African nationals, alleging that they were peddling drugs and ran a prostitution ring. There are 30,000-odd African students living in India.