Observe human rights, Patil tells BSF

Home Minister Shivraj Patil today asked security forces to observe human rights "in letter and spirit" but stressed that the forces also had such rights. "In our country, observance of human rights has always been given the importance it deserves. Besides, it has also been enshrined in the Constitution of India. The security forces have to conform to these norms and respect human rights in letter and spirit, he said after inaugurating the Annual Training Conference of the Border Security Force in New Delhi.

 

He commended the BSF for making efforts to sensitise its personnel about human rights and said this aspect of the training should never be lost sight of. The minister also spoke about the human rights of security personnel, saying, "Just as terrorists have human rights and civilians have human rights, members of the armed forces also have human rights.

Security forces also have human rights. They sacrifice their lives to protect the interests of innocent people. Their human rights should also be respected and brought to the notice of the people."

 

Noting that training of BSF has been "adversely affected" due to constant deployment and lack of reserve personnel, Patil assured the force of more battalions. "I am sure once the recommendations of Group of Ministers on National Security are implemented, the BSF will have some uncommitted reserves, which will give the men opportunities for much needed rest, relief and training," he said.

 

The home minister said given the

present security scenario within and outside the country, greater participation and vigilance was required on the part of BSF, making constant training even more important. "Despite the given constraints, training has to be constantly reviewed, methodologies have to be updated with an innovative mind and training equipment and aids constantly updated to keep pace with the situation on ground," he said.

 

Earlier, in his address, BSF Director General Ajai Raj Sharma pointed out with the force being overstretched for various duties, especially for deployment in counter-insurgency operations, the "collective training" or the annual training of the companies has been badly affected.  "Even the 22 reserve battalions sanctioned to us have remained deployed all the time," he said and demanded that another 22 battalions be raised to ensure rotation of troops and adequate training.

 

On the issue of human rights observance by security forces, the BSF director general said, "A lot of emphasis is being paid to this topic on account of which there have been hardly any complaints against the border men on the issue of human rights in the last few years."

 

He said during counter-insurgency operations in Srinagar, BSF has taken adequate measures to ensure that no civilians were harmed and this earned a lot of praise from the public there as well as from the Jammu and Kashmir government and the media.