India cancels visa to Chinese dissident Dolkun Isa
25 Apr 2016
In a volte face, India has cancelled the visa granted to a prominent Uyghur activist to attend a conference in Dharamsala after protests from China.
The electronic visa granted to Germany-based Dolkun Isa, described as a terrorist by China, was cancelled after checks showed there was a red corner notice issued for him by Interpol.
The visa issued on 16 April was cancelled on 23 April, officials said.
Many commentators had seen the grant of a visa to Dolkun, a leader of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), as a response to China blocking India's bid to sanction Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar at the UN Security Council.
China's foreign ministry had reacted angrily to the granting of the visa, telling Hindustan Times in an email statement on Thursday, ''Dolkun Isa is a terrorist on red notice of Interpol and the Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is a due obligation of relevant countries.''
The conference to which Dolkun was invited will be held between 28 April and 1 May Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile and home in exile to China's bête noir the Dalai Lama of Tibet, and this added to Beijing's unease.
The meet is being organised by US-based Citizen Power for China. The group is led by Yang Jianli, who was involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
The organiser of the event, Tenzin Ninjey, earlier said China is wrong in describing Dolkun as a terrorist. ''Dolkun Isa is a peace activist. There is no comparison at all with terrorist Masood Azhar,'' he told ANI. (See: Beijing irked as India grants visa to Chinese dissident).