A safety guard walks in entrance of the Consulate General of India in San Francisco that was attacked on March 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
The United States on Monday strongly condemned the attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco by a gaggle of separatist Sikhs, terming it completely unacceptable.
Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the protesters on Sunday broke open the makeshift safety boundaries raised by the town police and put in two Khalistani flags contained in the Consulate premises. Two consulate personnel quickly eliminated these flags.
Soon thereafter, a gaggle of indignant protesters entered the consulate premises and began hitting the door and home windows with the iron rods.
“That vandalism, it’s just absolutely unacceptable,” John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for strategic communications on the White House informed reporters at a day by day information convention, strongly condemning the incident.
“The State Department’s diplomatic security service is working with local authorities. I can’t speak for the San Francisco police, but I can say that the diplomatic security service is working with local authorities to properly investigate and obviously, the State Department is going to be working from an infrastructure perspective to repair the damage, but it’s unacceptable,” Mr. Kirby mentioned in response to a query.
The State Department additionally issued a press release indicating that these behind the act could be held accountable.
“The U.S. condemns the attack on Sunday against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Violence against diplomatic facilities within the US is a punishable crime,” it mentioned.
“It is our priority to defend the security and safety of these facilities and the diplomats who work within them,” mentioned the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.
In a separate assertion, the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum strongly condemned the attack on the Indian mission in San Francisco, California.
“The United States and India are vibrant democracies and understand that the right to assemble peacefully and protest is sacrosanct. However, violence and vandalism will not be condoned or tolerated,” it mentioned.
Diplomats and consular workers deserve the identical proper to a safe and peaceable work surroundings, free from exterior hurt and threats, it mentioned. “We stand by Dr. TV Nagendra Prasad, the honorable Consul General of India in San Francisco, and his staff.”
The USISPF urged the native authorities in California and the Congressional management of the district to take the mandatory motion in opposition to the culprits and people responsible of aiding and abetting. “We thank the State Department for responding promptly.”
