India protests denial of visas to Arunachal Pradesh athletes

Protesting China’s move, sports minister Anurag Thakur has cancelled his visit to China. Kiren Rijiju, Thakur’s cabinet colleague and who is an Arunachal Pradesh MP, told reporters he “strongly condemns this illegal (and) illegitimate action… China has no right to deny the entry of people from Arunachal Pradesh”.

“We are condemning China’s act but the International Olympic Committee should condemn it as well. They should not sit quietly because such acts may be an injustice to players in future as well,” Rijiju said.

“In protest, sports minister’s visit to Beijing for opening ceremony is cancelled. No official will visit China for Asian Games now,” he said.

Two athletes – Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu – cleared by the Hangzou Asian Games’ organising committee were unable to download accreditation cards that double as visas. A third – Nyeman Wangsu – downloaded the accreditation but was then denied entry.

India has learnt that Chinese authorities have, in a targeted and pre-meditated manner, discriminated against some Indian sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh by denying them accreditation and entry to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. “In line with our long-standing and consistent position, India firmly rejects differential treatment of Indian citizens on basis of domicile or ethnicity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” Bagchi said.He said the government had lodged a strong protest in New Delhi and Beijing over China’s “deliberate and selective obstruction” of Indian athletes. He said the government had noted that these actions “violate both the spirit of the Asian Games and rules governing their conduct”.India “reserves the right to take suitable measures to safeguard (its) interests”, Bagchi added. This is second instance in two months that the three players were unable to visit China for a competition.

In the last week of July, the same players could not compete at the World University Games in Chengdu, China (July 18-Aug 8) because they were given stapled visas by China. Stapled visas are meant to indicate that China doesn’t recognise India’s sovereignty over Arunachal. India has consistently rejected China’s claim that the northeastern state is disputed territory. The eight-member wushu team had then withdrawn from the event in Chengdu in protest. China claims Arunachal Pradesh – which it calls South Tibet – as its territory. Last month, in a move that drew international criticism, China issued a new “standard” map that included Arunachal and the Aksai Chin region in eastern Ladakh within its boundaries.