Detention drama: India fumes, Dutch regret

NEW DELHI: The growing sense of outrage among Indians at the shoddy treatment meted out to 12 Indians detained by Dutch security authorities provoked the Indian government on Friday to lodge a sharp protest with the Netherlands, virtually suggesting that the incident smacked of racial profiling and discrimination.
The Dutch ambassador, Eric F Niehe, was summoned to the foreign office by secretary (west) Shashi Tripathi and was told about New Delhi’s unhappiness with the incident which encourages "the impression of racial profiling or racial discrimination."
The Indian embassy in the Netherlands conveyed a similar protest to the Dutch.It appears that the Dutch are contrite and have expressed their regret.
Minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma told Parliament: "It’s an incident which is not only unfortunate, it should have never have happened. Their ambassador has expressed regret."
The foreign office spokesperson said the ambassador was told the incident didn’t square up with "friendly relations between the Netherlands and India."
He also said that India has protested against the manner in which the 12 men were treated. They were handcuffed and led off the plane, later kept in single cells and not allowed to make calls to their families. Their (the men) treatment was "objectionable".
The spokesperson said India found it extraordinarily difficult to get access to the 12 Indian nationals. First the Dutch government refused to divulge the names and the nationalities of the 12.
Vague answers were given such as some of these men had come from Trinidad & Tobago. Even after the names were given to the MEA and it became very clear that the men were all Indians, the Dutch government refused to formally state their nationality, which made it even more difficult for the Indian officials to get access.