Sushma meets African students, assures full security

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday met with a delegation of African students here and assured them of full security and support in India.

Sushma Swaraj, who met the African delegation at the Jawahar Bhawan here, also condemned the killing of a Congolese national M.K. Olivier on May 20 in New Delhi, but said it was not a racial attack.

She said the killing of Olivier, 29, over a minor altercation, was "not only unfortunate but painful".

"I met a delegation of African students and leaders and tried to explain that the incident is huge but not a case of racial discrimination," she said later.

"On the day the incident took place, I sought a report from the Lt Governor and I was informed that two people have been arrested," she said.

Sushma Swaraj, who has been personally monitoring the outreach to the African community, was flanked by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar during the meeting.

The killing of the Congolese national and a slew of other attacks on Africans staying in New Delhi, and a case in Hyderabad, has caused widespread anger among the community. A group of African students held a protest at Jantar Mantar on Monday.

African envoys had last week threatened to boycott the Africa Day event over the killing of the Congolese national, but agreed to attend the May 26 event after the government intervened to assuage their concerns.

--IANS

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