[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
MARKING THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF KHALISTAN
______
HON. DAN BURTON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 7, 1994
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the
suffering and the perseverance of the Sikh people of Punjab, in
northern India. With little notice from the world's media, and little
protest from the world's governments, the Sikhs have suffered terrible
atrocities at the hands of Indian security forces who have put a
stranglehold on the entire province. Rapes, torture, summary
executions, and disappearances occur on a daily basis. Since 1984, over
115,000 Sikhs have died at the hands of Indian Government police,
paramilitary forces, and death squads.
Out of this suffering, an independence movement was born. On October
7, 1987, 10 years ago today, major Sikh organizations in Punjab and
around the world declared the independence of Khalistan--their
homeland. I rise today in part to mark this important and solemn day.
The fact that this independence movement has persisted for 7 years
under the withering oppression of Indian security forces is a tribute
to the Sikh people.
I rise also to recognize the work of the Council of Khalistan, based
here in Washington, DC, and supported by Sikh communities across the
country. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, the president of the Council of
Khalistan, has worked tirelessly over the last 7 years to bring the
suffering of the Sikhs to the attention of the Congress, the
administration, and the world community.
It was by the efforts of the Council of Khalistan that on January 24,
1993, Khalistan was accepted into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization, a well respected international body dedicated to
advanceing the peaceful aspirations of its member nations. Dr. Aulakh's
work helped convince Congress to vote last year to censure India for
its human rights abuses and cut its aid.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a few words about the horrible
violations of basic human rights taking place against the Sikhs.
According to ``Dead Silence: The Legacy of Abuse in Punjab,'' published
by Human Rights Watch/Asia: ``Most of those killed (in Punjab) were
summarily executed in police custody in staged `encounters.' These
killings became so common, in fact, that the term `encounter killing'
became synonymous with extrajudicial execution.'' According to one
police officer interviewed by the report's authors, ``Without
exception, any person who is detained at the police station is
tortured.'' Another police officer revealed that ``Once I became a
police officer, I realized that torture is used routinely. During my 5
years with the Punjab police, I estimate that 4,000 to 5,000 were
tortured at my police station alone.'' There are over 200 police
stations in Punjab serving as torture centers.
The Indian Government has also engaged in a campaign of intimidation
and harassment against prominent Sikh leaders. Last month, retired
Justice Ajit Singh Bains, chairman of the Punjab Human Rights
Organization, was prohibited from leaving the country--at the airport--
as he was preparing to travel to London to speak at a human rights
conference. This distinguished jurist has been under constant
government surveillance. This is the same Justice Bains who testified
in 1991 against Indian Government brutality in Khalistan before the
congressional human rights caucus.
More recently, Simranjit Singh Mann, a former Member of Parliament,
was charged with two counts under the internationally condemned
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act [TADA]. His crime was speaking
in behalf of self determination for Khalistan at a Sikh temple. Last
year, he was arrested and imprisoned for 52 charges under TADA. The
trumped-up charges were dropped only after strenuous objections from
the international community.
Mr. Speaker, the torture, the murder, and the rape of the Sikh people
must stop. It is time for the oppression to end. I urge all of my
colleagues to support my legislation to cut aid to India until its
oppressive laws are repealed.
I also want to pay tribute to the strength, pride, and endurance of
the Sikh people on the seventh anniversary of the declaration of
Khalistan. Like the United States in 1776, the Sikh people are entitled
to freedom, democracy, and human rights--which include the right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do those words sound
familiar?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert into the Record the statement of
Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, for whom I have the highest respect and
admiration. I would also like to insert a letter to the President,
signed by myself and 34 other Members of Congress urging him to take
strong action regarding India's brutal treatment of the Sikh people.
[From the Council of Khalistan, News Release, Oct. 7, 1994]
Sikh Nation Marks Seventh Anniversary of Declaration of Independent
Khalistan
Washington, DC.--``Today marks seven years since the Sikh
nation boldly severed all ties with India and declared the
free, sovereign, independent country of Khalistan,'' said Dr.
Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan.
``Since the Sikh nation set its eyes on freedom, we have
never looked back. Independence sits clearly on the horizon,
and nothing India can do will deter the liberation of
Khalistan.''
Though Sikhs mourn the murder of over 115,000 of their
countrymen by Indian government forces since 1984, the
struggle for Khalistan's freedom continues unabated. ``All
the brutal oppression India has managed to muster has not
been enough to crush the movement for Sikh freedom,'' said
Dr. Aulakh. ``We have made great strides in the past seven
years. The U.S. Congress and the international community now
know the savage tyranny of the Indian government. Bills are
regularly introduced in the U.S. Congress to protest India's
occupation of Khalistan. Foreign aid to India has been cut by
various donor nations. Everyday the Sikh nation progresses
toward the ultimate goal of a free and independent Khalistan.
The story of our suffering under Indian occupation has
exposed the so-called world's largest democracy as one of the
worst violators of human rights in the world. India today
stands as an international pariah.''
Much of the credit for this success can be attributed to
the Council of Khalistan which has worked tirelessly to
advance the cause of Sikh freedom. Under the leadership of
Dr. Aulakh, the Council of Khalistan has helped to make
Khalistan an international issue. On January 24, 1993, Dr.
Aulakh led a delegation of Sikhs to the General Assembly of
the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and
successfully petitioned for membership. Last year, under the
urging of Dr. Aulakh, the U.S. House of Representatives
passed an amendment to the Foreign Aid Authorization Bill
(H.R. 2295), cutting 10% of U.S. developmental aid to India
for its brutal violation of human rights against the Sikhs.
President Bill Clinton signed the bill into action on October
1, 1993. And Today, 35 Members of Congress signed a letter to
President Clinton, with the efforts of Dr. Aulakh, urging him
to cut further aid to India, withdraw U.S. support for loans
to India in the World Bank and the IMF and promote
international sanctions against India if it refuses to allow
self-determination in Khalistan.
``The movement for a free Khalistan gains steam everyday,''
said Dr. Aulakh. ``The Indian government has killed thousands
of Sikhs, but it cannot kill the spirit of freedom burning in
the heart of the Sikh nation. India does not know what it is
up against. The Sikhs are a freedom loving people and we
support all those nations struggling to liberate themselves
from Indian oppression. This includes the Kashmiris, the
Christians of Nagaland, the people of Manipur, the Assamese
the Tamils of Tamil Nadu and others.
``The Sikh nation has never altered its demand for outright
freedom despite seven years of savagery,'' added Dr. Aulakh.
The peaceful mass movement for the liberation of Khalistan
cannot be deterred. I warn the Indian government to release
the thousands of Sikhs it has wrongfully imprisoned, to cease
its rape of Sikh woman and the torture of Sikh leaders. It is
in the best interest of the Indian government to sit down
with the leadership of the Sikh nation to demarcate the
boundaries between Indian an Khalistan today. Freedom is the
birthright of all nations, and the Sikh nation will wait no
longer. Free Khalistan today. Khalistan Zindabad.
____
Congress of the United States,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, October 7, 1994.
Hon. Bill Clinton,
President of the United States,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: Since 1984, Indian government police,
paramilitary forces, and death squads have killed over
115,000 Sikhs advocating freedom for Khalistan. Since 1978,
India has refused to allow Amnesty International within its
borders. Closed to human rights monitors, the Sikh homeland
reels under Indian government oppression. We ask you to take
action in support of the right to self-determination of
Khalistan and against India's oppression of the Sikh people.
The government of India has persistently pursued means
antithetical to international standards on basic human rights
and freedoms to crush the peaceful movement for a free
Khalistan. Recently, Sikh political leader Simranjit Singh
Mann was charged under the Terrorist and Disruptive
Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). His crime was speaking
for the freedom of Khalistan through non-violent means. The
TADA laws have been roundly condemned by the world's most
respected human rights organizations as mere government tools
of oppression. Under TADA, the presumption of innocence is
reversed to a presumption of guilt, the democratic freedoms
of speech and association are denied, and the accused can be
held without trial for over two years. TADA explicitly
violates the International Covenant of Civil and Political
Rights, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee has
condemned these draconian laws as ``disturbing'' and
``completely unacceptable.''
In the past Mr. Mann has faced even harsher treatment. In
the mid-1980's, Mr. Mann was imprisoned for four years and
tortured with electric shock. Similarly, earlier this year,
Mr. Mann was charged with 52 violations under TADA and
imprisoned. After the U.S. Congress took action on his
behalf, he was released and the false charges dropped. Mr.
Mann has also had his passport confiscated by the Indian
government which clearly wants to prevent him from telling
his story to the international community. Furthermore, Mr.
Mann has indicated that his life has been threatened by
Indian police under the direction of the Punjab Chief
Minister Beant Singh.
On September 15, retired high Court Justice Ajit Singh
Bains, Chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, was
prevented from boarding a plane out of Delhi bound for the
United Kingdom. The Home Ministry refuses to allow him to
leave the country. His telephone has been tapped and his
house remains under constant government surveillance. Justice
Bains has persistently spoken out against Indian government
brutality against Sikhs and should be remembered for the
moving testimony he gave at a 1991 hearing of the Human
Rights Caucus in the House of Representatives. Because he has
never shied away from exposing Indian government oppression
in the Sikh Homeland, Justice Bains finds himself its victim.
On May 25, the Indian government issued a top-secret order
directing the postal service to detain all communications
emanating from ten Sikh organizations, regardless of content.
Ten senior journalists who have been critical of the Indian
government have also been targeted for censorship. Two of the
journalist listed, Mr. Shammi Sarin of the Sunday Mail, and
Monimoy Dasgupta of The Telegraph have received death
threats. The report who broke this story, Sukhbir Singh Osan,
a Chandigar correspondent for the Hitavada News, reports that
his phone is being tapped.
Indian government oppression against the Sikhs can no
longer be denied. According to Dead Silence: The Legacy of
Abuse in Punjab, published in May 1994 by Human Rights Watch/
Asia, ``The deliberate use of torture and execution *** was
not merely tolerated but actively encouraged by senior
government officials.'' Recently, Gurkirat Singh, the
grandson of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, was accused of
gang-raping a French woman in Punjab with the help of two
friends and four bodyguards provided by the Indian
government. There is speculation, because of Gurkirat Singh's
relation to the Chief Minister, that the government is trying
to silence the entire issue by sequestering the accuser until
she can be flown to France. Sikh women regularly suffer rape
by Indian security forces and death squads who use it as a
tactic to strike a paralyzing fear against those who would
speak out in support of Khalistan.
Mr. President, this state of affairs simply cannot be
allowed to continue with the knowledge of the International
community. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council
of Khalistan, has kept you, the U.S. Congress and the
International community up to date on the brutal atrocities
committed against Sikhs engaged in the peaceful struggle for
a free Khalistan.
Seven years ago today, on October 7, 1987 the Sikh nation
formally declared the Sikh homeland of Khalistan a sovereign,
independent nation. We are fully aware of the oppression
Sikhs face seven years after their declaration of
independence. We, the undersigned Members of Congress, ask
you to persuade the Indian government through the State
Department to:
1. Recognize the right of the Sikh nation to peacefully
pursue its right to self-determination.
2. Allow a plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan under the
auspices of the United Nations so that Sikhs can peacefully
decide for themselves their political future.
If the Indian government refuses to acquiesce to these
basic concerns, we urge you to
1. Cut all direct U.S. aid to India.
2. Withdraw U.S. support for loan programs to India in the
IMF and the World Bank.
3. Bring the issue of freedom for Khalistan and India's
brutality against Sikhs to the United Nations and ask for
international sanctions against the Indian government.
Mr. President, it is time that the United States send a
message to the Indian government. In the name of freedom and
democracy, we beseech you to act immediately.
Sincerely,
Peter Geren, John T. Doolittle, John J. Duncan, Jr.,
Peter King, William J. Jefferson, Dan Burton, Gary
Condit, Gerald Solomon, William O. Lipinski, Chris Cox,
Phil Crane, Collin C. Peterson, Arthur Ravenel, Jr.,
Christopher Shays, Dana Rohrabacher, Charles Wilson,
Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, Richard Lehman, Tom Bliley,
Dick Zimmer, Robert K. Dornan, Dean A. Gallo, George
Miller, Roscoe Bartlett, Jack Fields, Robert T. Matsui,
Esteban E. Torres, Wally Herger, Ken Calvert, Richard
Pombo, Edolphus Towns, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, James H.
Quillen, Scott L. Klug, Bill Paxon.
____________________