[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.

                          ____________________