[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1543-E1544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               SIKHS DESERVE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

                                 ______


                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 27, 1995
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring the attention of the 
House to an extremely sensitive situation in India. In a time when 
civil rights abuses around the world are being condemned, the treatment 
of the Sikhs by the Indian Government should not go unnoticed.
  This shameful treatment has included documented cases of rapes of 
young women, the beating of old men, and the murder of young boys. 
Innocent Sikh people have also been subjected to imprisonment without 
trial, and this practice has been occurring for more than a decade.
  The Sikhs are being persecuted in their own homeland. They live in 
fear everyday, and the freedoms we take for granted simply do not exist 
in this part of India. Those Sikhs that have the coverage to speak out 
against these abuses are often arrested and held for no reason.
  The imprisonment of innocent Sikhs is made worse by the unfair 
treatment they receive once in prison. This despicable treatment all 
too often leads to the murder of innocent prisoners. Many times these 
deaths go unreported by police, and the bodies are cremated and, 
therefore, go unclaimed.
  I believe this situation deserves and demands the attention of this 
body. Just as we have supported democratic reforms and the right to 
self-determination in Eastern Europe, I believe we should support 
independent and self-determination for Khalistan. The behavior of the 
Indian Government should not be tolerated, and their treatment of the 
Sikh people should be condemned.
                         Parliamentary Debates


                      punjab (treatment of sikhs)

       Mr. Terry Dicks (Hayes and Harlington): I wish to bring to 
     the attention of the House the continuing persecution of the 
     Sikhs living in their homeland, the Punjab--an issue that I 
     have brought before the House on three previous occasions in 
     the 12 years that I have been a Member of Parliament.
       I noticed that nearly 30 hon. and right hon. Members were 
     in the Chamber to listen to a debate about Bosnia, about 
     which British people are not really interested because it is 
     not of direct concern. We now have a debate--at least, a 
     statement--about the position in a Commonwealth country, and 
     the 30 people who were in the Chamber at 10 o'clock have 
     almost all left. I find that surprising and disappointing.
       Sikhs in my constituency and throughout the world are 
     worried for relatives and friends who continue to live in 
     that part of India. The rape of young women, the beating of 
     old men and the murder of young boys, together with the 
     imprisonment without trial of thousands of innocent people, 
     have been taking place for more than a decade and continue to 
     this day.
       Living in fear in part of everyday existence in the Punjab. 
     The freedom that we take for granted in Britain does not 
     exist in that part of India.
       Recent evidence obtained from police files shows that 
     bodies of police suspects murdered in police custody have 
     been cremated as ``unclaimed'' and that that practice has 
     continued since 1984. The documents that I have with me were 
     given by or bought from police authorities in the Punjab. 
     They list names of people relating to the bodies that have 
     been cremated; yet the Indian authorities denied the 
     existence of such records.
       The Indian Express carried a front-page story in its 
     edition of 3 February 1995, in which it said that during the 
     three years 1991-93, the Punjab police dumped about 426 
     bodies for cremation as ``unclaimed'' on the Patti Municipal 
     Committee. In many cases, the relatives had not been informed 
     even though the bodies had been identified.
       In the same region last year, another 17 ``unclaimed'' 
     bodies were sent by the police for cremation. Why cremation? 
     Because burnt bodies cannot be examined later for evidence of 
     torture or other abuse.
       Police sources have disclosed that, although some of those 
     so-called ``missing persons'' may have died as a result of 
     torture while in police custody, others may have been 
     eliminated because they had some evidence of police 
     brutality--in other words, they had witnessed what was
      going on and they had to be put away together with those who 
     were murdered as suspects.
       A local human rights group brought that position to the 
     attention of the Indian high court, but its action was 
     dismissed on the grounds that only relatives of murdered 
     individuals could be party to any litigation. 

[[Page E 1544]]
     That approach is a bit like telling the relatives of Kuwaits who 
     disappeared during the occupation of Kuwait to apply to the 
     Iraqi high court in Baghdad for an inquiry to be held into 
     their disappearance.
       Investigation into allegations of police torture are rare 
     and, even when such allocations have been established, 
     prosecutions have not taken place. According to recent 
     reports by Amnesty International, there is no evidence of a 
     police officer having been convicted of human rights 
     violations in the Punjab. That says it all about the so-
     called free and democratic nature of that place and the 
     police reaction to law and order.
       The British Parliament has refused to condemn the behavior 
     of the Indian Government, no matter how well documented the 
     facts are. The Government refuse, supposedly because India is 
     a powerful Commonwealth country. Indeed, India refers to 
     itself as the ``largest democracy in the world''. Perhaps the 
     phrase the ``largest hypocrisy'' is more appropriate; it is 
     one that I use frequently to describe that Government and 
     that country. The Labour party, with its close links with the 
     Congress party and the Gandhi family, prefers to say nothing 
     at all--I suppose that that is par for the course for that 
     party.
       Abuses elsewhere, such as in Bosnia and in parts of the 
     Soviet Union, have led to condemnation by our Government. Why 
     have the Indian Government escaped Britain's wrath? If the 
     Indian Government have nothing to hide, what are they 
     attempting to cover up? Why will they not grant me a via to 
     enter the country? I reiterate my offer to the Indian 
     Government; if my Sikh friends are telling me lies, I will 
     condemn them outright upon my return from the Punjab; on the 
     other hand, if the Indian Government have been misleading the 
     rest of the world, I will shout the facts from the rooftops 
     upon my return to Britain.
       With such a reasonable offer available, perhaps the 
     Government and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-
     Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will 
     seek to persuade the Indian Government to grant me a visa. I 
     sincerely hope that they will. As the elected representative 
     of some 8,000 Sikhs, it is important that I see the position 
     for myself. I hope that, with the help of the Foreign Office, 
     I shall gain access to that country.
       Recognition of the rights of Sikhs who are living in the 
     Punjab is all that Sikhs elsewhere want. That means the right 
     to press for self-determination and to strengthen the call 
     for an independent Kalistan, Sikhs cannot understand how 
     Britain, which is their mother country in some ways,
      can take such determined action against the Iraqi invasion 
     of Kuwait and yet stand by and do nothing about human 
     rights abuses in India. They wonder why they are treated 
     differently, but they are also aware that the Punjab is 
     not an oil-rich region. Our Government give the impression 
     that they are being selective in their opposition to human 
     rights abuses. If that impression is to change, our 
     Government must condemn outright the behaviour of the 
     Indian Government
       There should be no aid programme to India, particularly 
     because aid is now tied to good human rights practices. If 
     that is the case, how can we give a penny to the Indian 
     Government which use and abuse the Punjabi people in their 
     own country? If that has no effect, I believe that our 
     Government should break off all diplomatic ties with India. 
     Perhaps the ``curry club'' lunches between hon. Members in 
     the House and the people who represent the Indian Government 
     should also come to an end. There can be no appeasement of a 
     Government who treat one of their ethnic minority groups in 
     that way.
       We are now celebrating the end of the second world war--a 
     war that was fought to preserve freedom of expression, 
     freedom from tyranny and freedom of self-determination. In 
     the Punjab there is no freedom of expression, only its 
     restriction. In the Punjab there is no freedom from tyranny, 
     only the fear of tyranny. In the Punjab there is no freedom 
     of self-determination, only the ability to whisper the word 
     ``Kalistan'' because to do otherwise would put lives at risk.
       For Sikhs in the Punjab, we should read Muslims in Kashmir. 
     Who is causing their suffering? It is none other than the 
     Indian Government. The Sikhs in the Punjab and the Muslims of 
     Kashmir turn to us for help. They believe in the democratic 
     principles upon which our Parliament is based. How much 
     longer must they suffer and how many more excuses will be 
     found to justify ignoring their pleas?
       As I said earlier, this is the fourth time that I have 
     raised the issue on the Floor of the House Commons. I suspect 
     that, for the fourth time, my hon. Friend will read a Foreign 
     Office brief and that no further action will be taken. I 
     suspect that there will be no effort to help me to secure a 
     visa to visit India. I suspect that the Government will not 
     raise the issue of human rights with the Indian Government 
     and that they will not consider doing away with the aid 
     programme because of the abuse of human rights in India. I 
     shall probably hear--with great respect to my hon. Friend--
     platitudes and no firm decisions.
       There are about 300,000 Sikhs in this country. The 8,000 
     Sikhs in my constituency will want to know how Parliament can 
     spend hours talking about Bosnia--which is of no concern to 
     this country in any shape or form: the Balkans were never 
     part of the Commonwealth--and yet can debate this very 
     important issue for half an hour four times in 12 years. I 
     know that my hon. Friend the member of Gravesham (Mr. Arnold) 
     has many Sikhs in his constituency, so I now give way to him 
     to say whatever he wants to say.
       Mr. Jacques Arnold (Gravesam): I am extremely grateful to 
     my hon. friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (Mr. 
     Dicks) for raising this very important subject. As he said, 
     many thousands of Sikhs live in Gravesend and Northfleet in 
     my constituency. The are very concerned about their families 
     and friends who remain in the Punjab and many hundreds of my 
     Sikh constituents travel to the Punjab every year to visit 
     them. They find the situation there to be extremely insecure.
      Constituents travel to the Punjab every year to visit them. 
     They find the situation there to be extremely insecure.
       In this country we take it for granted that human rights 
     will always be preserved, and that if difficulties arise for 
     ourselves and our families, in extremis we can turn to the 
     police for help. Those are freedoms and rights not easily 
     available to residents in the Punjab. Not only are their 
     families vulnerable to the depredations of the police but, if 
     things go wrong and they are the victims of extortion or 
     violence of any sort, they cannot have recourse to the police 
     authorities, as should be their right.
       What remains in the Punjab is an extreme uneasiness for the 
     individual, especially as there has been no proper 
     investigation of the considerable number of cases of people 
     who have disappeared over the years. Families throughout the 
     Punjab--and therefore, by extension, families in this 
     country--have seen their members disappear. Justice does not 
     ensue.
       Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Let us have a little order here. 
     First, I hope that the hon. Member for Gravesham (Mr. Arnold) 
     has the Minister's permission too. This is not something that 
     can just be done off the cuff, on the spur of the moment. 
     Does the hon. Member have the Minister's permission?
       The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and 
     Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Tony Baldry): I am perfectly 
     content for the hon. Member for Gravesham to intervene, Mr. 
     Deputy Speaker.
       I was saying that many of my constituents are concerned 
     about the lack of follow-up to the disappearances that have 
     occurred in the Punjab, especially when young men from their 
     extended families have disappeared. For instance, there was a 
     ghastly case of a young man disappearing and all the stories 
     were that he was being held in prison in a police station. 
     The family was eventually advised that the young man had died 
     in custody, yet only a few weeks later he was clearly seen at 
     the window of the prison. When the case was pursued with the 
     prison authorities and the place was eventually checked out, 
     the young man had disappeared yet again.
       With my Latin American experience, I know about the 
     concerns about those who have disappeared in Argentina. In 
     the last decade of the 20th century such dreadful things are 
     still happening.
       It is especially relevant to raise the matter in the House 
     of Commons, because until 1947 the House was responsible for 
     the conduct of affairs in India. In some ways the agreement 
     made by Mountbatten with the successor authorities, 
     especially Nehru and the Congress party, for the creation of 
     India led to the current position. The great Sikh leaders of 
     the day took at his word and at face value the promises that 
     Mr. Nehru made them concerning the autonomy and the 
     governance of greater Punjab, as it then was--promises that 
     he subsequently broke.
       As a result of the haste with which we left India and of 
     the lack of care taken at the time to ensure that the 
     legitimate rights of the Sikhs were sustained, we have a 
     responsibility.
       The debate is especially relevant this week, because over 
     the past weekend we have celebrated Victory in Europe day. 
     While I was doing so in my borough of Gravesham, I met an 
     elderly Sikh visiting from India, who told me how he had 
     served as a sergeant-major with the British forces in Italy 
     as part of the imperial Indian army under the Raj.
       We owe a debt of gratitude to those people. We owe it to 
     them to speak up for human rights in the Punjab, so that they 
     can live in peace in the land of their forefathers.

  Here is the true face of Indian ``democracy'' revealed for all to 
see. All over the world, their tyranny is being exposed. These strong 
statements reveal yet again that India is in truth a brutal, repressive 
tyranny which tortures and murders routinely. This is the truth that 
will cause India to collapse. Freedom for Khalistan and all the nations 
living under Indian occupation is inevitable. (Dr. G.S. Aulakh, 
President, Council of Khalistan.)


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