[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 20, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E386-E387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NEW YORK TIMES CALLS INDIA ROTTEN, CORRUPT, REPRESSIVE, AND ANTIPEOPLE

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 1996

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the February 25 issue of the New York Times 
featured an excellent article on the corruption and repression in 
India. In it, the Indian Government was aptly described as ``a rotten, 
corrupt, repressive, and anti-people system.'' This is an accurate and 
very damning indictment of the brutal Indian regime. I will be placing 
this article in the Record.
  The repression of the Sikhs is vividly exposed in the new video 
``Disappearances in Punjab,'' which I recently received from the 
Council of Khalistan. An Indian policewoman testifies in the video 
about acts of torture and repression that she has seen. The kidnaping 
of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra is highlighted. Mr. 
Khalra was kidnaped by the Punjab police after publishing a report 
which exposed abductions and disappearances of the same kind as those 
revealed by this video.
  The video is a powerful indictment of India's reign of terror in 
Punjab, Khalistan. No one who watches it will ever again see India as 
anything but a brutal police state. I strongly recommend it. As Siskel 
and Ebert would say, it gets two thumbs up.
  As you know, India has recently been rocked by a massive corruption 
scandal which as forced the resignations of several Cabinet members and 
a number of leading opposition political figures. According to the 
January 25 issue of the Tribune of Chandigarh, the Prime Minister 
himself received 3.5 crore rupees, the equivalent of millions of 
dollars, in this scandal. All this is going on while the ordinary 
people of India live in some of the worst poverty in all the world, 
some of them making less than a dollar a day. Is it any wonder that 
many experts believe that India is apt to break apart soon?
  This corruption is one symptom of India's moral bankruptcy. Another 
is the repression of the Indian regime routinely practices against the 
Sikhs Nation and the other nations their forces brutally occupy, such 
as Azad Kashmir and Christian Nagaland. One recent incident, while not 
as serious as the Khalra kidnapping, shows how pervasive the effort to 
intimidate the Sikh Nation into submission is. A university student is 
being denied his degree by the regime despite being one of the top 
students in his class. His name is Sukhbir Signh Osan, and he is also 
the reporter who broke the story that the late Governor of Punjab, 
Surendra Nath, was paid $1.5 billion by the Indian regime to organize 
and support covert states terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir. This 
certainly seem to be an attempt to force Mr. Osan to toe the India 
regime's line rather than doing this kind of independent reporting.
  In that light, the Sikhs of Khalistan and the oppressed peoples of 
the other nations India brutally occupies are entirely justified in 
seeking their freedom. America should support them in this effort.
  Many of us have introduced a bill, H.R. 1425, the Human Rights in 
India Act, which will cut off United States development aid to India 
until the human rights situation is rectified. This bill would be a 
first step in restoring freedom in the subcontinent. I urge my 
colleagues to support it, and I call upon our colleagues over on the 
Senate side to introduce parallel legislation. I also call upon our 
Senate colleagues to circulate a letter protesting India's brutal 
repression of the Sikhs and others similar to the one 65 of us signed 
last year. In America, we enjoy the blessings of freedom. It is our 
duty to help spread those blessings to all the people of the world.

[[Page E387]]



                      THE SPIRIT OF RURAL AMERICA

                                 ______


                     HON. GEORGE R. NETHERCUTT, JR.

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 1996

  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, the first 2 months of 1996 brought the 
Pacific Northwest bitter cold, heavy snow, torrential rains, and 
disastrous floods.
  I had the opportunity to witness some of the worst flooding in our 
State in 30 years. Railroads have been washed out, highways are 
crumbling, and homes have been carpeted with river mud. However, 
outside of the heavy mud rose a spirit from eastern Washington that 
lightened the hearts of everyone who was touched by this force of 
nature. Without phone calls, whistles, or an official call, the eastern 
Washington community has come together to work day and night to take 
their town back from overflowing rivers. Working as one, they created 
an awe-inspiring relief team. This effort is a tribute to the strength 
and capability of the people of the Pacific Northwest.
  Nothing tears at the fabric of a community like a natural disaster 
and nothing else can bring out the best in human beings. The people of 
Dayton, Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Pullman, Colfax, Elberton, Palouse, and 
all surrounding towns should be commended for what they have endured 
and how they have welcomed their neighbors' help with open arms.
  The employees of FEMA, the Red Cross, Corps of Engineers, and the 
Small Business Administration must be congratulated as well. Working 
among disaster areas and dealing with human concerns day after day 
challenged public and private citizens alike. My visit to these towns 
to view the damage was not only inspiring but an encouraging 
opportunity to observe Federal employees at work. These agencies have 
received high marks in Washington State and our residents thank their 
personnel for what they have done to assist.
  When spring arrives in the Pacific Northwest, the scars will remain 
visible, but the work will continue. Crops will be replanted and roads 
will be repaired. As a Member of Congress, I will be doing my best to 
help our small towns get back on their feet, back in their homes, and 
their lives back to normal. It will all take time and it will also 
preparation to avoid flood damage in the future.
  America's small towns must be preserved. Rural communities are 
certainly a window into our past and, I hope, a picture of what America 
can be. We are faced with daily reports of bad news about the condition 
of our society, but the citizens of Dayton, Waitsburg, Palouse, and all 
the other affected towns in eastern Washington give me hope. Community 
leaders like Waitsburg Mayor Tom Baker, Columbia County Commissioner 
Jon McFarland, and Walla Walla County Commissioner David Carey have 
given so much to their constituents under adverse circumstances. John 
Vachal, the mayor of Dayton, has done an excellent job coordinating his 
responsibilities to the town and contending with the damage to his own 
neighborhood. Great commitment and leadership has also been recognized 
in Columbia County Commissioners George Touchette and Charles Reeves, 
Colfax Mayor Norma Becker, Palouse Mayor Bruce Baldwin, and Pullman 
Mayor Mitch Chandler, to name only a few.
  Countless families have endured this winter's heartbreaking events, 
like the Marshall family of Starbuck, whose living room was flooded 
with 3 feet of water. Flint and Megan Gilbertson were both moved to 
tears, not simply because they nearly lost their home, but because 
their community opened hearts and wallets and donated needed money to 
the family. Nevertheless, few complain and everybody works for the good 
of the community. I believe Darlene Burrill of Walla Walla said it 
best. ``May each one find hope and encouragement in knowing that there 
are many people who care.''
  I will do all that I can to make recovery proceed as smoothly as 
possible for the people of the Fifth Congressional District. America 
has much to learn from my part of the country, and I have a renewed 
respect and a continuing deep appreciation for the spirit of rural 
America and eastern Washington.

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