[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E949]]


   12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE OF AMRITSAR

                                 ______


                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a sad 
date--the 12th anniversary of the Indian Government's brutal attack on 
the Golden Temple--the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. This 
military assault, which many of my colleagues will remember vividly, 
took place in June 1984, in the state of Punjab.
  Mr. Speaker, the Golden Temple is to the Sikh religion what the 
Vatican is to Christians or Mecca is to Muslims. Thirty-eight other 
Sikh temples were attacked by the Indian Army throughout Punjab. In 
all, more than 20,000 Sikhs were killed by Indian forces in these 
attacks, many in brutal mass executions. Many unarmed civilians were 
shot at point-blank range.
  The entire world was appalled by this senseless attack. Indian 
soldiers burned the Golden Temple's library, which contained countless 
original manuscripts of Sikh scriptures. The Sikh holy book--the Guru 
Granth Sahib--was shot full of holes. This brutal repression of the 
Sikh people and the Sikh religion was condemned by governments around 
the world. For the Sikh people, it crystallized the growing movement 
for an independent homeland by the name of Khalistan.
  Mr. Speaker, the Golden Temple massacre kicked off a wave of 
repression that has not abated to this day. More than 1.1 million 
Indian soldiers occupy Punjab and the neighboring state of Kashmir 
today. Over the last 12 years, they have released a reign of terror 
over both the Sikh and Kashmiri people--including widespread torture, 
summary executions, gang rapes of women, abductions, and disappearances 
of innocent civilians. It has been estimated by many that over 150,000 
Sikhs have died in the violence since the attack at the Golden Temple.
  The recent election results and the growing strength of the Hindu 
fundamentalist BJP party offer little hope for improvement in India's 
record of abuse. India now has its third government in 3 weeks. Now 
more than ever, it is especially important that governments around the 
world mark the anniversary of the attack on the Golden Temple by urging 
the Indian Government to exercise restraint and respect the rights of 
all people to democracy, self-determination, and freedom from human 
rights abuses.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring H.R. 1425, 
which would cut off development aid to India until it respects human 
rights, and House Concurrent Resolution 32, which calls for self-
determination for the Sikh people, who have suffered for too long under 
a repressive regime.

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