[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 76 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 1997

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, this weekend will mark a tragic 
turn of events in the history of the Sikh Nation. Thirteen years ago 
this Saturday, June 7, more than 20,000 Sikhs were massacred in Punjab 
at the Golden Temple and 38 other Sikh temples by India's military.
  India's genocide against the Sikh Nation has taken the lives of a 
staggering 250,000 Sikhs. I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will send a clear message to a government that has spent years 
practicing the torture of its own people. However, when you go home and 
turn on the evening news, good luck trying to find any story that 
reveals the plight of the Sikhs--the plight of the Kashmiris--the 
plight of Christians--and the plight of the untouchables, the lowest 
group in India's caste system.
  In Congress, we speak of the many tragedies that occur all over the 
world, especially around this time of year when this legislative body 
deals with the foreign aid legislation. We talk about the ongoing 
violent struggles between the people in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia. We 
reprimand China for its draconian abortion policies. We admonish Cuba 
for its human rights abuses. We threaten to withhold international 
military and educational training [IMET] money from Indonesia for its 
brutal treatment of the citizens of East Timor.
  Mr. Speaker, the Indian Government is one of the worst human rights 
abusers in the world. You might say, if that is happening, why does the 
world not know about it? Because since the 1970's, India has barred 
monitoring organizations like Amnesty International from entering the 
country. In fact, they are the only democracy in the world that refuses 
to allow Amnesty International to operate independently within the 
country. Mr. Speaker, what does the Indian Government have to hide? 
There are a half-million Indian soldiers occupying the province of 
Punjab and another half-million occupying Kashmir. This is a recipe for 
disaster my friends.
  For the last 15 years, I have been coming to this well to call 
attention to Punjab, where Indian forces have received cash bounties 
for the murder of innocent civilians. To justify their actions, the 
police label these individuals, sometimes young children, as 
``terrorists''. Also in Punjab, Sikhs are picked up in the middle of 
the night, only to be found floating dead in canals with their hands 
and feet bound together. Some Sikhs are not so fortunate, because many 
of them are never found after their abduction. Recently, India's 
Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] told the Supreme Court that it 
had confirmed nearly 1,000 cases of unidentified bodies that were 
cremated by the military.

  And it does not get any better in Kashmir. Women, because of their 
Muslim beliefs, are taken out of their homes in the middle of the night 
and are gang-raped, while their husbands are forced to wait inside at 
gunpoint.
  These military forces operate beyond the law with complete impunity. 
America should not be supporting a government that condones these 
widespread abuses with United States tax dollars. Now is the time for 
India to be held accountable for its continued violation of basic human 
rights. Mr. Speaker, the Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, ``Untouchables'', 
and women of India are desperately looking to this Congress for help. 
The time has come for action, it is time for America to take a stand.
  The Human Rights in India Act, introduced by me along with my good 
friend and colleague Gary Condit of California, will bar development 
aid to India unless the government releases prisoners of conscience, 
ends the practice of torture by police and military forces, permits 
impartial investigations of reported torture and disappearances of 
those in custody, brings to justice police forces responsible for human 
rights abuses, and permits critics of the government to travel abroad.
  My colleagues, from this well of the House of Representatives you 
will hear many stories of human abuses from all around the world. 
Today, I ask that you think of the hundreds of thousands suffering in 
India. Please do not turn your back on the innocent. Give them a 
flicker of hope and send a strong message to the Government of India. I 
urge my colleagues to give the Human Rights in India Act their full 
consideration, and their strong support.

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