[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E57-E58]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       KASHMIRI PANDITS MASSACRED

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 28, 1998

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, on January 26th of this year, in Kashmir, 
India, 23 Kashmiri Pandits, were massacred in cold blood. Unprovoked, 
30 militants entered the homes of four Pandit families, opened fire and 
killed all but one. After the killings, the militants set their home 
and a small temple on fire.
  Mr. Speaker, for the last 7 years, Kashmiri Pandits have been 
subjected to unprovoked and senseless killings. They have been forced 
to leave their homes in the Kashmir Valley because of the actions 
committed by terrorists and militants who are armed and trained by the 
enemies of India.
  The terrorists' agenda is simple. It is to undermine the restoration 
of democratic rule and peace that was brought back to Jammu and Kashmir 
in October 1996. I should note that the killings took place on India's 
48th Republic Day. A spokesman for a Kashmiri Pandit organization 
stated that ``the massacre of the innocent people by the Pakistan 
trained militants on the occasion of the Republic Day was a mockery of 
Indians' integrity in the 50th year of Independence.''
  This peaceful community, which has been subjected to countless 
targeted killings, has been forced to live in refugee camps scattered 
throughout India. Rather than living in their homeland, the Pandit 
community has been living in ill-equipped camps that lack the proper 
educational and job training facilities that would enable them to live 
decent and productive lives. This has resulted in tremendous suffering 
by the community and the cultural and social deterioration of their 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, we must work with the Indian Government in bringing 
peace and security to

[[Page E58]]

this volatile region. We must encourage India's National Human Rights 
Commission (NHRC) to play an instrumental role in resolving this issue. 
I have asked the US State Department to encourage the Indian Government 
to designate the Kashmiri Pandit community as an ``Internally Displaced 
People'' (IDP) so that they may receive extensive humanitarian 
assistance.
  I urge Members of this Body to work with me with the Government of 
India in creating conditions in the Kashmir Valley that are conducive 
to the return of the Pandits.

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