[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DR. AULAKH OF COUNCIL OF KHALISTAN NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, at the recent convention of the Council of 
Khalistan, the delegates passed a resolution to nominate the Council's 
President, Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, for the Nobel Peace Prize. This is 
a very well-deserved nomination.
  Dr. Aulakh is well known to many of us in Congress for his tireless 
work to free the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian rule. He 
is dedicated to doing so by peaceful means. For eleven years, the 
Council of Khalistan has led the peaceful, democratic, nonviolent 
movement to liberate Khalistan, which declared its independence on 
October 7, 1987.
  The Indian government labels anyone who advocates independence for 
Khalistan a ``terrorist,'' even when he advocates freedom by peaceful 
means. Meanwhile, India has murdered more than 250,000 Sikhs since 
1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and 
by human-rights groups. About 50,000 Sikh youth have been abducted, 
tortured, and murdered by the police, then their bodies have been 
declared ``unidentified'' and cremated.
  In addition to his work with Congress, Dr. Aulakh has worked with 
organizations like the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the 
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples' Organization, and members of the 
media. He has worked tirelessly to make the world aware of Indian 
repression against the Sikhs.
  Dr. Aulakh has not just worked to expose the oppression of Sikhs, 
however. Recently he brought to the attention of the Congress the rapes 
of four nuns in Madhya Pradesh. He has helped to expose the Indian 
government's extrajudical killings of Christians, Muslims, Dalits, 
Assamese, Manipuris, and others. Wherever in South Asia oppression 
rears its ugly head, Dr. Aulakh has been there to expose it.
  Dr. Aulakh has also worked with Members of Congress on both sides of 
the aisle to make sure that the Indian government's efforts to alter 
Sikh history for their own convenience.
  Yassir Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin received a Nobel Peace Prize. If they 
are qualified, then Dr. Aulakh's efforts make him a good candidate for 
this prestigious award.
  America must support efforts like Dr. Aulakh's and those of other 
peaceful freedom fighters. We can do this by maintaining the sanctions 
imposed on India after its nuclear weapons test in place, by cutting 
off all American aid to India, and by publicly declaring our support 
for a plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan so that the Sikhs of Khalistan 
can decide freely and democratically the issue of independence. We 
should also support the same right for all other people, notably the 
people of Kashmire.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place the Council of Khalistan's press 
release on the recommendation of Dr. Aulakh for the Nobel Prize into 
the Congressional Record.

       [From Council of Khalistan--Press Release, Oct. 14, 1998]

              Dr. Aulakh Recommended for Nobel Peace Prize

       Washington, DC--The annual convention of the Council of 
     Khalistan, which was held October 10-11 at the Sikh Cultural 
     Society in Richmond Hill, New York, passed a resolution 
     unanimously recommending Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President 
     of the Council of Khalistan, for the Nobel Peace Prize. The 
     recommendation is based on Dr. Aulakh's tireless work for a 
     Shantmai Morcha (peaceful agitation) to liberate the Sikh 
     homeland, Khalistan, from Indian rule. Dr. Aulakh's name will 
     be formally submitted to the Nobel Prize committee soon.
       The Council of Khalistan is the government pro tempore of 
     Khalistan, the independent state declared by the Sikhs on 
     October 7, 1987. If was formed at the time of that 
     declaration and has worked to liberate Khalistan for eleven 
     years. The Council of Khalistan leads the Sikhs' peaceful, 
     democratic, nonviolent struggle to liberate Khalistan.
       Dr. Aulakh is well known for his work with Members of 
     Congress, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the 
     Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), the 
     American and international media, and other people and 
     organizations to get information about Indian genocide 
     against the Sikhs out to the world. This genocide has killed 
     over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984. Tens of thousands are rotting 
     in Indian jails without charge or trial, some since 1984. The 
     Council of Khalistan has collected information about more 
     than 150 atrocities in Punjab since the Akali Dal government 
     took power in February 1997.
       The Indian government has been altering Sikh history, but 
     Dr. Aulakh's work has gotten the true history of the Sikh 
     Nation preserved in the Congressional Record, which the 
     Indian government cannot alter.
       The resolution cites Dr. Aulakh's consistent support for 
     peaceful action to combat Indian state terrorism and his 
     explicit rejection of militancy as a means of liberating 
     Khalistan. The Indian government routinely labels anyone who 
     advocates freedom for Khalistan a ``terrorist.''
       In addition to his work for the Sikhs of Khalistan, Dr. 
     Aulakh has worked with Members of the U.S. Congress to expose 
     Indian tyranny against other minorities in India, such as the 
     recent rapes of four nuns by a gang of Hindu nationalists. 
     The Indian government has killed over 200,000 Christians in 
     Nagaland since 1947, about 60,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 
     1988, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, 
     Dalits (``black untouchables,'' the aboriginal people of 
     South Asia), and others.
       ``I am extremely honored that the delegates to this 
     convention saw fit to recommend me for the Nobel Prize,'' Dr. 
     Aulakh said. ``This would be a great honor, not only for me, 
     but also for the oppressed Sikh Nation and the people of 
     Khalistan,'' he said.``Certainly it would further expose our 
     freedom struggle to the international community.''

     

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