[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
______
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.''
____________________