[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 96 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              SIKH JOURNALIST'S MAIL IS BEING INTERCEPTED

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                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 1999

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that 
journalist Sukhbir Singh Osan, proprietor of Burning Punjab and a 
writer for several Indian newspapers, is once again being harassed by 
the Indian government. After he came to North America to cover the big 
Sikh marches in Washington, New York, and Toronto and made a speech in 
the United Kingdom on the human rights situation in India, he was 
grilled for 45 minutes by Indian intelligence officers. Now, Indian 
postal authorities are intercepting his mail.
  In a letter to the Chief Postmaster of Chandigarh, which was brought 
to my attention by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of 
Khalistan, Mr. Osan noted that postal officials were handling his mail 
over to police constables. Several important documents were found lying 
on the desk of a Deputy Inspector General of Police. Mr. Osan, who is a 
law graduate as well as a journalist, pointed out that this action 
violates the Indian constitution and violates a ruling by the Indian 
Supreme Court in 1995.
  This is not the first time Mr. Osan has run afoul of the Indian 
state. His mail has been diverted before and he has received telephone 
threats for his reporting on corruption and human rights violations.
  Here is Indian democracy in action. If you criticize the government, 
your mail is seized, the government grills you, and you are threatened. 
In spite of all this, Mr. Osan goes on providing information about the 
situation in Punjab, Khalistan on his website and in his articles. His 
courage deserves our respect.
  This abuse of Mr. Osan's rights is just the latest Indian violation 
of the basic liberties of Sikhs in Punjab, Khalistan. In light of this 
pattern of tyranny, America should help bring liberty to the people 
living under Indian rule.
  Let us use our influence constructively to bring freedom, peace, and 
stability to this troubled region before it turns into another Kosovo. 
If that happens, it could pose a serious danger to the entire world, 
given India and Pakistan's possession of nuclear weapons and India's 
alleged use of chemical weapons in the Kargil conflict. We must act now 
to keep this from happening.

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