[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1932-E1933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 U.S. CONGRESSIONAL LETTER CALLS FOR RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 
                                 INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 22, 1999

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, last month several of my colleagues and I 
sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee calling for 
the release of political prisoners in India. So far we have received no 
response.
  According to Amnesty International, thousands of political prisoners 
are being held in illegal detention without charge or trial. Several 
Sikh political prisoners wrote a letter from the Nabha Security jail on 
the Sikh Nation's 300th anniversary in which they urged Sikhs to get 
involved in getting them released. Some of these Sikh political 
prisoners have been held since 1984. Fifteen years in illegal detention 
without charge or trials is the tactic of a police state, not of the 
democracy India claims to be.
  Our letter reminds the Indian leader that if India is going to 
proclaim its democratic principles, it should release all political 
prisoners and bring the police who have committed atrocities against 
the Sikhs to justice. If it does not, we should be ready to take 
appropriate action to deprive India of the privileges that accrue to 
democratic and friendly countries.
  If India continues to oppress its minorities and hold thousands of 
political prisoners without charge of trial, America should stop aid 
and trade to the repressive Indian regime. In addition, we should 
support self-determination for all the nations and peoples of South 
Asia. This is the way to ensure that all the people and nations of 
South Asia may live in freedom.

[[Page E1933]]

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place the Congressional letter to Prime 
Minister Vajpayee into the Record.

                                               Washington, DC,

                                                    July 30, 1999.
     Hon. Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
     Prime Minister of India, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, India.
       Dear Mr. Prime Minister: We are very disturbed by a recent 
     Amnesty International report that thousands of political 
     prisoners are being held in Indian prisons without charge or 
     trial. In a democracy, there should not be political 
     prisoners.
       In addition, a group of political prisoners held at Nabha 
     Security Jail wrote to the Sikhs earlier this year asking for 
     help in getting them released. There are thousands of Sikh 
     political prisoners being held in India. Some Sikh political 
     prisoners have been held since 1984 without charge or trial. 
     How can a country that proclaims its support for democratic 
     principles continue to hold political prisoners?
       Human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra wrote a report 
     showing that tens of thousands of Sikhs were abducted, 
     tortured, murdered, and declared ``unidentified,'' then their 
     bodies were cremated. After Mr. Khalra published this report, 
     he was kidnapped by the police and they killed him six weeks 
     later, according to a witness. The police responsible for 
     this act have never been punished, despite a court order. 
     Neither has Swaran Singh Ghotna, the police officer 
     responsible for the torture and murder of Akal Takht Jathedar 
     Gurdev Singh Kaunke, who was torn in half.
       Mr. Khalra's findings were confirmed by a recently-issued 
     report from the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances 
     in Punjab, which issued an ``interim report'' that identifies 
     at least 838 cases of arbitrary execution and secret 
     cremation. These are not the acts of a democratic country.
       As members of the United States Congress, we will be 
     watching with interest the actions that you take. If these 
     kinds of acts continue, we will be forced to consider cutting 
     off American aid and trade to India. We expect a democratic 
     state like India to live up to the principles of democracy 
     and the rule of law.
           Sincerely,
         Edolphus Towns, Dan Burton, William Jefferson, Roscoe 
           Bartlett, John T. Doolittle, Jack Metcalf, Sam Farr, 
           George Radanovich, Eni Faleomavaega, Bobby L. Rush, 
           James Traficant, Wally Herger, Gary Condit, Lincoln 
           Diaz-Balart, Peter King, J.C. Watts, Donald Payne, 
           Cynthia McKinney, Brian P. Bilbray, Major R. Owens, 
           Bernard Sanders, Richard Pombo, Albert R. Wynn, Carlos 
           Romero-Barcelo, James Rogan, Duke Cunningham, Ileana 
           Ros-Lehtinen, David McIntosh, Collin C. Peterson.

           

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