[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E79-E80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING SUKHBIR SINGH OSAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 5, 2002

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was saddened to hear of the 
passing of Khalistani journalist Sukhbir Singh Osan. He died of a heart 
attack on January 19, 2002. Mr. Osan was only 31 years of age.
  Mr. Osan was a terrific reporter who exposed many scandals through 
his website, Burning Punjab. He reported many stories showing India's 
pattern of terrorism against its own people. In addition to running his 
website, he wrote for several Indian newspapers.
  The Indian government had banned the viewing of Burning Punjab in 
Punjab and a few neighboring states. When that did not shut down the 
site, India brought a fake criminal case against Burning Punjab, 
falsely claiming it was a ``newspaper'' operating out of Punjab. These 
actions make it clear that Mr. Osan's reports were greatly disturbing 
to the Indian government.
  Sukhbir Singh Osan was a courageous reporter, one of the few who 
would stand up to the Indian government. He will be greatly missed by 
the people whose interests he served, the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan, 
and by all the people who care about freedom in South Asia.
  The Council of Khalistan put out an excellent press release on Mr. 
Osan's passing. I am placing it in the Record in his memory. In 
addition, I would also like to insert a February 1, 2002, article from 
PPA News regarding the killing of Kashmiris by Indian soldiers.

                   In Memory of S. Sukhbir Singh Osan


 Longtime Journalist, Founder of Burning Punjab, Exposed Human Rights 
 Violations, Reported on Freedom Struggle--Government Had Filed False 
                 Case Against Burning Punjab, Banned It

       Washington, DC, January 21, 2002.--Sukhbir Singh Osan, 31, 
     journalist and founder of the website Burning Punjab (http://
www.burningpunjab.com), died of a heart attack over the 
     weekend. Sardar Osan also wrote for several Indian 
     newspapers.
       ``The passing of Sardar Osan is a great loss for the Sikh 
     Nation,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the 
     Council of Khalistan. The Council of Khalistan is the 
     government pro tempore of Khalistan and leads the struggle to 
     liberate the Sikh homeland, Khalistan, which declared its 
     independence from India on October 7, 1987. ``He was an 
     excellent reporter and a stalwart Sikh who exposed the human-
     rights violations against the Sikhs by the Indian government 
     and reported on the sikh freedom struggle,'' he said. ``His 
     website, Burning Punjab, is one of the best sources available 
     for news from Punjab, Khalistan.'' Osan was also a lawyer.
       Recently, the Indian government filed a false case against 
     Burning Punjab, falsely claiming it was a ``newspaper.'' The 
     Indian government had banned the viewing of Burning Punjab in 
     Punjab and elsewhere in northwest India. A Deputy Inspector 
     General was specifically assigned to ``deal with'' Sardar 
     Osan. ``I think the stress from that false case may have 
     brought about his heart attack,'' said Dr. Aulakh.
       ``Sardar Osan was one of the leading voices in exposing the 
     Indian government's repression of the Sikhs,'' Aulakh said. 
     ``He exposed phony Sikh leaders such as S.S. Mann, Dr. Jagjit 
     Singh Chohan, Didar Singh Bains, and others. This was an 
     extremely important service,'' said Dr. Aulakh.
       According to a report in May by the Movement Against State 
     Repression, India admitted that 52,268 Sikh political 
     prisoners are rotting in Indian jails without charge or 
     trial. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. The 
     Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984. 
     Over 75,000 Kashmiri Muslins have been killed since 1988. In 
     May, Indian troops were caught red-handed trying to set fire 
     to a Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) and some Sikh houses in 
     Kashmir. Two independent investigations have proven that the 
     Indian government carried out the March 2000 massacre of 35 
     Sikhs in Chithisinghpora. In August 1999, U.S. Congressman 
     Dana Rohrabacher said that for Sikhs, Kashmiri Muslims, and 
     other minorities ``India might as well be Nazi Germany.''
       ``The service Sardar Osan gave to the Sikh Nation was 
     immense,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``He is one of the few people in 
     Punjab who was not afraid to tell the truth. The Sikh Nation 
     will miss him very much,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``On behalf of 
     the Sikh diaspora, I would like to offer my condolences to 
     Sardar Osan's family. I can only hope that Burning Punjab 
     will be continued in his memory.''

[[Page E80]]

                   [From the PPA News, Feb. 1, 2002]

Indian Soldiers Kill 376 Kashmiris in January 2002, 107 Women, Children 
                     Among Killed in Police Custody

       Islamabad (PPA).--The Indian army during its genocidal 
     operations in the month of January 2002, killed 376 innocent 
     citizens in held Kashmir including 107 killed in custody.
       According to statistical data compiled by the Research 
     Section of the Kashmir Media Service, those who fell victim 
     to Indian army's brutalities included 246 men, 11 men and 12 
     kids.
       During the month under review, 625 common people were 
     tortured or critically injured by the Indian troops in the 
     course of crackdowns upon villages, towns and cities. 630 
     people were arrested during the outgoing month without any 
     valid charge against them while 139 houses and shops were 
     arsoned by setting them on fire on using dynamite blasts.
       Twenty-one persons had been kidnapped or reported missing. 
     Relatives of these persons forcibly disappeared by the Indian 
     army have no access to them and they are worried about their 
     missing loved ones.
       Molestation of women is one of the weapons being used by 
     the Indian forces to terrorize people and 32 cases of gang 
     rape and molestation were recorded during the month under 
     review. Police and civilian authorities are reluctant to 
     register complaints in this behalf and the victims are left 
     to suffer their fate. The army personnel even threaten their 
     victims of dire consequences if the matter was reported to 
     the authorities.

     

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