[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 70 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1022-E1023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HINDU MILITANTS MURDERED 38 SIKHS IN COLD BLOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, recently, former Secretary of State Madeleine 
Albright wrote a book called The Mighty and the Almighty. The 
introduction was written by former President Bill Clinton. In his 
introduction, President Clinton wrote, ``During my visit to India in 
2000, some Hindu militants decided to vent their outrage by murdering 
38 Sikhs in cold blood. If I hadn't made the trip, the victims would 
probably still be alive. If I hadn't made the trip because I feared 
what militants might do, I couldn't have done my job as president of 
the United States.''
  President Clinton places the blame squarely on Hindu militants, not 
on the so-called Kashmiri Muslims that the Indian government tried to 
blame for the massacre. In 2002, the Washington Times reported that the 
government finally admitted its responsibility and admitted that the 
evidence that it used to pin the blame on Kashmiris was false.
  Reporter Barry Bearak of the New York Times also placed the blame 
squarely on the Indian government, as did two independent 
investigations, one by the International Human Rights Organization, 
which is based in Ludhiana, and the other conducted jointly by the 
Punjab Human Rights Organization and the Movement Against State 
Repression. The evidence is overwhelming, yet Indian sycophants 
continue to deny the government's responsibility.
  Unfortunately, this massacre would have been swept under the rug if 
not for the outstanding efforts of the organizations mentioned above 
and of the Council of Khalistan, which has painstakingly documented any 
new developments. I am indebted to them for bringing this to my 
attention.
  The massacre was part of a pattern of repression of minorities that 
has brought about the murders of over 250,000 Sikhs, more than 300,000 
Christians in Nagaland alone, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir alone, and 
Christians and Muslims throughout the country, as well as tens of 
thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and other 
minorities. This is one reason that it is essential to cut off our aid 
and trade to India and to demand a free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, 
Khalistan, in Kashmir, in Nagalim, and wherever people are seeking 
their freedom. This is the only way to bring freedom, peace, stability, 
and dignity to all the people of south Asia.
  I would like to introduce the press release from the Council of 
Khalistan on Secretary Albright's book into the Record at this time.

          ``Hindu Militants Murdered 38 Sikhs in Cold Blood''

       Washington, DC, May 30, 2006.--In the introduction to 
     former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's new book, The 
     Mighty and the Almighty, former U.S. President Bill Clinton 
     writes that ``Hindu militants'' are responsible for the 
     massacre of 38 Sikhs at Chithisinghpora in March 2000. This 
     reflects previous findings by the Punjab Human Rights 
     Organization, the International Human Rights Organization, 
     the Movement Against State Repression, and New York Times 
     reporter Barry Bearak.
       President Clinton writes, ``During my visit to India in 
     2000, some Hindu militants decided to vent their outrage by 
     murdering 38 Sikhs in cold blood. If I hadn't made the trip, 
     the victims would probably still be alive, If I hadn't made 
     the trip because I feared what militants might do, I couldn't 
     have done my job as president of the United States.''
       According to Amnesty International, ``the attackers wore 
     uniforms of the armed forces and were led by a tall man whom 
     they addressed as Commanding Officer (CO). All Sikh men were 
     rounded up, ostensibly to check their identities, and made to 
     sit on the ground in two groups against the walls of the 
     gurdwaras [Sikh temples] a few hundred metres from each 
     other; they were shot at point blank range. As the attackers 
     withdrew, they reportedly shouted Hindu slogans.'' On August 
     2, 2002, the Washington Times reported that the Indian 
     government admitted that its forces were responsible for the 
     massacre. India finally admitted that the evidence it used to 
     implicate alleged Kashmiri ``militants'' in the murders was 
     faked.
       At the time of the Chithisinghpora massacre, Dr. Gurmit 
     Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, strongly 
     condemned the murders. ``What motive would Kashmiri freedom 
     fighters have to kill Sikhs? This would be especially stupid 
     when President Clinton is visiting. The freedom movements in 
     Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland, and throughout India need the 
     support of the United States,'' he said, Khalistan is the 
     Sikh homeland declared independent on October 7, 1987.
       The massacres continued a pattern of repression and 
     terrorism against minorities by the Indian government, which 
     it attempts to blame on other minorities to divide and rule 
     the minority peoples within its artificial borders. The 
     Indian newspaper Hitavada reported that the Indian government 
     paid the late governor of Punjab, Surendra Nath, $1.5 billion 
     to organize and support covert terrorist activity in Punjab, 
     Khalistan, and in neighboring Kashmir.
       A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression 
     (MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268 
     political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and 
     Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA) even though it expired in 
     1995. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. There has 
     been no list published of those who were acquitted under TADA 
     and those who are still rotting in Indian jails. 
     Additionally, according to Amnesty International, there are 
     tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political 
     prisoners. MASR report quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy as 
     writing ``if we add up the figures of the last few years the 
     number of innocent persons killed would run into lakhs 
     [hundreds of thousands.]''
       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 
     Muslims

[[Page E1023]]

     in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims 
     throughout the country, and tens of thousands of Tamils, 
     Assamese, Manipuris, and others. The Indian Supreme Court 
     called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than 
     a genocide.''
       The book Soft Target by Canadian journalists Zuhair 
     Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew shows that the Indian government 
     blew up its own airliner in 1985 to blame Sikhs and justify 
     further repression. It quotes an agent of the Canadian 
     Security Investigation Service. (CSIS) as saying, ``If you 
     really want to clear up the incidents quickly, take vans down 
     to the Indian High Commission and the consulates in Toronto 
     and Vancouver. We know it and they know it that they are 
     involved.'' On January 2, 2002, the Washington Times reported 
     that India sponsors cross-border terrorism in the Pakistani 
     province of Sindh.
       ``Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and 
     get justice,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``When Khalistan is free, we 
     will have our own Ambassadors, our own representation in the 
     UN and other international bodies, and our own leaders to 
     keep this sort of thing from happening. We won't be at the 
     mercy of the brutal Indian regime and its Hindu militant 
     allies,'' he said. ``Democracies don't commit genocide. India 
     should act like a democracy and allow a plebiscite on 
     independence for Khalistan and all the nations of South 
     Asia,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We must free Khalistan now.''

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