[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 26565-26566]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT WITH REGARD TO INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2000

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, as the year 2000 comes to a close, we can 
look back over the past twelve months with a profound sense of 
accomplishment by pointing to a new chapter in our relationship between 
the United States and India. We have witnessed dramatic changes that 
have created a dynamic and lasting partnership as celebrated throughout 
President Clinton's visit to India last July and Prime Minister's 
Vajpayee's journey to the U.S. where, on an historic September morning, 
he addressed a joint meeting of the House and Senate. Today, as never 
before, India and the U.S., the world's two largest democracies, are 
collaborating on a host of issues of mutual interest, from technology 
to the environment and from economic development to the fight against 
terrorism.
  Our close ties with India would not have been possible without the 
bipartisan cooperation of the Congress. The vast majority of our 
members have embraced that relationship. We have enacted congressional 
resolutions demonstrating our solid support for India and its 
democratic institutions and we have been actively engaged in promoting 
regional stability in an area of vital concern to U.S. interests, and 
the flow of commerce between our nations. In view of the overwhelming 
support in forging a harmonious relationship for the new millennium, it 
is disappointing that a few of our colleagues have seen fit to 
disparage and discourage that relationship by launching a series of 
ill-informed attacks on India and its people. In the interest of 
accuracy and in the broader context of the growing bonds of friendship 
between the U.S. and India, it is important that we set the record 
straight.
  First, let us consider the baseless claim that the Government of 
India was responsible for the bombing of an Air India jet in 1985, 
which occurred off the coast of Ireland in a flight originating in 
Canada, claiming the lives of 329 passengers. That incident has now 
been thoroughly investigated by one of the world's most respected law 
enforcement agencies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). On 
October 27, 2000 after an almost 15-year inquiry, the RCMP charged two 
residents in British Columbia, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Bagri, 
with the murders of the innocent civilians killed in the crash of the 
Air India jet. One of those individuals, Mr. Malik, has been identified 
by Canadian authorities as the financial backer of extreme Sikh 
separatist groups operating from Canada. Both Canadians have also been 
charged with the murders of two baggage handlers in Tokyo by a bomb 
that was meant to destroy yet another Air India flight. These 
individuals, will be given a trial and afforded every opportunity to 
defend themselves against the murder and criminal conspiracy charges 
lodged against them by Canadian authorities.
  As the India Abroad News Service reported recently, moderate Sikhs in 
the U.S. have welcomed the RCMP's apprehension of the suspects. 
According to India Abroad, the Sikh Council on Religion and Education--
a community think-tank based in Washington--concluded:

       We, the Sikhs, condemn the killing of innocent people. We 
     also want to emphasize in the strongest possible terms that 
     any such employment of violence for political ends is totally 
     against Sikh teachings and values. The Sikh religion teaches 
     tolerance and respect for all religious beliefs and practices 
     . . . The consensus in the Sikh community in India and 
     internationally has been that political issues must be 
     resolved through dialogue, political process and peaceful 
     means. We are surprised and shocked that there could be Sikh 
     individuals who would commit such a horrible act . . .

  These moderate and responsible views of the U.S. Sikh community stand 
in sharp contrast to the false information in press releases prepared 
by the so-called ``Council of Khalistan'' on the destruction of the Air 
India jet that were reflected in statements by one of our colleagues. 
This ``Council'' has little presence and
  Turning to the second event--the massacre of 36 Sikh villagers in 
Chittisinghpora on March 20, 2000 which occurred just as President 
Clinton arrived for his state visit to India. Statements that the 
Indian government was responsible for this infamous act of murder, 
defies the facts. The true story is otherwise. Indian authorities have 
arrested a prime suspect in the case who disclosed that the massacre 
was the work of a group of terrorists in the ranks of the Hiz-ul-
Majahideen (HUM) and HUM's affiliate, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET). The 
HUM has already been designated by the State Department as a foreign 
terrorist organization and I have joined with other members of the 
Congress in calling upon the State Department to name the LET as a 
terrorist organization.

[[Page 26566]]

  Both the HUM and LET are on the long list of terrorist organizations 
that are encouraged and supported by Pakistan. Attacks from forces 
outside of India, often led by armed mercenaries, are consistent with 
the pattern of terrorism that these and other terrorist groups have 
carried out for many years against innocent Hindus and Muslims in 
Kashmir. Their motive is clear--they seek to disrupt the territorial 
integrity of India and to show that a multi-religious society cannot 
survive. The attack on the Sikh community in Chittisinghpora, by 
cynically choosing the very eve of President Clinton's visit to New 
Delhi to perpetrate these atrocities, follows the policy of ethnic 
cleansing to eliminate whatever little minority population that resides 
in the Kashmir valley. Casting blame on India for these deliberate acts 
of violence is at odds with the facts of the case and India's 
constitutional obligation to protect the civil and human rights of its 
diverse communities.
  Finally, let us consider recent statements claiming that India is 
practicing ``state terrorism'' in Punjab and Kasmir, citing 
unsubstantiated figures from questionable and unreliable sources. Using 
these claims, it is contended India should be declared a terrorist 
state. Such a notion flies in the face of the documented record by the 
U.S. State Department citing the improvement of human rights in India. 
It is also contrary to the partnership between the U.S. and India in 
combating the menace of international terrorism by engaging in day-to-
day cooperative counter-terrorist activities.
  With India's record of democracy deeply rooted in its constitution 
and its tolerance for its many religious and ethnic communities, India 
itself has suffered from the ravages of terrorism to a degree virtually 
unparalleled around the world. The human cost of this cross-border 
terrorism has been staggering. Indeed, over the years, more than 16,000 
Indians in Punjab have been murdered and maimed by cross-border 
terrorists. The deadly toll in Jammu and Kashmir has exceeded 21,000.
  It is in this context that we should examine the damage that can be 
caused by unsubstantiated allegations and false propaganda. Charges are 
continually hurled against the Government of India every time a vicious 
act of terrorism is committed--for example, the bombing of the Air 
India jetliner in 1985, the attack on the Sikh community in March of 
this year, and the shooting of innocent pilgrims on their way to the 
Amarnarth caves in August. There is more than sufficient evidence to 
show that the last two acts committed this year were the handiwork of 
elements from Pakistan belonging to the LET. The facts with regard to 
the Air India case point to Canadian-based Sikh supra-nationalists as 
the source of the aviation disaster. If this kind of propaganda is 
uncritically allowed to hold sway, it encourages militant units like 
the LET to perpetrate similar atrocities against innocent civilians. It 
is characteristic of the modus operandi of these terrorist groups to 
deflect attention from their inhumane acts by deliberately shifting the 
blame to India.
  The first and only address by a foreign head of state before a joint 
meeting of the 106th Congress by India's Prime Minister Vajpayee speaks 
volumes about the position of the U.S. Congress on U.S.-India 
relations.
  The recent ill-informed statements by some of our colleagues do not 
represent the views of most Members of the U.S. Congress.

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