[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            INDIAN GOVERNMENT BARS VIEWING OF BURNING PUNJAB

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 2, 2001

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, for quite a while, people 
interested in South Asian issues have had a valuable resource in the 
website Burning Punjab, located at http://www.burningpunjab.com. This 
website has reported many stories about the Indian government's tyranny 
against Sikhs and other minorities. Now the Indian government has 
banned the viewing of Burning Punjab in the northwest part of India, 
where Punjab, the Sikh homeland, is. Punjab, of course, declared its 
independence on October 7, 1987, calling itself Khalistan. The website 
has been blocked in Punjab and in the state of Haryana, which has a 
substantial Sikh population, and Delhi.
  Suppressing information is not the way that democratic countries do 
things. This ban shows that India is a deficient democracy. It has 
about as much freedom of the press as Communist China. Burning Punjab 
was founded on September 15, 1997. On March 29, 2000, the site's 
founder, Sukhbir Singh Osan, was reportedly threatened with murder, 
apparently by the Indian government. Are these the acts of a democracy?
  The massive human-rights violations of the Indian government have 
been well documented. Over 250,000 Sikhs, more than 200,000 Christians, 
over 75,000 Kashmiri Muslims, and tens of thousands of Dalits and other 
minorities have been killed by the government. It holds over 52,000 
Sikhs and tens of thousands of others as political prisoners with no 
charges and no trial. Some have been in custody for 17 years. There 
have been rapes of nuns, murders of priests, the burning death of a 
Christian missionary, attacks on Christian prayer halls, schools, and 
churches, on mosques, on the Golden Temple. A group of Indian soldiers 
were caught trying to burn down a Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) but were 
stopped by villagers.
  Why does a country like that receive U.S. aid? Do we support them so 
they can suppress the information their citizens need? Do we support 
them so they can maintain bloody repression against the minorities 
within their borders? We should stop all aid to India until basic human 
rights like the free flow of information are allowed for all citizens. 
Furthermore, we should put this Congress on record in support of self-
determination for the people of Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and the 
14 other countries seeking their freedom from India. This should take 
the form of an internationally-monitored, free and fair plebiscite on 
the question of independence. That is the democratic way and the way of 
major world powers. We owe it to the principles that gave birth to 
America to take these measures to promote the principles of freedom in 
South Asia and around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place the article on the banning of 
Burning Punjab into the Record at this time.

               [From Burning Punjab News, Sept. 23, 2001]

       Viewing Web Site ``Burning Punjab'' Banned in North India

       New Delhi.--The Indian Intelligence Agencies have banned 
     the viewing of World Wide Web site `Burning Punjab' 
     (www.burningpunjab.com). The site was not accessible in 
     Punjab, Haryana and Delhi for the past four days. It is 
     reliably learnt that the Research Analysis Wing (RAW) of the 
     Indian Hindu Regime ordered ban. The `Burning Punjab' has now 
     decided to change its IP identity and servers.
       Here it is pertinent to mention that web site `Burning 
     Punjab' was launched on September 15, 1997 by a Chandigarh 
     based journalist and lawyer, Sukhbir Singh Osan. The staff 
     and manager of the site were threatened number of time by the 
     Indian Police. On 29 March 2000, France based organization 
     Reporters sans Frontier's (RSF) also objected to various 
     restrictions imposed by the Indian Government on the staff 
     and manager of the web site `Burning Punjab' RSF General 
     Secretary Robert Menard issued a letter to the Indian 
     authorities opposing unwarranted `censorship'.
       It's worth mentioning that `Burning Punjab'--
     www.burningpunjab.com is an endeavor of IHRF. International 
     Human Rights Forum (IHRF) is engaged in propagating the cause 
     of Human Rights worldwide. Organization is taking special 
     care for the welfare of state victims and is lending a 
     helping hand to hapless and helpless to mitigate their 
     sufferings. The activities of the IHRF have been appreciated 
     by one and all irrespective of politico-religious 
     affiliations. During the cult of violence in Punjab, Kashmir, 
     Delhi, Assam, Bengal and elsewhere, the IHRF played a 
     significant role in exposing inhuman & barbaric treatment and 
     excesses committed by the State against the innocent & law 
     abiding citizens.
       About web site Burning Punjab: Burning Punjab is Punjab's 
     first ever media site on Sikh Holocaust. It deals with the 
     situation in East Punjab. Site contains news & views, 
     political scenario, human rights values and holocaust of 
     Sikhs. Sukhbir Singh Osan has created site. S.S.Osan is a Law 
     Graduate from Punjab University, Chandigarh. He is a prolific 
     writer and a born journalist. The International Human Rights 
     Forum is operating this site.





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