LONDON: A member of the House of Commons, Terry Dicks MP. has urged Sir Geoffrey Howe the Secretary of State of Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Britain to bring pressure to bear on the Indian government.

Terry Dicks, in a letter on June 29 to Sir Howe said, “ young male Sikhs are being brutally attacked whilst female Sikhs are being beaten and raped by members of the police and military forces in the area. Many active Sikhs are being taken away and are never seen again, while others are locked away in prison some for years, awaiting an appearance before a court.

“I know that if the same kind of atrocities were being committed by the white South African Government on blacks in South Africa, the outcry would be overwhelming. In the case of the persecution of the Sikhs in the Punjab the silence of the British government is deafening.

“If our Government wants to maintain its reputation in the field of human nights then it must bring pressure to bear on the Indian Government, firstly to end the indiscriminate killing of innocent men and women in the Punjab. Secondly, to end once and for all the large scale torture and wrongful imprisonment of many thousands of innocent Sikhs going about their daily business. Thirdly to bring to trial in open court as soon ‘as possible all those who have been charged with activities connected with the situation in the Punjab.

Finally to recognize the night of groups of Sikhs to meet together and to speak freely about the issues that concern them their families and their religion. In other words to recognize and implement basic human rights.

“The situation in the Punjab is now desperate and I hope you will decide at least to look into the matter even if you are not prepared to criticize the Indian government. A small gesture of this kind will at least bring some consolation to the many Sikhs living in this country who have friends and relatives in the Punjab and whose lives are threatened at the present time, he concluded.

Terry Dicks had written this letter after he had been briefed and Presented a documentation by DS. Gill, Secretary Punjab Human Rights Organization who is currently touring Great Britain.

D’S. Gill had also presented him with documentary evidence of human rights violations in Punjab.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 14, 1989