LONDON: The all-party Parliamentary Human Rights Group has condemned the Indian government for human rights abuses that are continuing in the Punjab.

Ata meeting held in a committee room of the House of Commons, the Indian government was pressed to allow independent observers to visit Punjab and Kashmir to assess for themselves the allegations of serious violations of human rights and about atrocities com mitted by the Indian security forces,

Max Madden, a Labor member of parliament, has been asked to contact the Indian High Commission in London to convey through him the feelings expressed at the meeting. A number of Sikh activists and several members of parliament belonging to the main political parties attended the meeting. The chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, Lord Eric Avebury, said that he was trying to organize a joint delegation of the United States Congress and British parliament for a visit to areas of conflict in India, such as the Punjab and held Kashmir, India, he thought, may not find it easy to refuse permission to such allegation as it would come from the US and UK and will have greater moral backing.

The meeting was told by Sikh leaders that Sikhs in the Punjab are being subjected to discrimination and “have to face state terror ism because of their demand for an independent Khalistan”. The security forces, they claimed, have infiltrated some of the Sikh organizations, and are indulging in murders. Extrajudicial killings are continuing and those killed are labelled as terrorists. Inder Jit Singh Jeji, Convener of “Movement Against State Repression”, who had come from India especially to attend a Sikh convention, gave instances of excesses committed by the security forces 1n the Punjab, John Watts, a Conservative member of parliament, told the meeting that the parliamentary human rights group would be lobbying support from other members of parliament with the objective of pressing the British government to raise the issue of human rights with the Indian government, as it is persistently denying access to independent observers. Amnesty International which has been trying 16 get permission to Send is research team to the Punjab and Kashmir has so far not had any positive response to its re quests.. An Amnesty representative had told a two day convention of Sikhs, held in London earlier this month, that Amnesty in collaboration with other human rights Organizations will soon be launching a campaign to press the European Community to make their aid to India conditional upon the observance of human rights.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 11, 1993