LUDHIANA: The International Human Rights Organization (IHRO) on Jan.11 appointed five prominent lawyers as observers to monitor the forthcoming panchayat elections in Punjab scheduled for Jan.15 to Jan.22. They would pay close afternoon to this process and submit their support by the end of this month.

This was stated here Monday by the IHRO chairman D.S.Gill who mentioned names of the observers as Harbans Lal Sethi, Gurdish Singh Grewal, K.K.Kausal, Kashmir Singh Ghuman and Comrade Inderjit Singh Mansa.

The chairman added that IHRO through its chapters abroad had already approached several world governments, rights organizations and institutions to send their observers to Punjab to ensure fair and free village council elections in the state.

The US Congressman Dan Burton had also written a letter to the Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger to send observers from the US, the United Nations and inclinational human rights organizations to prevent human and civil rights violations and to ensure honest and free elections in Punjab, urging the US Secretary that “such actions will prevent the inumidation of voters as occurred in the February 1992 elections for the state assembly in Punjab,” the IHRO statement said.

Dan Burton in his letter mentioned we have received many reports that pro-Sikh movement candidates are being intimidated and coerced into withdrawing as candidates. Same candidates have been arrested by the police and detained an undisclosed locations. In 1991, one of the candidates for state assembly, Avtar Singh, was tortured to death by the Punjab Police. We believe that observers should be sent to Punjab to ensure that Sikhs can freely exercise their right to vote.”

The Carter Center at Atlanta has also been approached about worrisome Situation in the state of Punjab, said Gill adding that “the IHRO headquarter had also written to the US, Germany, France, UK, Japan and Australia governments through their missions at Delhi to use their good offices to ensure free and fair panchayat elections in the state.”

The THRO has also called upon Delhibased human rights groups to send their observers to Punjab during the elections to watch the situation, said Gill.

The nonparty NGO group censured the Punjab government for detaining Akali and other Sikh leaders on one pre text or the other just to maintain their minimum.

 

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  January 15, 1993