CHANDIGARH: The Akali Dal (M) president Simranjit Singh Mann Tuesday appealed to six countries to support the Sikhs’ demand for a sovereign and independent state so that if may soon be enlisted as an independent member of the UN.

In statement issued here Tuesday Mann appealed to the government and citizens of the UK US France Canada Germany and Australia to intervene and ensure a halt to the alleged atrocities and injustices being heaped on the Sikh community in Punjab which he said had crossed “all limits”.

Citing the Soviet situation Mann said India too will one day have to give in to all those demanding freedom.

Maintaining an ambiguous stand on elections in Punjab Mann expressed the apprehension that these would never be held later however he stated that the government could never divert the Sikh community from its “goal” by offering elections as“bait”.

Mann called upon the Sikhs to observe a social economic and political boycott of the CPI CPM and the BJP alleging that these parties were “communal and opportunistic” and had always been propagating anti-Sikh strong-arm and repressive policies.  

Commenting on a recent report that an SGPC delegation had met the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a day before he assumed charge Mann observed it was not an offence since Section 125 of the IPC allowed interaction between the communities of two friendly nations. And the Sikhs were a nation he added.

Condemning deployment of the Army in Assam Mann said the Center’s decision was in contravention of the St Petersburg treaty to which India was a party which forbade any country from deploying woops against its citizens.

In another statement Mann criticized the former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra. Mann alleged that on the one hand Tohra had ensured that the September 1 Anandpur Sahib Sikh conclave-announced a boycott of elections and on the other he had been hobnobbing with the Center to ensure cancellation of the poll.

Mann alleged that during the election campaign in June Tohra had entered into a secret electoral alliance with the BJP He also accused the Akali Dal.(B) president Prakash Singh Badal of entering into a secret electoral alliance with the BJP.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 27, 1991