Mr. BURTON of Indiana Mr. Speaker, on September 10, 1987, four of the five chief priests of the Sikh religion declared support for the Sikhs fighting for a separate Sikh nation in India’s Punjab state. The announcement from the Golden Temple, seat of the Sikh religion, called on Sikhs worldwide to give “tan, man, dhan,” or body, soul and wealth, to the Sikh’s “decisive war for liberation.” They said the Indian Government was oppressing Sikhs all over India.
This statement was the strongest yet by Sikh religious authorities. I urge the Indian Government to use restraint in resolving this dispute. Most Sikhs want a peaceful solution in the Punjab and the Indian Government should respect their human rights and freedoms. There is evidence that the Indian authorities are currently suspending basic freedoms in the Punjab and that increasingly harsh police tactics are only aggravating the situation. Sikhs around the world will never submit to oppression.
The United States Department refuses to recognize the systematic and routine suppression of human rights in the Punjab. I would like to submit for the RECORD recent articles from the Christian Science Monitor, the Economist, the Tribune, and a statement by the president of International Sikh Organization, Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh. These articles shed light on the problems Sikhs are encountering in India. I hope the international community, especially the UN Human Rights Commission, will put pressure on India to bring a fair and peaceful solution to the problems in the Punjab.
