WASHINGTON D.C.: Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D. Am. Samoa), member of the foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, last Thursday recognized the plight of the Sikh people under oppressive Indian domination stating that “the Sikh deserve and should have the right of self-determination.”
Protesting the grave human rights violations that are occurring in the Province of Punjab, Congressman Faleomavaega displayed his support for the Sikh freedom movement urging “the Bush administration to stop their reactionary posturing and to address this issue forthrightly.”
‘These remarks come at a time of growing international awareness of the situation in the Sikh homeland. As India denies allegations of pervasive human rights violations yet at the same time refuses to allow Amnesty International within its borders to investigate the abuses, the world grows steadily skeptical of the so called “world’s largest democracy.”
Certainly not alone in his advocacy of Sikh freedom, Congressman Faleomavaega is in good company. Congressman Dan Burton (R. Ind) introduced a bill in the USS, Congress which would cut off American aid to India until it allows Amnesty and other internationally recognized human groups in the country for investigations. The bill currently has 60 cosponsors, among them, Congressman Ben Blaz (R. Guam); also a member of Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, who stated on May 8th that “Khalistan is the only solution to the Punjab problem.”
Article extracted from this publication >> August 17, 1990
