The following is the text of Mr Wally Herger’s speech at Yuba City on March 8
FRIENDS: It is a pleasure to be with you. I know that the naming of the new Secretary of Agriculture is a matter of great importance to all of you I am extremely pleased with President Bush’s naming of Ed Madigan a close personal friend of mine as his new secretary of Agriculture.
Ed Madigan knows the people of California Agriculture and he has been to our 2nd congressional district twice He was very supportive when I brought him to visit us last year and I am confident that he will continue to work hard for agriculture.
Another matter which I know has great importance to all of you is the situation in the Persian Gulf.
Let me just say that I am elated at our victory and the liberation of Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. The successes of our men and women in uniform have provided us with great strides toward international security and the defense of human nights.
The human rights abuses of Saddam Hussein were a major factor in the world’s stand against him. However we must remember that he is not the only abuser of human rights in the world.
As we gather here tonight people around the world are fighting against oppression and abuse.
It seems every day the newspapers are filed with reports of people demonstrating and yearning for change.
In Central America after ten years of dictatorial rule the people of Nicaragua gave Violetta Chamorro and the national opposition union a stunning victory.
Students marched in China for democracy. The citizens of Eastern Europe replaced almost every head of state during what President Bush called “The Revolution of ‘89″.
Even the Soviet Union continues to rumble with the tremors of freedom. Last year downtown Moscow saw the largest political rally since the Russian Revolution of more than 70 years ago and the Baltic states continue to challenge the power of the Kremlin by taking bold steps toward independence.
It is interesting to see that while democracy is on the march all over the world India which is already listed among the democratic nations still denies many of its citizen’s basic human rights.
It is important as we watch the events unfolding in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to continue to draw attention to the repression of freedom in India.
India too has experienced a change in leadership. No doubt this is due to the fact that many Indians share our concerns.
However the little information which does make it out of India is frightening. It includes reports of beatings torture and death of political prisoners while in police custody. In 1990 Amnesty International was able to confirm reports that dozens of prisoners had died in police custody after being tortured.
There are also reports that since 1984 1000’s of Sikhs have been murdered by Indian security forces In one of many bloody crackdowns by India’s security forces in Kashmir hundreds of people were killed thousands were beaten tens of thousands were searched and hundreds jailed.
One thing seems clear: The citizens of India like people all over the world desire basic human rights. Yet the killings in the Punjab and Kashmir continue.
Yet it has been difficult for those of US outside of India to make our case to the world without the presence of a neutral third party in India to confirm or deny these numerous alleged atrocities.
Presently every democracy in the world allows independent human rights groups such as Amnesty International to visit their country — that is every democracy except India.
Even the Soviet Union and Cuba have allowed Amnesty to conduct its investigations within their borders.
It is time for almost Glasnost to reach India. It is time for internationally recognized human rights organizations to be allowed inside the world’s largest democracy.
It is critical to have a neutral third Party to investigate the allegations as to who is responsible for the tragic civil violence.
As expected each side blames the other The Indian government blames religious radicals Representatives of the Sikh community blames agents of the state.
But until the government of India opens up to independent human rights groups they will continue to remain suspect.
If the Indian government has nothing to hide. It should change its policy and allow independent human rights organizations to conduct a thorough investigation.
A member of the Sikh community wrote a letter to the editor of The Washington Times condemning the killing of 22 innocent people in (Abo-Har) India which was reported by The Times in 1990.
In the letter he wrote “any Sikh who would commit such an act ceases to be a Sikh and would be committing a crime against God and humanity.”
I commend this statement and equally condemn all acts of terrorism no matter who is responsible.
In the same letter the writer stated his doubts about the accuracy of the news report which claimed the act of terrorism was committed by Sikh extremists.
He pointed out that killing of this nature “are not limited to Punjab — they are taking place in Kashmir as well.”
Regrettably this incident as well as many others is “typical of the alleged behavior of Indian security forces.”
Without the presence of groups such as Amnesty International it is difficult if not impossible, to find the truth.
It is interesting to compare what happened in El Salvador, when six Jesuit Priests were gunned down. The media was filled with the news of the tragedy, and the voices of condemnation of the Salvadoran government
Salvadoran President Cristiani was called upon to conduct # serious and thorough investigation. President Cristiani promised justice, and since then, several military officers have been brought up on charges and tied. In India} however, the investigation into the murder of Jagdev Singh Khudian a newly elected Member of Parliament produced no charges. Instead as expected the Indian government stated only that they suspected the murder was committed by religious extremists. And no investigation was held.
The Punjab Human Rights Organization is currently one of the few sources of information for events occurring inside of the Punjab aside from the Indian Press. This organization reports that there has been “unrelenting repression” of the Sikhs since operation “Blue Star’ over six years ago.” Would Amnesty International have a similar report? We will not know unless they are allowed to investigate.
I am also curious as to why there hasn’t been a worldwide outcry over the behavior of the Indian military during their violence in Kashmir. When the government of China fired on unarmed demonstrators in Tiananmen Square there was justifiable outrage throughout the free world When the Chinese government restricted the movement of the International Press after its crackdown on the demonstrators it was front page news. But when India fires on unarmed demonstrators burns houses and stores and removes the News media from Kashmir the world is silent.
Aside from a few scattered reports the international community seems to have ignored the events in Kashmir Punjab and throughout India.
It is my hope that in the future the international community will give the kind of attention to India that it gave to China.
The world’s largest democracy deserves the same level of scrutiny that is given to the world’s most populous nation.
It is time for India to join the rest of the free world in this regard. I should point out that there are even some in the Indian government who agree with us regarding these matters.
For example Jethmalani a member of the Indian Parliament was in my Washington office several months ago and agreed that it was unwise for the Indian government to keep Amnesty International out of India. This he said only made the administration look as if it was trying to hide something. I want to assure you that not only do I share this goal but.an increasing number of members of the U.S. Congress do as well.
We have made significant progress on this issue since I came to Washington in 1987 When I first came to Congress four years ago relatively few of my colleagues were aware that there was even as light human rights problem in India. During the last Congress I introduced H.R. 1067 legislation which would deny most favored-nation trading status to India until they cleaned up their human rights record. This measure caused the Indian Embassy to engage in a frantic effort to try and prevent us from introducing the Bill.
We received dozens of phone calls from non-Sikh Indian Americans who were opposed to our efforts and the Embassy sent Delegations to my office on two separate occasions. Most importantly just the threat of the Bill was enough to prompt then Prime Minister Gandhi to order the release of a number of detainees who had been held for more than 4 years without charge.
Additionally I sent a letter w the Indian Prime Minister in June of last year which was signed by 51 of my colleagues. A week later I was personally called by the Indian Ambassador to the U.S. and given the news that New Delhi was changing its policy and that Amnesty International would be allowed in. Unfortunately nine months later despite continual assurances from Indian officials Amnesty International has still not been allowed to send an investigative team into the Punjab.
I want you to know that I continue to remain extremely active on these issues. There is much work to be done. That is why I plan to re-introduce legislation which denies most-favored-nation status to India until:
- Human Rights Organizations are allowed to conduct investigations of abuses;
- Steps are taken to correct the conditions which led to Human Rights Abuses;
- The rights of political prisoners are safeguarded.
India should know that true democracy means more than the ability to cast ballots or change administrations. True democracy means freedom of speech freedom of religion freedom of the press freedom from persecution.
I know I speak for you here tonight as well as a number of my colleagues in Congress when I say that there is nothing that the Indian government can do that is more important than to usher in a new era of human nights in India.
Economical or technological progress means nothing if basic human rights are denied India’s many citizens.
In the meantime it is critical that each one of you remain involved in the U.S. political process. Just this past year a lobbyist representing the Indian government literally threatened to try to unseat me in a future election if I did not soften my stand on these issues.
Your help in re-electing those of us who share our ideals is critical. In a fundraising letter circulated by Congressman Steve Solarz of New York who is known as one of the biggest defenders of India in the U.S Congress he makes reference to an amendment which i offered to cut millions in U.S. foreign aid to India because of their poor human rights record.
According to Congressman Solarz “when it came time for a vote it was clear to me that representative Herger’s legislation had widespread support from numerous members of the house..” Indeed the vote was extremely close 204 to 212. The fact that my amendment came within five votes of passing was a complete shock to the Indian Embassy. Quite frankly it caught them completely off guard. Next time you can be sure that it will be different.
That is why we must continue to remain vigilant in exposing the truth about human rights atrocities in India. Together I sincerely believe we can make a difference. The evidence is on our side. The political trend in the world today is on our side.
We must capitalize on this current wave of freedom. We can begin to turn the tide in India and in so doing improve the lives and the future of those suffering persecution in the Punjab and through out India.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 15, 1991
