SACRAMENTO CA: Vice President Al Gore was the special guest at Democratic fund raising events in Sacramento this past weekend’ where he was accompanied by longtime supporter of Sikh causes, Congressman Vie Fazio of the Yuba City area. He was greeted by a large Sikh group representing the W S.O. led by Sardar Didar Singh Bains, president of WSO (INT) and Sardar Gurnam Singh Pamma, senior Vice President of the organization.
The WSO representatives gave Mr. Gore a detailed account of recent problems in the Punjab. Their list included the well-known and well documented case of Jaswant Singh Khalra the Akali Dal activist who “disappeared” in September after he revealed that the Punjab police had killed and cremated at least 25,000 Sikh youths. They told the vice president that since 1984 over 150,000 Sikh youths had been killed in false encounters or had suffered inhuman tortures at the hands of the brutal forces of the Indian government. Other cases of human’ Tights abuses were noted as well such as that of Mr. Gosal, a Canadian citizen who disappeared earlier this year during a visit to the Punjab.
The delegates explained that these abuses of the Sikhs and other minorities were not to be taken lightly and that such issues should be perused at the highest levels of government. They told him that the Sikhs here and. in the Punjab were not pleased that the government of the US had failed to take action against the government of India and that US foreign aid should be restricted until the Indian government took appropriate steps to punish those who were guilty of such flagrant abuses of their powers. He was told that the Sikhs want the freedom to peruse their dream of sovereignty and that they want the help and support of the government of the United States.
The Vice President vehemently promised that he and Mr. Fazio would take these concerns without fail, to the Congress and the administration who could then take these matters to the highest levels of the government of India. Mr. Fazio in private meeting after the departure of the Vice President Mr. Gore, promised that the Congress would, under his urging, give the Sikhs’ human rights concerns their highest priority. The two democrats also thanked their Sikh hosts for a generous $10,000, donation.
Later that afternoon, a business group, met with Vice President Gore in San Jose where they held discussions on the state of the economy and current issues of their concern.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 17, 1995
