January 12, 1995
The Honorable P.V. Narasimha Rao Prime Minister of India
U.S. Congress
House of Representatives
New Delhi, India
Dear Prime Minister Rao:
We are writing with regard to the recent arrest under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act of Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann Mr. Mann, a former Member of Parliament and senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal political party, was arrested on January 5 after having advocated independence for Khalistan by peaceful means.
It has been brought to our attention by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President. Council of Khalistan, that in Mr. Marin’s address to the conference on December 26, he asked the crowd of 50,000 people to show their support for a peaceful movement toward an independent state by raising their hands, and that the entire crowd did so. It has been reported that this was the cause for his arrest. We find it very troubling that a leader of Mr. Mann’s stature can be arrested for exercising his freedom of speech
This is not the first time Mr. Mann has been arrested under TADA. He spent five years in prison during the 1980s without trial and without formal charges being filed against him in a court of law. According to press reports, he was subject to physical and psychological torture during that period including electric shock and having his beard pulled out in tufts. In January of 1994, Mr. Mann was again arrested under TADA. Over 50 charges filed against him were later dropped and he was released. It appears that the Indian government is using TADA to harass and intimidate Mr. Mann.
Mr. Prime Minister, when you addressed the United States Congress last year, you said:
“It is the responsibility of nations to preserve the life and liberty of all their citizens under the law, regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity. We in India are determined that the rights of minority groups must be protected vigorously under the rule of law.”
The TADA laws under which Mr. Mann has been charged have been widely criticized by respected human rights organizations as falling far short of international standards for the protection of human rights. According to one human rights activist. TADA “is a tool of absolute repression.” (Washington Post Dec. 6, 1994).
We are very concerned about Mr. Mann’s condition and his safety, as well as the circumstances surrounding his arrest. We urge you, as an honorable man and a respected world leader, to review this case, and to order Mr. Mann’s release if the sole reason for his arrest was his exercise of free speech and advocacy of peaceful change. We further urge you to recommend to your parliament that TADA be reformed to bring it into compliance with generally accepted human rights standards, or that it be repealed altogether.
Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your attention to this very serious matter.
Sincerely,
Article extracted from this publication >> January 27, 1995
