“The United States cannot allow this to happen to an American citizen.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. Thirty-six (36) Members of Congress from both parties wrote to President Clinton yesterday asking that he “intervene with the Indian regime to secure freedom for” Balbir Singh Dhillon, the American citizen arrested in May on charges that the Human Rights Wing has proven false. The letter was sponsored by Representative Gary Condit (DCA.), a prominent “Blue Dog” Democrat. The letter quotes the Human Rights Wing as stating that “the HRW investigation team is satisfied that Balbir Singh is innocent and all charges should be dropped immediately. He should be allowed to return to his country.” Mr, Dhillon, 43, a businessman and father of two from Sacramento, has not been allowed to return to the United States to rejoin his family. “Mr. Dhillon continues to be held hostage by the Indian regime in violation of his rights as an American citizen and as a human being,” the letter says. “The United States cannot allow this to happen to an American citizen.”
According to the Human Rights Wing, “the Punjab Police wants to keep the specter of Sikh militancy alive so that it can continue to enjoy the extra constitutional powers vested with it.” The Indian regime has murdered over 150,000 Sikhs since 1984. More than 70,000 continue to be held under the so called “Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act” (TADA), despite the fact that this repressive law expired in March 1995. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) admitted to the Supreme Court that it had amassed evidence that “bodies tagged as ‘unidentified’ by the Punjab Police had been disposed of surreptitiously.” According to Justice Ajit Singh Bains of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, more than 50,000 Sikhs “disappeared” or were killed from 1992 to 1995. “The Dhillon case shows that India is not a democracy,” the letter says. “True democracy requires respect for human rights, not just elections.”
“On behalf of the Sikh Nation, 7 thank these Congressmen for their courageous stand on behalf of freedom for Balbir Singh Dhillon” said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, of the Council of Khalistan, the organization leading the Sikh Nation’s peaceful struggle for independence, which was declared on October 7, 1987. “The Dhillon case shows clearly that there is no place for Sikhs within India Clearly, the Indian regime is frightened because more Sikh leaders within occupied Khalistan and abroad are beginning to realize this and to speak out for freedom. The continuing detention of Balbir Singh Dhillon is a transparent effort to intimidate Sikhs inside and outside Khalistan so that we will drop the struggle for freedom,” Dr. Aulakh said. “This brutal strategy will not work. Freedom is our birthright, and we will not work. Freedom is our birthright, and we will not rest until the Sikh flag flies over free and independent Khalistan.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1996
