WASHINGTON: Rep Dan Burton(R-Ind) and 25 cosponsors introduced a bill HR 4641 which if successful, will cut off American development aid to India until the Indian government permits Amnesty International to conduct an independent human rights investigation there.
“Amnesty International, which is allowed at times to operate in Cuba, should not be shut out by the world’s largest democracy, Rep Burton said in a Dear Colleague letter about the bill.
Over 90,000 Sikhs have been killed in India since the government attacked the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhism’s most sacred shrine, in June 1984. The PHRO documents that extrajudicial killing of Sikhs by Indian security forces has increased since the VP Singh regime took office in December. According to the PHRO 7,000 Sikh youth have been killed by Indian security forces in the past two years alone. Another 14,000 Sikhs are being held in Indian jails without charge, trial or access to legal counsel.
Hon Max Madden a British Member of Parliament, who led a team of parliamentarians to Punjab and Kashmir in March, reported that the Indian regime is committing unprecedented and barbaric abuses in Punjab and Kashmir.
“I shall never forget the Sikh father whose 14 year old daughter was raped and drowned by a police officer,” Madden reported. The father was brutally beaten by police three times over two days. He was seeking the return of his daughter’s body for cremation. He was warned that if he did not stop complaining what had happened to his 14 year old daughter would happen to his 7 year old daughter.”
There is also great anxiety about the future of Kashmir, Madden said. “It is now believed that between 200,000 and 300,000 security forces are deployed in Kashmir, and more are on the way,” he continued. India has imposed a permanent curfew in Kashmir, and banned the media from the region. In addition, Madden reported that there are worrying reports that death squads are now being formed and trained.” Government sanctioned death squads such as the Black Cats and the Red Brigades have operated in occupied Khalistan for some time.
The Burton bill enjoys the bipartisan cosponsor ship of 25 Representatives.
“What is particularly encouraging,” said Dr. Aulakh, “‘is the fact that 11 of the cosponsors of the bill are on the Foreign Affairs Committee, which indicates the propriety and the urgency of this important legislation.”
“Sikhs worldwide are grateful that America is taking notice of our plight,” Dr. Aulakh continued. “This bill makes it clear that America will not stand idly by while the world’s largest democracy oppresses and murders its minorities. This bill serves as a signal that India must stop its policy of genocide.”
- Didar Singh Bains ex-president, World Sikh Organization, S. Gurcharan Dhillon, President USA, S_ Gurnam Ss. Pamma, Dr. G.S, Grewal and S. Jagjit S. Mangat in Separate statements hailed the bill and appealed to Sikhs to personally thank their legislators and to be vigilant.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 4, 1990
