San Francisco: To mark the Indian army’s assault of June ’84 on the Golden Temple and continuing desecration of the holiest of holy shrines the Golden Temple, the Sikhs in large numbers assembled at Union Square Park, San Francisco on Sunday, June 5, ’88 and staged a protest demonstration. The men and women wearing kesrai turbans and dupattas (a cloth to cover head) carrying banners “Break the walls of silence in Punjab” ‘open Punjab to the World media” marched towards the San Francisco chronicle building a leading newspaper published from the city of San Francisco. The main purpose of staging this demonstration before the newspaper office was to call upon’ the American press to break the wall of silence that engulfs the Punjab to allow truth to surface and to get the rights of Sikhs restored. It further added to put pressure on Indian Govt. to permit free media access to Punjab and lastly to help stop the human rights Violations’ in Punjab.
The precisionists who had come from various parts of California participated in the silent march just praying to God in an admirable and organized manner.
Earlier a demonstration rally was held at the Union Square Park. Various speakers paid rich tributes to the martyrs, narrated various atrocities being committed against Sikhs, violation of human rights In Punjab, killing of Sikh youth in fake encounters, need for the establishment of a sovereign state of Khalistan and discrimination against Sikhs. The speakers also described India as caste based Society having no faith In democracy. According to some speakers the slogan of nonviolence was Just a hoax.
The speakers repeatedly asked the American Media not to use the word “Terrorist for the Sikhs as they are fighting for the freedom of their homeland. They reminded them of their own historical struggle of independence and appealed to them to see the struggle in the same spirit.
They also stated that the root cause of the present struggle was that the Sikhs wanted a diversified culture as that of AmeriPret dl a They also stated that the root cause of the present struggle was that the Sikhs wanted a diversified culture as that of AmeriPret dl a
Earlier shabad Kirtan was done by some Sikhs of American origin. S. Dharam Singh Khalsa of Sikh Dharma acted as a master of ceremonies. Bhai Sat Santokh Singh, another member of Sikh Dharma, was the chief Marshall of the protest march. The Sikhs, boys and girls, of the American origin sang a beautiful song of the Khalsa a song of courage written by Livtar Singh Khalsa at the end of kirtan.
Bhai Gurmit Singh President of Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) Fremont, who took initiative to organize this demonstration with the help of other Sikh institutions, while talking to the World Sikh News thanked the participants and appealed to the Sikhs to stand United at this critical Juncture.
Four resolutions were unanimously adopted on the occasion. The army attack on the Golden Temple in 1984 and subsequent sacrilege of the shrine through repeated assaults were condemned, support to the freedom fighter’s cause of a sovereign Sikh homeland has pledged in the third resolution, the latest ordinance was rejected as a sinister attempt to undermine the Sikh religion’s concept of temporal (MIRI) and spiritual (PIRI) unity. The fourth resolution sought the release of all Sikhs detained in persons for political reasons particularly of AISSF’s Chief Gurjit Singh.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1988
