[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FORMER MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT ARRESTED AGAIN
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HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, recently the government of Punjab erected a
statue to honor Beant Singh, the late Chief Minister of Punjab, who
presided over the murders of over 50,000 Sikhs and the secret
cremations of Sikhs in Punjab at the behest of the Indian government.
Longtime Sikh activist and former member of Parliament Simranjit Singh
Mann showed up with some associates to protest the honor given to this
brutal, barbaric ruler. During the protest, they tried to hang a
picture of Dilawar Singh, who killed Beant Singh, on the statue.
Dilawar Singh is considered by the Sikhs to be a martyr. For this act
of protest, they were arrested.
Mr. Mann is also one of the people who was arrested in 2005 for the
crime of making speeches in support of Khalistan, the independent Sikh
homeland, and raising the flag of Khalistan. I fail to see what crime
was committed in any of these acts.
Coupled with the recent arrest of Dr. Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke for
publishing articles critical of the Chief Minister, Mann's arrest makes
it clear that for minorities such as the Sikhs, free speech, free
assembly, and a free press do not exist in India. For minorities such
as Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, and others, India is far from the
democracy it claims to be. For them, it's a police state just like the
Soviet Union or Nazi Germany.
Mann's arrest and Udhoke's arrest violate India's constitution as
well as all the principles of freedom and democracy. We cannot stand
idly by and let these arrests go by without taking any action.
What can we do? We can and should cut off our aid and trade with
India until all people there are allowed to enjoy basic human rights
and civil rights. We can and should publicly demand self-determination
for the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan, the Muslims of Kashmir, the
Christians of Nagalim, and all the people seeking freedom in South Asia
in the form of a free and fair vote on their status. Self-determination
is the essence of democracy. Unfortunately, ``the world's largest
democracy'' denies this essential right to its minority citizens. We
have a strong voice. Let us raise it in support of these minorities.
The Council of Khalistan has issued a very informative press release
on the arrest of Mr. Mann and his associates.
Simranjit Singh Mann Must Be Released
Washington, DC, June 28, 2007.--The Council of Khalistan
today demanded the immediate release of former Member of
Parliament Sardar Simranjit Singh Mann and his associates who
tried to hang a picture of Beant Singh's assassin on the
late--Chief Minister's statue in Jalandhar. Beant Singh, who
received less than 7 percent of the vote, was installed as
Chief Minister by the Indian government. He presided over the
murders of more than 50,000 Sikhs. He was the person who
instituted the policy of secret cremation, in which young
Sikhs were arrested, murdered in police custody, then
declared unidentified'' and secretly cremated and the
families never received their bodies. This barbaric policy
was exposed by human-rights activist Sardar Jaswant Singh
Khalra. As a result of his report, Khalra was arrested and
murdered while in police custody. His body was also secretly
cremated and was never given to his family.
Recently, the Punjab government under Parkash Singh Badal
erected a statue of Beant Singh in Jalandhar. Sardar Mann and
his associates were arrested when they tried to hang a
picture of his assassin, Dilawar Singh, on it.
``The arrest of Simranjit Singh Mann and his associates is
another blow to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in
India. basic rights of free people,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh
Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. ``If a group
of people can't even hold a peaceful demonstration without
being arrested, then what rights do they really have? Where
is India's often and loudly proclaimed commitment to
democracy? Mann and his associates must be released
immediately.''
Mann was previously arrested in 2005, along with other Sikh
activists, for making speeches in support of Khalistan and
raising the Khalistani flag. He came to prominence after the
Indian government's military attack on the Golden Temple and
37 other Gurdwaras in June 1984, in which over 20,000 Sikhs
were killed, including Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Mann
resigned from the police, saying that he could not serve a
government that would attack the Golden Temple. In 1989, Mann
wrote to the chief Justice of India, ``reiterating my
allegiance to the Constitution and territorial integrity of
India,'' according to Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism by
Professor Gurtej Singh IAS, which reprints the letter. He
also served as a Member of parliament from Punjab around that
time. In the mid-1990s, Mann was arrested for peaceful
political activities by the Indian government and the Council
of Khalistan secured his release. In 2000, Mann came to the
United States with the blessing of the Indian government,
escorted through the United States and Canada by Amarjit
Singh of the Khalistan Affairs Center. He spoke to a group on
Capitol Hill in Washington DC and while speaking in New York,
he said that the office of the Council of Khalsitan in
Washington, DC should be closed. Since then, he has continued
his political activism in Punjab, Khalistan. Neither Amarjit
Singh nor the Khalistan Affairs Center has uttered a word of
protest against Mann's arrest. Mann's grandfather gave a
siropa to General Dyer, the British general who was in charge
of the army that massacred over 1,300 Sikhs at Jalianwalia
Bagh. A few years ago, Queen Elizabeth apologized to the
Sikhs for the massacre during her visit to Punjab.
``The arrest of Simranjit Singh Mann and his associates
shows that there is no freedom of speech in Punjab or in
India,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``This underlines the need for a
free, sovereign, independent Khalistan. In a free Khalistan,
no one would be arrested for peaceful political activity,''
he said. ``In a free Khalistan, no one would erect a statue
to honor those who carry out genocide against the Sikh
religion and the Sikh Nation. These arrests should make it
clear to Sikhs that even if you cooperate with India. they
will use you and throw you away,'' said Dr. Aulakh.
A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression
(MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268
political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and
Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA), which expired in 1995.
Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. According to
Amnesty International, there are tens of thousands of other
minorities being held as political prisoners in India. The
Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984,
more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims
in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims
throughout the country, and tens of thousands of Tamils,
Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, Bodos, and others. The Indian
Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs
``worse than a genocide.''
``The arrests of Simranjit Singh Mann and Dr. Sukhpreet
Singh Udhoke show that it is urgent to liberate Khalistan
from Indian rule as soon as possible,'' said Dr. Aulakh.
``The time is now to launch a Shantmai Morcha to free
Khalistan.''
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