wfn.org | WSC-AR Calls Upon Sikhs to Organize Protests

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2005

Contact: Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Secretary General, 614-210-0591,
contact@worldsikhcouncil.org

WSC-AR Follows up With UNESCO on Consideration of Siri Darbar Sahib; Calls
Upon Sikh Community to Organize Worldwide Protests

The World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR) notes with satisfaction
media reports that a majority of the dossier special sub-committee,
appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), has
recommended that the proposal to declare Siri Darbar Sahib a UNESCO world
heritage site should be withdrawn immediately. WSC-AR also notes that the
SGPC is considering the recommendations of the sub-committee.

Unfortunately, the matter does not rest there. The WSC-AR has been advised
in the last few days by Mr. Giovanni Boccardi, Chief of Asia and Pacific
Unit of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre (WHC) in Paris, France, that:
- "On 25th of March, the WHC had received a request from SGPC to suspend
the project?The request of SGPC had been immediately conveyed to the State
Party of India through its Permanent Delegation to UNESCO. No response to
date has been received by WHC from the State Party of India."
- "India has the option of not responding to the clarification asked of it
regarding SGPC's request to suspend the process."
- "The SGPC was not the nominating entity but instead it was the State of
Party of India?The nomination cannot be withdrawn by SGPC but that the
State Party of India is the only authority that can withdraw the
nomination? If the State Party of India chooses not to respond or declines
to withdraw the nomination, there is not much WHC can do."
- "In the case the State Party of India chooses not to withdraw the
nomination, it will be processed under the current framework and will come
up for consideration and possible approval in the July 2005 meeting of the
21 member World Heritage Committee to be held in South Africa. This meeting
will be chaired by a representative of South Africa."
- Written communications submitted to UNESCO are "shared with the 21
members of the World Heritage Committee" as summary comments but not
verbatim..."However, all correspondence is shared with ICOMOS
[International Council on Monuments and Sites] and it is kept fully
informed on all matters pertaining to a nomination."
- UNESCO has "received many letters and communications from Sikh
organizations across the world raising objections and concerns with regard
to the nomination and its submitted dossier."
- Media reports that a representative of UNESCO will be visiting Siri
Darbar Sahib soon are "incorrect" because "the visit of the UNESCO
representative will be to the Buddhist Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar, and not
to Siri Darbar Sahib."
- Mr. Boccardi "will be meeting with the Director of the Archeological
Survey of India next week."

Because the SGPC does not have the authority to withdraw the nomination
made by the State Party of India, the fact that it has withdrawn its
request or requested that the nomination be in abeyance is not material to
the world heritage nomination process. Unless withdrawn by the State Party
of India, the nomination "will be processed under the current framework and
will come up for consideration and possible approval in the July 2005
meeting of the 21 member World Heritage Committee to be held in South Africa."

WSC-AR affirms that the request to nominate Siri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, as
a cultural symbol of Indian civilization by the State Party of India is
mischievous and wrong. The dossier submitted by the State Party in
collaboration with the SGPC is misleading, has serious flaws, and is
strongly objected to by Sikhs around the world.

The fundamental argument set forth in the nomination dossier that Siri
Darbar Sahib represents the cultural heritage and uniqueness of Indian
civilization is misleading and incorrect. Such claims undermine the
religious importance of this site and are offensive. The status of Siri
Darbar Sahib in the Sikh Religion is similar to that of the Kaaba in Islam
and the Vatican in Roman Catholicism. Kaaba is not a Saudi Arabian cultural
site but the center of Islam; the Vatican is not an Italian cultural entity
but the center of the Roman Catholic faith. Neither of these two places is
on the World Heritage List under Saudi Arabia or Italy. Siri Darbar Sahib
is the heartthrob of a living faith; it is not an archeological relic or a
symbol of Indian culture and it is not a cultural tourist site.

WSC-AR calls upon the Indian Government (State Party of India) to respect
the religious sentiments of one of its religious minorities, to immediately
withdraw the nomination and dossier submitted by it to UNESCO, and to end
its interference in the religious affairs of the Sikhs. WSC-AR requests
Sikhs all over the world to ask the State Party of India to end this
misadventure.

WSC-AR calls upon Sikh organizations across the world to urgently contact
their respective country's UNESCO delegation and request they vote no for
world heritage status for Siri Darbar Sahib, prior to the July 2005 vote at
the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in South Africa.

WSC-AR especially calls upon the SGPC and other Sikh organizations in
Punjab and the rest of India to act without delay and organize massive
peaceful protests to ensure that the State Party of India withdraws this
ill-fated nomination.

WSC-AR has been in touch with UNESCO since January 2005 and has exchanged
several written communications. On March 29, 2005, WSC-AR had publicly
urged UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre to immediately drop the
consideration of Siri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar for world heritage status
after reviewing a written response from UNESCO and the complete
three-volume nomination dossier. In a letter addressed to Mr. Francesco
Bandarin (Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre), dated March 25, 2005,
WSC-AR had communicated that pursuing this project would entail serious
protests by Sikhs around the globe as interference in their religious
affairs. The March 29, 2005 press statement issued by WSC-AR can be
accessed at www.worldsikhcouncil.org.

The WSC-AR is a representative and elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and
institutions in the United States. Its members include 36 Gurdwaras (Sikh
places of worship) and other Sikh institutions across the nation.

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Member Gurdwaras of WSC-AR:
1. Gurdwara Sahib Fremont, Fremont, CA
2. Guru Nanak Sikh Mission, Livingston, CA
3. Sikh Gurdwara of LA, North Hollywood, CA
4. Sikh Gurdwara Riverside, Riverside, CA
5. Colorado Singh Sabha, Denver, CO
6. Guru Singh Sabha of Augusta, Augusta, GA
7. Sikh Study Circle of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
8. Sikh Religious Society of Chicago, Palatine, IL
9. Sikh Society of South, New Orleans, LA
10. Sikh Gurdwara of Michigan, Rochester Hills, MI
11. Sikh Society of Michigan, Madison Heights, MI
12. Guru Nanak Foundation of Jackson, MS
13. Sikh Gurdwara of North Carolina, Durham, NC
14. Garden State Sikh Association, Bridgewater, NJ
15. Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Delaware Valley, Sewell, NJ
16. Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Glenrock, NJ
17. Sikh Cultural Society Inc., Richmond Hills, NY
18. Sikh Cultural & Edu. Society of Western NY, Buffalo, NY
19. Sikh Religious Society of Dayton, Dayton, OH
20. Guru Nanak Found. of Greater Cleveland, Richfield, OH
21. Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Society, Bedford, OH
22. Guru Nanak Religious Soc. of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH
23. Tristate Sikh Cultural Society, Monroeville, PA
24. Mid South Sikh Sabha, Memphis, TN
25. Sikh Center of Gulf Coast, Houston, TX
26. Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Richardson, TX
27. Sikh Gurdwara of North Texas, Garland, TX
28. Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Fairfax, VA
29. Sikh Association of Central Virginia, VA
30. Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin, Brookfield, WI

Other Sikh Institution Members of WSC-AR:
1. Siri Guru Granth Sahib Found., Anaheim, CA
2. Sikhs Serving America, Topeka, KS
3. Sikh Youth Federation of North America, White Plains, NY
4. Sikh Educational & Religious Foundation, Dublin, OH
5. Sikh Youth Federation of USA, Toledo, OH
6. Academy of Guru Granth Studies, Arlington, TX

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World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR)
P.O. Box 3635, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
Phone: 614-210-0591, Fax: 419-535-6794
E-mail: contact@worldsikhcouncil.org
Website: www.worldsikhcouncil.org
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