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

WSC-AR Unequivocally Condemns All Terrorism, India's Demonization of Sikh 
Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 28, 2005

Contact: Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Secretary General, World Sikh Council - 
America Region (WSC-AR), 614-210-0591, contact@worldsikhcouncil.org

Once again, there are very disturbing news reports from the Sikh Homeland 
of Punjab in South Asia. A new wave of mass arrests and detentions of young 
Sikhs has been unleashed by India in the last month. This is in gross 
violation of civil liberties and political freedoms guaranteed by the 
Indian Constitution and by the International Covenants and Conventions on 
Human Rights.

Mr. Amolak Singh, Chairperson of World Sikh Council - America Region 
(WSC-AR) remarked, "We condemn in the strongest terms the efforts of the 
Government of India to demonize the Sikh community. We call upon the Indian 
Government to end its genocidal attempts against religious minorities."

Dr. Anahat Kaur, Vice-Chairperson of WSC-AR said, "The Sikh experience in 
India demonstrates a relentless pattern of religious persecution under the 
guise of democracy while flouting the ideals of peace, justice, and human 
rights".  She added, "These actions hardly seem worthy of a democratic
nation."

The Sikh nation continues to seek transparency and accountability. 
Thousands of Sikhs continue to languish in jail for decades without charge 
or trial. Thousands more have become the victims of enforced 
disappearances, custodial deaths, extra-judicial killings, and illegal 
cremations.  This history makes the new wave of mass arrests all the more 
ominous.

WSC-AR unequivocally condemns and opposes all terrorism, including state 
terrorism, and urges the Government of India to stop this gross violation 
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Sikhs and other national 
minorities.

We are particularly concerned for the health and safety of Mr. Simranjit 
Singh Mann, who was recently arrested in Punjab. Mr. Mann has been 
subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment in India's torture chambers in the 
1980's. He was only released when he was elected by a landslide to a seat 
in the Indian Parliament while still in jail. We strongly urge the Indian 
Government to abide by its own laws and immediately release these prisoners 
of conscience.

While India's current Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh has been rightly 
credited for the liberalization of the Indian economy, he should not let 
the Indian polity continue in the genocidal era of India's state terrorism 
of the 1980s and 1990s. We call upon the Indian Prime Minister to clearly 
outline the steps his government will take to provide transparency and 
accountability in the treatment of religious minorities, and what measures 
he will take to safeguard their constitutionally provided freedoms during 
his July 2005 visit to the United States.

WSC-AR fully supports the efforts of India's National Human Rights 
Commission and other human rights organizations who are trying to stop this 
newest wave of religious persecution and political oppression. We further 
appeal to the United Nations, the United States Government, the European 
Union and all freedom loving people to hold India, often called the world's 
largest democracy, responsible for the gross violations of civil liberties 
and fundamental freedoms of its people.

Since its independence from British Colonial rule in 1947, India has 
persecuted its religious minorities, including Christians, Muslims, and 
Sikhs, in the name of national integration.

In the May 2003 report "Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights 
in Punjab" (www.punjabjustice.org), Mr. Ram Narayan Kumar, one of India's 
leading human rights activist, presents overwhelming evidence (along with 
over 600 case histories) of massive human rights abuses of Sikhs by police, 
and the contributions at all levels of the state and national government as 
well the Indian judiciary towards police impunity.

The report presents evidence to show that "The four fundamentals of the 
Indian democracy, embedded in its republican Constitution, are: [1] The 
guarantees of inalienable rights to all citizens; [2] A democratic 
legislature; [3] An independent judiciary; and [4] The freedom of 
discourse. On the strength of these constitutional features, India claims 
to be the largest functional democracy in the world where widespread human 
rights abuses, systematic persecution of estranged communities and 
suppression of political dissent cannot occur. However, the experiences of 
the Sikhs of Punjab show that as a demonised community targeted for abuse 
by the authorities, they had no protection from the leaders of the 
supposedly independent institutions, including the judiciary, either in 
shielding their fundamental rights against imminent violations or in 
obtaining acknowledgement and legal restitution of wrongs. Freedom of 
discourse remained an empty promise when even the higher judiciary joined 
the chorus to turn the page and obliterate the victims' memory on the 
ground that a public discussion and scrutiny focusing on past abuses and 
role of institutions would undermine the interests of peace and social
order."

The WSC-AR is a representative and elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and 
institutions in the United States. Its members include 37 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 Sabha of New Jersey, Lawrenceville, NJ
18. Sikh Cultural Society Inc., Richmond Hills, NY
19. Sikh Cultural & Edu. Society of Western NY, Buffalo, NY
20. Sikh Religious Society of Dayton, Dayton, OH
21. Guru Nanak Found. of Greater Cleveland, Richfield, OH
22. Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Society, Bedford, OH
23. Guru Nanak Religious Soc. of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH
24. Tristate Sikh Cultural Society, Monroeville, PA
25. Mid South Sikh Sabha, Memphis, TN
26. Sikh Center of Gulf Coast, Houston, TX
27. Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Richardson, TX
28. Sikh Gurdwara of North Texas, Garland, TX
29. Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Fairfax, VA
30. Sikh Association of Central Virginia, VA
31. 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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