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“WAR CLOUDS GATHERING IN SOUTH ASIA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1080-E1081 on June 18, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WAR CLOUDS GATHERING IN SOUTH ASIA
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HON. DAN BURTON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the danger of war in South Asia concerns us all. Such a war would be useless, dangerous, and a disaster for Pakistan, India, the minorities of the subcontinent, and the world.
Many South Asia's watchers speculate that India needs a war to keep its multinational empire together and to divert attention away from its other internal problems. They have even speculated that India's collapse is not a fantasy, and that even L.K. Advani, the militant Hindu Home Minister of India, is worried about India's territorial integrity.
However, a war in South Asia could become the trigger that brings freedom to the minority nations such as the Sikh homeland of Khalistan, predominantly Christian Nagaland, Kashmir, and others, just as World War I brought independence to many nations living under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The end of the Cold War brought freedom to many nations which had been living under Soviet rule, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and others. A war in South Asia could have a similar effect on the nations and peoples of the subcontinent.
The Council of Khalistan recently called on Sikh soldiers not to fight for India, but to fight to free their homeland, Khalistan. Given the oppression that has killed over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984 according to the Punjab State Magistracy, that continues to hold 52,268 political prisoners, which the Movement Against State Repression reported that the Indian government has admitted to, that has killed over 80,000 Muslims, over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland, thousands upon thousands of other minorities like Bodos, Dalit ``Untouchables,'' Tamils, Assamese, Manipuri's, and others, why should any of these minorities fight for the Indian state?
The Council of Khalistan's recent Open Letter contains much more information on this. To help my colleagues and constituents stay fully informed about the sentiments of many Sikhs within India, I would like to put that open letter into the Record at this time.
Council of Khalistan,
Washington DC, May 21, 2002.
Open Letter to the Sikh Nation
Clouds of War Between India and Pakistan Gather; India Is on the Verge of Disintegration--Sikh Soldiers and Officers Should Not Fight for India But to Free Khalistan; Now Is the Perfect Time to Launch Shantmai
Morcha to Liberate Khalistan
Dear Khalsa Ji: WAHE GURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHE GURU JI KI FATEH!
War clouds are gathering in South Asia. War between India and Pakistan looks imminent. It is expected to break out this fall. Troops have been gathering on the borders, and the recent killings in Kashmir provide the Indian government with an excuse to attack Pakistan. The killing of Abdul Ghanni Lone, a leader of the Kashmiri freedom movement, merely heightens the tensions.
Remember that the fanatic BJP leaders are on record that they want to make an ``Akand Bharat'' by defeating Pakistan and incorporating it into India. Their aggression in Kashmir is internationally known. They will not hold a plebiscite in Kashmir, as they promised to do in 1948. It is India that launched the nuclear arms race in South Asia and has nuclear weapons pointed at Pakistan. Despite the militant Hindu nationalist government's statement that they do not intend to attack Pakistan, it is clear that their drive for hegemony over all of South Asia continues.
If war breaks out, Sikh soldiers and officers should not fight for India. Instead, Sikhs should take this opportunity to reclaim our lost sovereignty and liberate our homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian occupation.
L.K. Advani has said that when Kashmir goes, India will fall apart, and he is right. We must take advantage of this situation to reclaim our lost sovereignty. Sovereignty is our birthright. The Guru gave sovereignty to the Khalsa Panth.
(``In grieb Sikhin ko deon Patshahi.'') Banda Singh Baliadur established the first Khalsa rule in Punjab from 1710 to 1716. Then there was a period of persecution of the Sikhs. Again Sikhs established a sovereign, independent rule from 1765 to 1849, when the British annexed the Sikh homeland, Punjab, into British India.
This is a wake-up call for the Sikh Nation. The massacre of Muslims in Gujarat is a testament to this. The fanatic Vishav Hindu Parishad (VHP) burned Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons alive. They murdered priests, raped nuns, and burned churches. They are assimilating Christianity, Islam, and every other minority into Hinduism. The Sikh Nation must free itself from India to ensure its survival as a nation and to enjoy a prosperous future. Without political power, nations perish.
About 80 percent of the sacrifices during the fight to regain freedom from the British were Sikhs, even though Sikhs formed only 1.5 percent of the Indian population at the time. At the time of India's independence, Sikhs were equal signatories to the transfer of power from the British. The Sikh leadership should have gotten an independent country for the Sikhs at that time, but they were fooled by the Hindu leadership of Nehru and Gandhi so Sikhs took their share and joined India on the promise that they would have the glow of freedom.
We have seen this ``glow of freedom'' in the form of the attack on the Golden Temple in June 1984, when over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in Punjab in a single month. Sikhs can never forgive or forget the desecration of the Golden Temple. This is the history and tradition of the Sikh Nation.
The next massacre of Sikhs occurred after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in Delhi. There was a mass murder of Sikhs throughout India, including Delhi. The Sikhs were pulled out of trains and burned alive. Sikh truck drivers were pulled out of their trucks. Hindu militants put tires around their necks and burned them to death. Sikh police officers were disarmed and confined to their barracks. This is very similar to what happened recently to the Muslims in Gujarat.
Human Rights Watch Asia has clearly stated that the Indian government orchestrated the recent genocide in Gujarat. Policemen stood and watched while Muslims were attacked and murdered. One policeman said that he was ordered not to stop the violence. This is the same modus operandi that the Indian government used in 1984 to burn the Sikhs alive and destroy their property. For the Sikh Nation to ensure their safety, we must free our homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian occupation. We pray every day ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.'' We must do our best to realize our God-given right to be free.
The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984. The U.S. State Department reported in 1994 that the Indian government paid out over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. According to a report by the Movement Against State Repression MASR), the Indian government admitted that 52,268 are rotting in Indian jails under TADA, which expired in 1995. Many of them have been in illegal custody since Operation Bluestar in 1984. In February, 42 Members of the U.S. Congress from both political parties wrote to President Bush to get these political prisoners released. The U.S. government recently added India to its ``watch list'' of violators of religious freedom. It should impose sanctions to stop the oppression of Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and others.
Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed the government killing of Sikhs in fake encounters, became a victim of the Indian police himself. He was kidnapped outside his house and murdered in police custody. Even Akal Takht Jathedar Sardar Gurdev Singh Kaunke was murdered by SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna and then his body was disposed of. The Badal government was forced to conduct an inquiry by three Punjab police officials under the leadership of DIG Tiwari into the killing of Jathedar Kaunke. As of today that report has not been made public.
The only solution is the formation of a Khalsa Raj Party under new, honest, dedicated, and committed leadership. Now is the time to do it. Let's not waste time and prolong the suffering and agony of the Sikh Nation. The only remedy is to sever our relationship with Delhi completely, declare independence from India and start a peaceful agitation to free the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. The present Akali leadership of Badal, Tohra, Mann, and others are under Indian government control. Their betrayal of the Sikh Nation is well documented in the Book Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism by S. Gurtej Singh.
Siklis are a sovereign, independent nation and ruled Punjab until 1849. The only way the Sikh Nation can protect itself from the Indian government's ongoing efforts to destroy the Sikh religion is to achieve independence for our homeland, Khalistan. Guru gave sovereignty to the Khalsa Panth. The new Sikh leadership must launch a Shantmai Morcha to liberate our homeland. The only way the Sikh Nation can prosper is to free the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. The freedom of the Sikh Nation will bring prosperity, stability, and peace to Punjab and to South Asia.
Panth Da Sewadar,
Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
President, Council of Khalistan.
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