May 16, 2007
Sikhs to Observe Anniversary of Golden Temple Massacre June 2
Sikhs Cannot Forgive, Forget This Brutal Attack
Bhindranwale Said Attack "Will Lay Foundation of Khalistan"

What: Protest to Commemorate Indian Massacre of Sikhs at Golden Temple
When: Saturday, June 2, 2007, 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Where: Lafayette Park and White House sidewalk
Why: to remember the desecration of the Golden Temple and the massacre of Sikhs, to show support for Sikh victims of repression in Punjab, Khalistan, and to demonstrate support for a sovereign Khalistan

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 16, 2007 – Sikhs from Philadelphia, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere on the East Coast will gather in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 2 at 1:00 PM to commemorate the Indian government’s brutal military attack on the Golden Temple, the center and seat of the Sikh religion, and 37 other Sikh Gurdwaras throughout Punjab, in June 1984, in which over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered.

During the Golden Temple attack, young boys ages 8 to 13 were taken outside and asked if they supported Khalistan, the independent Sikh country. When they answered with the Sikh religious phrase "Bole So Nihal," they were shot to death. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures, written in the time of the Sikh Gurus, were shot full of bullet holes and burned by the Indian forces.

The Golden Temple attack was a brutal chapter in India’s repression of the Sikhs, according to Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, the government pro tempore of Khalistan, which leads the struggle for Khalistan’s independence. . "Sikhs cannot forgive or forget this atrocity against the seat of our religion by the Indian government, said Dr. Aulakh "This brutal attack clarified that there is no place in India for Sikhs," he said. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared its independence from India, naming its new country Khalistan.

"Sant Bhindranwale said that attacking the Golden Temple would lay the foundation stone of Khalistan, and he was right," said Dr. Aulakh. "Instead of crushing the Sikh movement for Khalistan, as India intended, the attack strengthened it," he said. "The flame of freedom still burns bright in the hearts of Sikhs despite the deployment of over half a million Indian troops to crush it," he said.

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) even though it expired in 1995. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. There has been no list published of those who were acquitted under TADA and those who are still rotting in Indian jails. Additionally, according to Amnesty International, there are tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political prisoners. MASR report quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy as writing "if we add up the figures of the last few years the number of innocent persons killed would run into lakhs [hundreds of thousands.]" 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, , and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs "worse than a genocide."

Recently, the Indian government has been sponsoring sectarian division in Punjab, Khalistan to set Sikhs against each other. Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh dressed as Guru Gobind Singh and advertised that he would give Amrit to anyone who asked. This is reserved only for the Panj Piaras. Two leading Sikh activists were arrested for peacefully protesting the construction of a statue to honor Beant Singh, the late Chief Minister who presided over the murder of tens of thousands of Sikhs. In 2005, 35 Sikhs were arrested for making speeches and raising the flag of Khalistan.

"Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and get justice," said Dr. Aulakh. "When Khalistan is free, we will have our own Ambassadors, our own representation in the UN and other international bodies, and our own leaders to keep this sort of thing from happening. We won’t be at the mercy of the brutal Indian regime and its Hindu militant allies," he said. "Democracies don’t commit genocide. India should act like a democracy and allow a plebiscite on independence for Khalistan and all the nations of South Asia," Dr. Aulakh said. "As Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, said, ‘If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh’," Dr. Aulakh noted. "We must continue to pray for and work for our God-given birthright of freedom," he said. "Without political power, religions cannot flourish and nations perish."

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This material is circulated by the Council of Khalistan, which is registered with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an agent of the Council of Khalistan, Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab.
The material is filed with the DOJ where the required registration is available for inspection. Registration does not indicate approval of the contents by the U.S. Government.