E1596 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks August 7, 1998 occupation and denial of human rights. As a lege. As a Marine during WWII, he saw action every day, other innocent people will join the nation, we must insist that turkey withdraw its in the South Pacific. He is survived by his wife ranks of the disappeared.'' With nuclear weap- occupying forces and allow the return of refu- Beverly, a daughter Kate; two sons: Vaughn ons involved in South Asia, these terrible vio- gees to their communities. and Arch; and five grandchildren. lations of basic human rights are even more We must send a clear message stating that f dangerous to the entire world. violations of human rights and international KHALISTANI DELEGATION law will not be tolerated, especially when per- I am inserting Dr. Aulakh's testimony and TESTIFIES AT UNITED NATIONS petrated by a nation to which we grant signifi- the Council of Khalistan's press release into cant amounts of foreign aid. A truly democratic the RECORD for the information of my col- foreign policy will seek the restoration of a HON. DAN BURTON leagues. I urge them to read it carefully. It is united Greek-Cypriot state and serve as a tes- OF INDIANA frightening, but quite informative. Thank you, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES tament to our commitment to democratic self- Mr. Speaker. Thursday, August 6, 1998 government and fundamental freedoms. TESTIMONY OF DR. GURMIT SINGH AULAKH, f Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, re- PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF KHALISTAN BEFORE cently a delegation of Khalistani Americans led A TRIBUTE TO IAN B. ZELLICK THE 54TH SESSION OF THE WORKING GROUP by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulkah, President of the ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEAR- HON. BARBARA LEE Council of Khalistan, testified before the ANCES United Nations Working Group on Enforced Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me begin by OF CALIFORNIA and Involuntary Disappearances, which was IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES thanking you for the opportunity to speak to meeting in New York City. While there, they the Working Group again this year. I would Thursday, August 6, 1998 exposed the massive human rights violations like to update you on disappearances in the Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am here to share by the Indian Government in Punjab, Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. When I with you the life of a legendary Oaklander, Mr. Khalistan. Joining Dr. Aulakh were Dr. reported to you last year, the Sikh homeland Ian B. Zellick, television pioneer and civic Paramjit Singh Ajrawat of Maryland, Professor was in a deplorable situation. It has not im- leader, who died on July 27 after a brief ill- Gurcharan Singh of Marymount University in proved. If anything, it has been made worse ness at age 73. New York, Judge Mewa Singh of New Jersey, by the presence of Indian missiles deployed Mr. Zellick was the first staff member at a and Malkiat Singh Heir, also of New Jersey. in Punjab after its recent nuclear tests. local television station in the City of Oakland The Working Group revealed that it has re- This deployment puts Sikh lives at risk to KTVU±TV Channel 2 where he was hired in quested permission to visit and has been preserve those of the ruling class. The BJP 1958 as employee number 001. He worked at denied. The same thing has happened to Am- has shown an openly hegemonic agenda to- Channel 2 for more than 32 years; first as a nesty International, Human Rights Watch, and wards its South Asian neighbors. There is no set designer and artist, but it is for his more others who have tried to conduct an independ- doubt that if war breaks out between India than 20 years as Director of the Community ent human rights investigation. India obviously and , Punjab will be the battle- ground, as it was for the last three wars Affairs Department that Mr. Zellick is best re- has plenty to hide. Even though the government in Punjab is fought between the two nations and once membered. again, will bear the most casualties in Under his direction, the Community Affairs not led by the Sikh political party, this nuclear holocaust. Department's share of air time at KTVU grew there have still been over 150 atrocities docu- I would like to thank the many committed from 30 minutes a week to more than six mented since they formed a coalition with the people whose efforts have helped us develop hours a week. Show topics ranged from poli- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1997. It is this information to present to you. My state- tics to the concerns of various ethnic and mi- ironic that while the Khalistani delegation was ment is more a result of their efforts than nority communities. He opened the doors of testifying, the news broke that Rajiv Singh my own. Randhawa, a witness who identified the police the station to all corners of the community. If The human-rights situation in Punjab, more than two people wanted to debate or officers who kidnapped human rights activist Khalistan remains as bad as it ever was. The discuss something, Mr. Zellick gave them air Khalra, was himself abducted renowned journalist and writer Kushwant time. by the police. A few days later, Japal Singh Singh has said last May that he personally His enthusiasm for the community also took Dhillon, who worked with Mr. Khalra on his re- approved of the police method of simply him outside the station to serve on dozens of port exposing the mass cremations of Sikhs grabbing Sikh youth and shooting them in boards and commissions. One year (1984) Mr. by the Indian Government, was also arrested the head without bothering with the courts, Zellick was on 26 community boards and com- on a false charge. Shortly after that, his law- he stated, and I quote, ‘‘I supported the po- missions, including The Oakland Ballet, yer, Daljit Singh Rajput, was picked up on the lice in its extra-judicial killings.’’ Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of the West, same false charge. Former Speaker of the Indian Parliament Booth Memorial Home, the displaced Home- The July 9±15, 1998 issue of Awaze Qaum Balram Jakhar said, ‘‘If we have to kill a makers, the Oakland Symphony, and the Oak- reported that the police picked up Kashmira million Sikhs to preserve India’s territorial land Opera. People who knew him described Singh of the village of Khudial Kalan on the integrity, so be it.’’ In an interview broad- him as a self-styled one-man community net- pretext that they were investigating a theft. cast by NPR on August 11, 1997, Narinder work, involved in education, music, dance, They then tortured Kashmira Singh for 15 Singh, identified as a spokesman for the days. They rolled logs over his legs until he , said that ‘‘The Indian gov- mental health, and pregnant teens. He was ernment all the time they boast that they’re able to form links between dissimilar agencies. couldn't walk. They submerged him in a tub of democratic, they’re secular, but they have For instance, when an important resident serv- water. They slashed his thighs with razor nothing to do with a democracy, they have ice for pregnant teens was threatened, he fa- blades and stuffed hot peppers into his nothing to do with a secularism. They try to cilitated an arrangement between Oakland's wounds. Then the police claimed that crush Sikhs just to please the majority.’’ YWCA and the Salvation Army's Booth Cen- Kashmira Singh had escaped, a bad sign that On May 12, the chairman of India’s Na- ter, thus insuring the service would continue. he has most likely been murdered by the po- tional Human Rights Commission reported After he retired from KTVU in 1990, Mr. lice. In addition, they arrested his father and that the NHRC had received 38,000 cases in Zellick concentrated on the Philharmonia Ba- brother, who I understand are also being sub- the last few months. This tells us the mag- roque, the San Francisco Early Music Society jected to torture. How can a country that sys- nitude of human-rights violations in India and the East Bay Agency for Children. EBAC tematically violates basic human rights like this because only a small fraction of cases are re- runs residential and day care facilities for dis- call itself democratic? ported due to intimidation by the police, turbed kids and he was honored by them for It is clear from these events that there is no poverty, and illiteracy. ``A Lifetime of Service to the East Bay Com- place for Sikhs or other minorities within In- What terrifies the Sikh community about munity.'' He received accolades and numerous dia's borders. As Dr. Aulakh has said, ``police this dangerous scenario is the ease by which awards, as a founding member of the abuses including illegal detentions, forced ab- past Indian Governments have been able to Philharmonia and the Preceptor Award from ductions, use of torture, rape, and murder make Sikhs disappear and kill them with have continued much like they have continued impunity. Since 1984, an estimated quarter the annual national Broadcasting Industry million Sikhs have lost their lives, but those Conference in recognition of his work encour- since 1984. What is worse is that there has responsible, men like K.P.S. Gill, are ap- aging and supporting young people in the field been active collusion by the Akali Government plauded in India as superheroes. It has been of broadcasting. with police forces to cover up past abuses and proven in the ballot box that when a politi- Mr. Zellick was born on June 7, 1925 in San to distract from present abuses. Without effec- cal party, be it BJP or Congress, targets a Francisco. He got his BA from San Francisco tive international pressure, the whereabouts of minority community such as Muslims, Chris- State University and his MA from Mills Col- the abductees will never be determined and tians, or Sikhs, they win elections. August 7, 1998 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1597 Information on the extent of disappear- I heard two shots. I ran back into the room certificate is ever issued, there is no con- ances and extrajudicial killings is by no and he was bleeding profusely. He had firmation that Sikhs who are reportedly means complete, but new cases continue to stopped breathing.’’ This is what happens to killed are actually dead. These Sikhs must come to light. According to the July 9–15 someone when he tries to expose India’s bru- be considered disappeared until they can be issue of Awaze Qaum, the police picked up tal policy of disappearances and mass crema- positively identified as being killed. Kashmira Singh of the village of Khudal tions. Even with more recent disappearances Kalan on the pretext of investigating a theft. According to Indian Express, Kuldip Singh there is an additional alarming trend, police They tortured him by rolling logs over his told the Central Bureau of Investigation regularly deny picking up an individual in legs, submerging him in a tub of water, cut- (CBI) that the brutal former Director Gen- the first place thereby bypassing the judicial ting his thighs with a blade and stuffing red eral of Police, K.P.S. Gill, was involved in system altogether. Sikh families are left peppers into the cuts. For 15 days they tor- the Khalra kidnapping and murder. Kuldip with the fear and frustration of having their tured him. Singh states that he was present when Gill loved ones very abduction denied. When his family and villagers came to see met with Mr. Khalra just days before his The patterns of these abductions are vir- him, he could not walk. Then the police death. The meeting took place at the home tually the same wherever they occur in Pun- claimed that Kashmira Singh had escaped of Ajit Sandhu, who committed suicide when jab, Khalistan. Sikhs are either arrested from the police station and they arrested his the Supreme Court of India ordered him in- openly, or a special squad is dispatched father and a minor brother. They, too, are dicted along with eight other officers for the which raids the person’s residence in the being tortured, but they are so poor that Khalra kidnapping. middle of the night. The person is handcuffed they can not even go to court. The people of When Khalra and several police officers and taken to normal police headquarters or the village are afraid that Kashmira Singh were riding back to the police station, ac- special interrogation centers set up in the was killed during the torture and that his cording to Kuldip Singh, Satnam Singh, the 80’s for the sole purpose of torture. Police body was disposed of as usual, another case SHO of the Chhabal station, told Mr. Khalra methods include: of disappearance. that ‘‘if you agree to Gill, you will be Rolling heavy wooden or iron rods along Keep in mind that Kashmira Singh is not a spared.’’ The Coordination Committee for the victim’s thighs rupturing the muscles. terrorist, the young man picked up on sus- Disappearances in Punjab, a human-rights Electrical shocks in sensitive areas, in- picion of theft, and he had never been for- group from Punjab, has demanded that CBI cluding genitalia. mally charged. file charges against Gill for his involvement Rape if the victim is female. In the July 10 issue of India West, it was in the abduction and murder of Mr. Khalra. Hanging the victim upside down or by the reported that the National Human Rights After Kuldip Singh’s testimony but before hands until consciousness is lost. Commission asked the Central Bureau of In- it became public, the government filed false Beating at the bottom of the victim’s feet vestigation (CBI) to investigate the abduc- charges that Mr. Khalra’s widow, Paramjit with hard blunt wooden staffs, and thick tion of a journalist named Avtar Singh Kaur Khalra, tried to bride Kuldip Singh. leather cudgels. Mandar by the . Mr. Mandar This was an effort to discredit Kuldip Stretching the victim’s limbs. was a correspondent for the Punjabi daily Singh’s testimony and undermine Mrs. Inserting an iron bar in the rectum and Ajit who was abducted from his house in Khalra’s case against the government. Even heating it up electrically. This causes tre- in 1992. His whereabouts remain the Punjab DGP said that the matter was in- mendous pain and damage, but shows no ex- vestigated by the crime branch, which found unknown. This is just another typical case. terior evidence of torture. Recent reports show that a police official the case untenable. Kuldip Singh is now As you know, a battery of Draconian laws named Swaran Singh, known as Ghotna after under the protection of the Central Reserve were issued throughout the 80’s which, in ad- a brutal type of torture he regularly em- Police Force (CRPF) because he fears liq- dition to the cash bounty system, give the ploys, tortured Gurdev Singh Kaunke, the uidation by officials of the Punjab police. security forces shoot-to-kill powers with im- Unfortunately, the Khalra kidnapping is former of the , and fi- munity from prosecution. These laws also typical practice by Indian security forces. nally murdered him by tearing him in half. give security forces broad detention powers. Lawyers, journalists, and rights activists The next day, the government announced In a much heralded declaration in May of have been made to disappear to instill a fear that Jathedar Kaunke had escaped from po- 1995, the Indian government announced that psychosis among the people. According to lice custody. This is a typical disappearance. the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act The Hitvada, at least one journalist received You are all aware of the case of Jaswant (TADA) has not been renewed and that it is a phone call warning him that ‘‘it is dan- Singh Khalra. Mr. Khalra has done accurate no longer the law of the land. This is plain gerous to report against the government.’’ and detailed work regarding the disappear- wrong. As reported by Human Rights The lawyer for Mr. Khalra’s widow was sub- ances and genocide. His findings are ex- Watch’s 1996 annual report, ‘‘6,000 prisoners jected to an intimidation attempt in a court- tremely useful in understanding the extent remain under TADA custody.’’ But that room in front of a judge and his tires were of State repression of Sikhs. For his work, number may be in the tens of thousands. slashed. Mr. Sodhi, a lawyer from Ropar who Mr. Khalra was abducted by police from his Amnesty International, in its 1996 report, was representing accused Sikh militants in stated ‘‘Legislation allowing detention with- residence in on September 6, 1995. courts, was abducted along with his wife and out charge or trial remained in force in A few days earlier, Tarn Taran SSP Ajit 18-month-old child. They went into the po- India. . . . many of those detained under its Sandhu told Mr. Khalra, ‘‘We made 25,000 dis- lice station and never returned. Police provisions remained in custody.’’ appear. It would not be hard to make one dumped their bodies in the canal and falsely Furthermore, TADA revocation only ap- more disappear.’’ The police subsequently blamed the killings on militants. murdered him, according to a witness, but Khalra found that at least 25,000 cases of plies to crimes committed after the revoca- they have never acknowledged his death. cremating ‘‘unidentified’’ bodies have been tion date. As long as the police allege that Amnesty International issued a report on recorded in various municipal cremation the accused committed a crime BEFORE the April 27 entitled A Mockery of Justice: The grounds throughout Punjab. Khalra’s team revocation date, which they can do without Disappearance of Jaswant Singh Khalra. In found that in the Patti cremation grounds, a any evidence to back their claim, TADA this report, Amnesty International noted total of 538 bodies were brought to the cre- methods can be used to detain the accused that ‘‘Khalra had been part of a campaign to mation ground by police between 1991 and indefinitely. For all intents and purposes, highlight the plight of hundreds of people October of 1994. 10 different police stations TADA remains in effect. (Sikhs) who disappeared after being arrested were bringing bodies to be burned. Officials Today, there are thousands of detainees by the Punjab police during the 1980s and at the cremation ground would describe that languishing in jails throughout India who early 1990s. Those who now seek to defend on some days 2 bodies would be brought, on are officially declared missing or escaped, his rights are being threatened and witnesses other days 10 bodies would be brought. Often, but are in fact in detention. Exact estimates are being intimidated.’’ more than one body was burned with a single are impossible to ascertain, but the number One example of this intimidation is a allotment of wood. of Sikhs may be 20,000. This does not include former police officer named Kuldip Singh. Last year I gave the Working Group a pre- the tens of thousands of Muslims, Assamese, -based journalist Sukhbir Singh liminary list of 4,694 Sikhs who have been in Manipuris and other minorities detained Osan reported in The Hitvada that Kuldip Indian police or security force custody, some under TADA. Singh heard the police murder Jaswant going as far back as 1981. Despite their Since 1993, India has also defended its Singh Khalra at the Chhabal police station deaths being reported by Indian authorities, human rights record by pointing to the Na- on October 27, 1995. Like so many of the in- in virtually every case, the body has not tional Human Rights Commission (NHRC); a nocent Sikhs whose disappearances he re- been released to the families, no positive Commission set up under pressure by the ported on, Khalra’s body was thrown into the identification has been made of the deceased, international community. Like any effective Harike canal. post-mortem examinations have not been organization, the NHRC cannot operate Here is how Kuldip Singh described the conducted and no death certificate has been without power, resources and credibility. killing: ‘‘He was made to stand, thrashed and issued. In those case where post-mortem ex- The NHRC has none of these attributes. pushed onto the ground. His legs were aminations were conducted, the identifica- As I had mentioned in my testimony last stretched apart more than 180 degrees. Seven tion of the victim is always listed as ‘‘un- year, the NHRC has no power to directly in- policemen kicked him in the abdomen and identified.’’ vestigate human rights violations and no ju- chest. Save me. Please give me some water, It is very important to note that because risdiction over violations committed by the he cried. As I was about to fetch some water, bodies are not returned, and no valid death security and military forces. The NHRC has E1598 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks August 7, 1998 no power to prosecute violators or com- atrocities. According to Mr. Jaijee, the gov- UN organ if they know that they will be gone pensate victims. Also, there is a one-year ernment has spent Rs. 2 crore (20 million ru- next week. Although Amnesty was recently statute of limitations based on when the pees) for lawyers to protect these brutal po- allowed to operate in other parts of India, crime was committed. Thus, you could only lice officers. they have been denied access to Punjab since bring forth killings within a year after they The Peoples’ Commission is a response to 1978. Until there is a permanent and perva- allegedly occurred. Therefore, the vast ma- the ineffectiveness of the NHRC, the refusal sive presence of international monitors jority of Sikh killings, disappearances, rape of the Akali state government to investigate throughout Punjab, who will be there until and other violations cannot even be brought abuses, and the active suppression of evi- all of the facts of the genocide are collected, before the NHRC! dence gathering by Indian and Punjab secu- the fear of Indian government retaliation Cases filed with the NHRC are often ig- rity forces. The members of the Peoples will be too great to yield an accurate picture nored by the NHRC itself, even when human Commission have impeccable credentials. All of the death toll. rights activists file them. In my previous re- are former jurists. Recommendation 2 port to you, I reported on how the co-pro- The People’s Commission is a response to The Working Group should encourage ducer of the video documentary ‘‘Disappear- the failure of Indian State terrorism. It must internationally monitored investigation of ances in Punjab’’, Kumar was be nurtured and supported by the inter- public crematoriums throughout Punjab, as illegally detained at Delhi airport by the In- national community. If the People’s Com- it will likely bring to resolution many of the dian security and intelligence personnel on mission is successful in documenting and disappearances. January 19 and 20, 1997. broadcasting the truth of the last 14 years, it As far as we can determine, virtually none The complaint for the illegal detention will serve as an example of a peaceful and ef- of the individuals named in the list I gave that Mr. Kumar sent to NHRC and India’s fective response to state violence. The model the Working Group last year has been re- Union Home Minister have not been ac- of the People’s Commission can be applied to leased. A year later, this is still the case. Al- knowledged by either party. other situations throughout the world where He stated in a letter he wrote to me last though the police allege that these persons bloody conflict is the norm instead of the ex- were killed, no bodies have been returned, no year that he intended to travel to Punjab, ception. Kashmir and other north eastern regions identification has been verified and no valid Unfortunately, the Akali state government death certificate has been issued. It is highly where, and I quote, ‘‘the armed forces have continues to resist the People’s Commission. for decades followed a systematic policy of likely that many of them were cremated as Instead, the state government has given into unidentified by the Indian police. A thorough terror to combat secessionist movements.’’ temptation and used the police and security He also stated, quote, ‘‘Frankly I am worried investigation of all public crematoriums forces much like previous state govern- throughout Khalistan will provide a final, al- about my safety when I travel in these re- ments, to eliminate any and all opposition to gions . . . I am aware that a man like beit tragic, resolution as to what actually their rule; including political opposition. happened to the tens of thousands of Sikhs Jaswant Singh Khalra, who assisted me with I have enclosed a partial list of atrocities who were taken by police and never seen my researches in Punjab, has simply dis- that lists almost 150 atrocities, including again. appeared. Personally too, during my time in several disappearances, in Punjab since the Punjab, I experienced intimidation, includ- Akalis took power in March 1997. Recommendation 3 ing manhandling by unidentified people in I had mentioned and submitted last year to The Working Group should urge India to Amritsar.’’ the Working Group a letter written by a dismiss all pending cases under TADA. Inter- Given Mr. Kumar’s misgivings about the group of respected human-rights activists nationally monitored investigations should ability of the NHRC to protect him, it is un- last year states that 50,000 cash bounties be made of detention centers throughout realistic to expect Sikhs to bring cases of were disbursed to Punjab police for killing India to ensure that the tens of thousands of human rights violations to the NHRC. Given Sikhs between 1991 and 1993. The figure does TADA detainees are released from custody. the statute of limitations imposed, they are not include paramilitary and vigilante force Despite India government claims to the barred from doing so anyway. killings. Some of the militants allegedly contrary, TADA remains in effect. An imme- In the year since I first reported to the killed by police have appeared before the diate census should be conducted involving Working Group on the NHRC’s ineffective- Punjab and Haryana High Court requesting international monitors to ensure that deten- ness, the NHRC has received an estimated protection from the police. The letter rightly tion center’s throughout India no longer con- 38,000 complaints throughout India in just asks, and I quote, ‘‘If these dead men are tain political and religious prisoners. Many the past few months. The NHRC Chairman, alive, who have the police killed?’’ Sikhs were taken to jails outside Punjab and Justice Venkatchaliah, has echoed the very The letter cites evidence from human- are rotting there. same problems regarding the effectiveness of rights groups and the national press that Recommendation 4 the NHRC. The NHRC Chairman also strong- 50,000 Sikhs disappeared in the state in 1994 The Working Group should recommend ly objected to the fact that India continues alone. The Indian government has murdered that Indian authorities cease abducting, to bar international human rights groups more than 250,000 Sikhs since 1984 according harassing and murdering human rights ac- like Amnesty International, Asia Watch and to the book, The Politics of Genocide, by the tivists and other Sikhs. The persons involved others from being allowed to visit troubled convenor of the Movement Against State Re- in the kidnapping and murder of Jaswant regions like Punjab. pression, Inderjit Singh Jaijee which draws Singh Khalra and that of Jathedar Kaunke I mentioned last year that with the Akali its figure from the Punjab State Magistracy. should be punished and the government party election victory in the state of Punjab It is my fervent hope, a hope shared by should guarantee the safety of human-rights last February, there was hope that finally Sikhs throughout the world, that the work activists, monitors, all Sikhs, and all the peace, stability and a measure of democracy of the People’s Commission will account for other minority peoples. would return to the Sikh homeland. Unfortu- every last person killed in this last decade About two weeks ago, Jaspal Singh nately, this has not been the case. In fact, and a half. It will be the first step in a long Dhillon, a human-rights activist, and four police abuses including illegal detentions, road to bring those responsible to account others were falsely charged with conspiracy forced abductions, use of torture, rape and for their crimes. to blow up a jail to free a Sikh militant. The murder have continued much like they have In light of these facts, I would respectfully police had filed an FIR (First Investigative continued since 1984. What is worse is that submit the following recommendations for Report) charging that Mr. Dhillon and the there has been active collusion by the Akali the working group to consider: others were involved in a conspiracy to Government with police forces to cover up RECOMMENDATIONS break into jail and alleged Sikh militants. past abuses and to distract from present No court magistrate has validated these abuses. Recommendation 1 charges by the police and when human-rights The result is that the Akali Government The Working Group should recommend the groups protested the charges, the police re- does not merely condone abductions and dis- long-term presence of international human lented in their pursuit to arrest Mr. Dhillon appearances by Punjab security personnel, rights monitors in Punjab, Khalistan. In ad- and the others. However, the police shifted the Government actively shields such con- dition to UN Organs, groups like Amnesty the very same charges to ten other Sikh duct from public scrutiny by reminding the International, Human Rights Watch/Asia and youths, very young Sikh boys who would less world that the government is run by an in- other international groups must be allowed capable for resisting police tactics. They are digenous Sikh party (the Akalis) and they to operate freely throughout Khalistan. now in detention and it is extremely likely therefore must be respectful of the human Domestic institutions alone cannot deal that they are being tortured. This is typical rights of their own people. with the human rights crisis plaguing the Yet the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Sikh homeland. Neither the courts, the of the way the police concoct false cases Singh Badal, refuses to let his government NHRC or the Punjab state government is against human-rights activists and any investigate these disappearances and mass willing to begin the arduous task of survey- other Sikhs they want to harass. cremations. He proudly boasts that his gov- ing 13,000 villages throughout Punjab and Recommendation 5 ernment has not taken action against any documenting the quarter million victims of The Working Group should publicly sup- police officer. Instead, former Supreme State terror. An added problem is the vexing port the work of the People’s Commission Court Justice Kuldip Singh, chairman of the question of what happens when the human and provide them with technical assistance World Sikh Council, was forced to appoint a rights workers leave? No one will talk to in achieving the most comprehensive and ob- Peoples’ Commission to investigate these Amnesty International or the appropriate jective investigation possible. August 7, 1998 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1599 The Working Group should acknowledge in According to the July 9–15 issue of Awaze A TRIBUTE IN MEMORY OF JAMES its annual report the work of the People’s Qaum, the police picked up Kashmira Singh WELDON HADNOT, SR. Commission. This will not only provide of the village of Khudal Kalan in Mansa dis- much need international recognition of the trict on the pretext of investigating a theft. Commission, but will make much harder for They tortured him for 15 days by rolling logs HON. BARBARA LEE Indian security and government officials to over his legs, submerging him in a tub of OF CALIFORNIA harass or even kill those individuals involved water, cutting his thighs with a blade and IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES in the very risky business required by the stuffing red peppers into the wounds. Then Commission’s work. The Working Group the police claimed that Kashmira Singh had Thursday, August 6, 1998 should also provide technical assistance to escaped from the police station and they ar- Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, it is with a great the Commission so that the data they collect rested his elderly father and a minor broth- sense of loss that I pay tribute to Mr. James and the method of collection conforms to er. They, too, are being tortured. The villag- Weldon Hadnot, Sr., a legend in the Bay Area international standards of human rights doc- ers are afraid that Kashmira Singh was and to the world of basketball, who left us on umentation. killed during the torture and that his body Recommendation 6 was disposed of as usual. August 3, 1998. James was the father of my The Working Group should recommend In another recent development, Jaspal Oakland District Staff, Julie Hadnot. measured and appropriate sanctions against Singh Dhillon and four other human-rights James Weldon Hadnot, Sr., was born in the Government of India until they comply activists were falsely charged with conspir- Jasper, Texas on January 5, 1940 to Roo- with all of the international treaties and ing to blow up a jail to free an alleged ‘‘mili- sevelt and Arvetter Hadnot, the third of five covenants regarding human rights to which tant.’’ When the human-right community ob- children. At the age of three, his family moved they are signatories. jected, the charges were dropped under pres- to Oakland, California. James attended Oak- The above recommendations do not resolve sure. The Punjab government under Chief land Public Schools graduating from the core issues between Sikhs and the Indian Minister Badal has spent more than 2 crore McClymonds' High School in 1958. At Government which gave rise to these abuses, (20 million) rupees for legal fees to protect issues that boil down to the right of the Sikh the police officers who participated in the McClymonds' he was a premier athlete, lead- nation to national self-determination. But genocide against the Sikh Nation. ing his basketball team to three outstanding they do help open Punjab, Khalistan to the ‘‘Only international pressure will stop the seasons. In 1958, his team won the Tour- international community. This must occur campaign, and only sanctions will yield the nament of Champions with a 28±0 win. before any credible investigation regarding necessary pressure to make India act in ac- James received a basketball scholarship to disappearances, extrajudicial killings, tor- cordance with international law,’’ Dr. attend Providence College in Rhode Island. ture and rape can begin. Aulakh said. ‘‘Without effective inter- Only international pressure will stop the While at Providence, he led his team to three national pressure, the whereabouts of the consecutive NIT appearances, receiving First campaign, and only sanctions will yield the abductees will never be determined and necessary pressure to make India act in ac- every day, other innocent people will join Team All-Tournament honors at each of these cordance with international law. Only sanc- the ranks of the disappeared,’’ he said. appearances. In 1961, James led the Friars to tions will force India to respect the human the NIT Championship award. His Providence rights of the people it purports to govern. f Friars' team garnered a record of 68 and 16 Without effective international pressure, the during his career. In 1974, James was in- whereabouts of the abductees will never be AUBURN HIGH SCHOOL ducted into the Providence College Hall of determined and every day, other innocent CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL TEAM people will join the ranks of the disappeared. Fame. Thank you. He graduated from Providence in 1962 with HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. KHALISTANI DELEGATION TESTIFIES BEFORE OF MASSACHUSETTS Shortly thereafter, he was selected by the UN WORKING GROUP ON DISAPPEARANCES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Boston Celtics of the National Basketball As- WASHINGTON, July 18.—Dr. Gurmit Singh Thursday, August 6, 1998 sociation (NBA). Aulakh, President of the Council of In 1963 he returned to Oakland to play for Khalistan, testified yesterday before the Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, it is my privi- the Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball United Nations Working Group on Enforced lege on this special occasion to highlight the or Involuntary Disappearances. Also testify- League (ABL). He later played for the Oakland ing were Dr. Paramjit Singh Ajrawat, Pro- 1998 Massachusetts State Champion MIAA Oaks of the American Basketball Association fessor Gurcharan Singh of Marymount Uni- Division 2 Auburn High School Rockets from (ABA), which won an ABA Championship in versity in New York, Judge Mewa Singh of Auburn Massachusetts. This remarkable group 1969. Between 1982 and 1987 James New Jersey, and Malkiat Singh Heir, also of of young men ended the season with a record coached basketball at Laney and Alameda New Jersey. of 25±0, remaining undefeated during District Community Colleges and Holy Names Col- The Working Group said that if they can and State competition. The Championship lege. In 1987, he rejoined the NBA as a Scout get a list of the disappeared, they will inves- game was held in Fenway Park, home of the tigate. They have asked India for permission for the Sacramento Kings. In 1991 he began to visit and were denied, as other independ- World Renowned Boston Red Sox. working with the New Jersey Nets as a Scout ent human-rights monitors have been. They The history of this team foreshadowed their for the western region. said that they will try again. success. In 1993 they won the State Junior James was also an entrepreneur with three While the Khalistani delegation was testi- Little League Championship, and in 1995 the liquor stores in 1963. The most notable was fying to the United Nations, word came out State Senior Little League Championship. Hadnot Liquors on Shattuck Avenue in Berke- that the police abducted Rajiv Singh Team Captain Greg Spanos broke the school ley. He later sold them and opened the Safari Randhawa, who was an eyewitness to the po- batting record with .544, edging out his older lice kidnapping of human-rights activist Cocktail Lounge on Foothill Boulevard in Oak- Jaswant Singh Khalra, yesterday. This ab- brother Bryan who previously had the distinc- land. duction is typical of police conduct in Pun- tion. Throughout his life, James was actively in- jab. The police have murdered more than The team members are number and name: volved in the civic and sports community. He 250,000 Sikhs since 1984. Disappearances con- 7ÐGreg Spanos, Captain; 8ÐMark Porcaro; was a member of the California State Package tinue to be routine. 9ÐDave Lebel; 10ÐMatt Clark; 11ÐDan & Tavern Owners Association, the Grass Val- ‘‘With the Akali party election victory in Dufrefne; 12ÐSean Lucey; 13ÐDerrick ley PTA, the Alameda County Cerebral Palsy the state of Punjab last February, there was Hume; 14ÐScott Wrenn; 15ÐBrian Macphee; Board, the American Basketball Association hope that finally peace, stability and a meas- ure of democracy would return to the Sikh 16ÐTom Janowski; 17ÐDarren Natoli; 18Ð Alumni and the McClymonds' Alumni Associa- homeland,’’ Dr. Aulakh told the Working Joe Lacombe; 19ÐJustin Blanchard; 20Ð tion, just to name a few of the many. He also Group. ‘‘Unfortunately, this has not been the Buddy Penny; 21ÐSeth Paradis; 22ÐMike served as a Catholic Youth Organization Bas- case. In fact, police abuses including illegal Richard; 23ÐAdam Silun; 24ÐKeith Gonyea; ketball Coach at St. Paschal's School in Oak- detentions, forced abductions, use of torture, Coaches: Paul FentonÐVarsity, Kevin land. rape and murder have continued much like SloanÐJunior Varsity; Assistant Coaches: He found great pleasure in spending time they have continued since 1984. What is Pete Pellegrino, Bruce Richards, Brian Finn; with his family and friends. James was an avid worse is that there has been active collusion Manager/Scorekeeper: Derek Charbonneau; golfer, spending many days as a Marshall at by the Akali Government with police forces to cover up past abuses and to distract from Bat Boys: Drew Gribbons and Kurt Bowes. the Lake Chabot Golf Course. present abuses,’’ he said. He presented a par- The citizens of Auburn celebrate with pride James is survived by his wife Norma (Cook- tial list of almost 150 atrocities that have the accomplishments of these talented young ie), sons, Dorian, Shawn; daughters, Julie and been reported since the Akali government athletes. On behalf of everyone in my district, Jana; daughter-in-law Ebony; grandson, took power in March 1997. I offer my heartfelt congratulations. James III; sister, Virgle Stringfield; brother,