'Those Guilty of November 1984 Sikh Massacre Should Be Punished,' Says Amnesty International

'Those Guilty of November 1984 Sikh Massacre Should Be Punished,' Says Amnesty
International

Thousands March on Washington To Commemorate 25th Anniversary of Sikh Genocide
in India

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To remind the world and the
American Government about the continued denial of justice to victims and
survivors of the November 1984 Sikh genocide, more than 1,500 supporters
marched from Lafayette Park to Capitol Hill, Sunday, November 1, to mark the
25th anniversary of the massacre of more than 30,000 Sikhs in 18 states and
110 cities across India.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091104/DC05810)

Organized by Sikhs for Justice, a human rights advocacy group, the Justice
conference connected human rights organizations with the American Sikh
community to deliver their message of support for the cause. Addressing the
conference, Amnesty International's T. Kumar said "We simply want to find out
why this deplorable act was committed and ask why it has taken so long for
those responsible to be punished. We need to deliver justice for all those
Sikhs who suffered in 1984 and their families."

The conference was created to expose the true extent of killings as a state
sponsored act, in contrast to the Indian government's position which labeled
the killings as "Anti-Sikh Riots."

"The killings, burning, robbing, rape and looting of Sikhs has constantly been
termed by the Indian government as 'reaction' to the murder of Ms. Indira
Gandhi on October 31, 1984," said Sikhs for Justice legal advisor Gurpatwant
Singh Pannun. "The truth, however is that the Sikh massacre was planned,
organized and targeted at the behest of the ruling political party and with
the active support and sometimes connivance of Police and law enforcement
authorities. During the four days of carnage, Sikhs across India were located,
identified, targeted and ruthlessly killed by armed and in most cases, hired
career criminals and arsonists. Politicians at the top of Indian government
actively instigated, provoked and ordered the killings while police and local
administrators either actively participated or stood passively by."

In a steady downpour, supporters from as far away as California and India
gathered to hear speeches and remarks from senior Indian journalist Rahul
Bedi, Indian Advocate Kamna Vohra, Professor Indira Prahst from Canada and
Navkiran Singh from Lawyers for Human Rights International, among others. The
message was clear. "We will not rest until those who are guilty are brought
to justice."

For additional information, contact Gurpatwant Singh Pannun,
gpannun@pannunfirm.com, 718-938-7801 or visit www.sikhsforjustice.org.

SOURCE Sikhs for Justice

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, +1-718-938-7801, gpannun@pannunfirm.com