[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1533-E1534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

CONGRESS CALLS FOR RELEASE OF HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

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HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

of new york

in the house of representatives

Tuesday, August 4, 1998

Mr. TOWNS: Mr. Speaker, on July 31, several of my colleagues and I
sent a letter to President Clinton asking him to get involved in trying
to free some human-rights defenders in India. Those of us who signed
the letter thank the Washington Times for its excellent coverage of it
in the August 4 issue.
Jaspal Singh Dhillon helped Jaswant Singh Khalra put together his
report on mass cremations in Punjab. He came to the United States in
1993 and visited the White House. The Indian government arrested him in
1993 but was forced by international pressure to release him. Now he
has again been arrested on trumped-up charges. Not only that, but his
attorney, Daljit Singh Rajput, has been arrested in the same case. It
is virtually certain that they are being tortured.
Rajiv Singh Randhawa was kidnapped along with a friend of his in
broad daylight. He was picked up because he saw the kidnapping of Mr.
Khalra and had identified the police officers who were involved. This
is what happens to you were you cross the police in democratic India.
Kuldip Singh is a former low-level police employee who heard the
murder of Mr. Khalra. He reported the gruesome details to the press. He
was getting some water for Mr. Khalra when he heard a shot and ran
back. Khalra was bleeding and had stopped breathing. He, too, has to be
protected from the police.
Human-rights worked like Jaspal Singh Dhillon and witnesses like
Kuldip Singh should not live in fear of the police. The United States
must take the strongest possible action to bring about the prompt
release of these innocent Sikhs and to see to it that the Indian
government prosecutes and punishes those responsible for these
atrocities.
I am inserting the Congressional letter and the Washington Times
article into the Record. I urge my colleagues to read them carefully.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, July 31, 1998.
Subject: Arrest and fear of disappearance and torture of
human-rights activist Jaspal Singh Dhillon and others.
Hon. Bill Clinton,
President of the United States, The White House, Washington,
DC.

Dear Mr. President: We are very disturbed by the July 23
abduction of Jaspal Singh Dhillon, who worked with human-
rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra on his report exposing
the mass cremations of Sikhs by the Punjab police. Earlier
the police abducted Rajiv Singh Randhawa, a key eyewitness to
the kidnapping of Khalra. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, the
President of the Council of Khalistan, informed us that these
individuals may be in danger of being murdered and listed as
``disappeared'' like tens of thousands before him, as Mr.
Khalra documented.
Jaspal Singh Dhillon was picked up on a false charge that
he was involved in a conspiracy to blow up the Burail jail to
free and alleged ``militant.'' His vehicle was also seized.
We are afraid that the police will plant false evidence in
the vehicle. Jaspal Singh Dhillon has testified before the
United Nations about the human-rights violations in Punjab.
He has even been to the White House. Mr. Dhillon was picked
up five years ago and severely tortured. It is only because
you and other Western leaders intervened that Mr. Dhillon was
released at that time.
Mr. Randhawa was picked up on July 15 from his home in
Amritsar by plainclothes police who held a gun to his head,
tied him up with his own turban, and took him away along with
a friend of his. The police officials who kidnapped and
murdered Khalra are due for a hearing on July 28. Clearly,
the Randhawa kidnapping is an attempt to remove the one
witness who can do the most damage to them.
In addition to these cases, a police witness, Kuldip Singh
has had to turn to the Central Reserve Police Force for
protection because he is afraid that the Punjab police will
try to eliminate him. Kuldip Singh said that he was getting
water for Jaswant Singh Khalra in the Chhabra police station
when he heard a shot. He ran back and Khalra was bleeding. He
had stopped breathing and he was dead. As you know Jaswant
Singh Khalra was kidnapped in 1995 after he exposed India's
policy of mass cremations of Sikhs.
In a democracy, human-rights activists like Jaspal Singh
Dhillon and witnesses like Kuldip Singh and Rajiv Singh
Randhawa should not have to live in fear of the police. We
call on you to intervene with the government of India to
ensure the release of Mr. Dhillon and Mr. Randhawa
immediately and call on them to begin an immediate
prosecution of those who abducted them. We strongly urge you
to protect these innocent Sikhs and to work with the Indian
government to make sure that those responsible for the crimes
against these Sikhs are punished.
Sincerely,
Edolphus Towns, M.C.; Dan Burton, M.C.; Dana Rohrabacher,
M.C.; Richard Pombo, M.C.; Frank R. Wolf, M.C.; Jack
Metcalf, M.C.; Bill Redmond, M.C.; Wm. J. Jefferson,
M.C.; Sheila Jackson-Lee, M.C.; Peter T. King, M.C.;
Donald M. Payne, M.C.; Roscoe Bartlett, M.C.; Lincoln
Diaz-Balart, M.C.; John T. Doolittle, M.C.; Jerry
Solomon, M.C.; Cynthia McKinney, M.C.; Barbara Kennedy,
M.C.; Gregory Meeks, M.C.; Bernard Sanders, M.C.; Wally
Herger, M.C.; Dale E. Kildee, M.C.; Esteban E. Torres,
M.C.; J.C. Watts, Jr. M.C.; Merrill Cook, M.C.;
``Duke'' Cunningham, M.C.; Duncan Hunter, M.C.; Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, M.C.; Phil Crane, M.C.; Bill Paxon, M.C.;
Ron Lewis, M.C.; Sandford D. Bishop, Jr., M.C.; Ron
Packard, M.C.

[[Page E1534]]

[From The Washington Times, Aug. 4, 1998]

House Members of Both Parties Ask Clinton's Help in Freeing Four Sikhs

(By Tom Carter)

A bipartisan group of 33 legislators has written to
President Clinton urging him to get involved in protecting
four Sikh human rights activists arrested in India last
month.
``There is reason for concern that their detention is
without merit and that they are at risk of torture while in
detention,'' wrote Rep. Constance A. Morella, Maryland
Republican, in a letter dated July 30.
``I hope that your administration will urge Indian
authorities to undertake an independent investigation of
these cases, urging them to review these arrests and to act
to protect the physical integrity of those detained,'' she
wrote.
In a separate letter, sponsored by Edolphus Towns, New York
Democrat, 32 members of Congress urged Mr. Clinton to involve
the government of the United States in securing these men's
release.
``In a democracy, human rights activists . . . should not
have to live in fear of the police. We call on you to
intervene with the government of India,'' said the letter
dated July 31.
Others who added their names to the letter included
Republicans Dan Burton of Indiana, Frank R. Wolf of Virginia,
Peter T. King of New York, Philip M. Crane of Illinois and
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. Democrats who signed the
letter included Reps. Esteban E. Torres of California,
Cynthia A. McKinney of Georgia and Barbara B. Kennelly of
Connecticut.
The Council of Khalistan, which advocates independence for
Sikhs in Punjab, faxes copies of the congressional appeals to
news organizations over the weekend.
The four human rights activists were arrested last month in
Punjab on what Mr. Towns described as ``false charges.''
Jaspal Singh Dhillon, Rajinder Singh Neeta, Kulbir Kaur
Dhami and Daljit Singh Rajput were arrested for what Indian
authorities claimed was their involvement in an plan to help
free ``militants'' by blowing up a jail.
A State Department official, asked to comment on the
matter, said the U.S. Embassy in India was aware of Mr.
Dhillon's case.
``They have made informal contact with the Indian
authorities and they are monitoring it,'' the official said.
The Indian government yesterday had no comment on the
specifics of the case.
``The police wouldn't have acted just like that. They will
have done their work. There is rule of law in Punjab,'' said
Amar Sinha, press spokesman of the Indian Embassy.
On July 24, Amnesty International issued an ``urgent
action'' on the four men.
According to the Amnesty release, Mr. Dhillon worked with
Jaswant Singh Khalra, a well-known human rights activist who
``disappeared'' in September 1995 after his arrest after
exposing the mass cremations of unidentified Sikhs.
Nine police officials have been charged, but not
prosecuted, in the arrest and ``disappearance.''
``There is a fear that [Mr. Dhillon] may disappear too,''
said Jurjit Chima of Amnesty International yesterday.
Gurmit Singh Aulakh, director of the Council of Khalistan,
which advocates independence of Sikhs in Punjab, said the men
were arrested to prevent them from testifying at a ``People's
Commission'' human rights forum to be held Aug. 8 through 10.

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