30 September 2007

Burma - Not Myanmar


To our dear friends in the Saadh Sangat,



This is from all three of us collectively, Vini, Suni and Mai.




It has been a part of Sikhi from the very beginning to stand against injustice and fight for the weak and helpless. Today, in Burma, the government are acting in a way we Sikhs can unfortunately relate to, attacking and killing their own citizens. If we on the outside sit back and do nothing, these brave people who are opposing oppression in their country are doomed. There is little that we as individuals can do, but we can all sign this petition (below).




We ask everyone reading this post to please take this one small action.




By the way, the current military government renamed the country as Myanmar. As we do not recognise them as a legitimate government, we continue to call the country Burma.




Much love and hope,




Dharma Kaur Khalsa




Vini, Suni and Mai






Dear friends,




Burma's generals have brought their brutal iron hand down on peaceful monks and protesters -- but in response, a massive global outcry is gathering pace. The roar of global public opinion is being heard in hundreds of protests outside Chinese and Burmese embassies, people round the world wearing the monks' color red, and on the internet-- where our petition has exploded to over 200,000 signers in just 72 hours.




People power can win this. Burma's powerful sponsor China can halt the crackdown, if it believes that its international reputation and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing depend on it. To convince the Chinese government and other key countries, Avaaz is launching a major global and Asian ad campaign on Wednesday, including full page ads in the Financial Times and other newspapers, that will deliver our message and the number of signers. We need 1 million voices to be the global roar that will get China's attention. If every one of us forwards this email to just 20 friends, we'll reach our target in the next 72 hours. Please sign the petition at the link below -if you haven't already- and forward this email to everyone you care about:




http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php?cl=21253053

The pressure is working - already, there are signs of splits in the Burmese Army, as some soldiers refuse to attack their own people. The brutal top General, Than Shwe, has reportedly moved his family out of the country – he must fear his rule may crumble.




The Burmese people are showing incredible courage in the face of horror. We're broadcasting updates on our effort over the radio into Burma itself – telling the people that growing numbers of us stand with them. Let's do everything we can to help them – we have hours, not days, to do it. Please sign the petition and forward this email to at least 20 friends right now. Scroll down our petition page for details of times and events to join in the massive wave of demonstrations happening around the world at Burmese and Chinese embassies.




With hope and determination,




Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Graziela, Galit, Ben, Milena and the whole Avaaz Team







--
WHY TRY TO FIT IN WHEN YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT?

More On Mr. Jagdish Tytler




This article showed up in The Hindu this bright Sunday Morning:
Date:30/09/2007

New Delhi

CBI has lost
credibility after clean chit to Tytler: BJP




Staff Reporter



‘The sentiments of the
Sikh community have been offended’
(*sarcastically*Oh, do tell! Maybe just
the tiniest bit?
)


NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP
president Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that by giving a clean chit to Congress
leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, the Central Bureau of
Investigation has lost its credibility. “The sentiments of the Sikh community
have been offended due to it and people who were waiting for justice for the
last 24 years have been disappointed,” he said.

Stating that “the
Justice Nanavati Commission had also found Mr. Tytler to be the likely accused
person in this case and had asked for lodging a case against him”, Dr. Vardhan
said thereafter he was also been dismissed from the Union Cabinet in 2005.

Following the Commission report, the CBI had lodged a case against Mr.
Tytler in November 2005. “Weak evidence was prepared deliberately so that the
evidence may not stand in court,” Dr. Vardhan charged, adding that “`now the CBI
has decided to close the case it had started”. “The basis of decision is that
there is no sufficient evidence in the cases of the murder of Sikhs, riots and
arson. The CBI has made all the preparations to give Mr. Tytler a clean chit on
this basis. They have deliberately made preparations so that the Congress
leaders may be proved innocent,” he charged.

Describing the development
as “unfortunate”, he said the CBI had lost its credibility . “This is the same
CBI which had given Ottavio Quattrochi, an accused in the Bofors case, an
opportunity to withdraw money from his account and to get away from Argentina,”
he added.
© Copyright 2000 - 2007 The Hindu
My thoughts as I read that, maybe better kept to myself, but surely not my thoughts alone: Where is the spirit of Shaheed Beant Singh and Shaheed Satwant Singh now?