US Sikh Groups Rally For 1984 Justice

Now for absolute certain sure this blog will again be tagged as a spam blog. Three posts in one day! But this just came in and I want to get it up while my brain is in the blogging mode. And it has such a lovely picture of Mr. Tytler, who it seems is dying his hair these days!



1984 riots: Sikh groups in US rally for justice

Anirudh Bhattacharyya
CNN-IBN



STANDING FOR JUSTICE: Sikh groups in India and the US also want Tytler to hand to the CBI, the Doordarshan CDs.

New York: After CNN-IBN broadcast testimonies of key witnesses of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, Sikh groups across the world are pushing for justice.


Sikhs For Justice, a movement set up by 15 Sikh organizations in the United States, met recently at the Baba Makhan Shah Gurudwara in New York. Their objective is to ensure that those allegedly involved in killings during the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots are punished.


“We have two witnesses who will be present when the opportunity arises,” says Sukhwant Singh, Sikhs for Justice.


Sikhs For Justice is doing the groundwork to enable witnesses to testify against Congress leaders like Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath and Sajjan Kumar. But the resolution passed on Sunday goes further than dropping names. They demand a Judicial enquiry into the 84 riots, headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, that will look at the carnage not just in Delhi but also 9 other states. They also asked that the Akal Takht Jathedar and the SGPC appeal for witnesses to testify, offering them full protection.


“On behalf of Sikhs for Justice, in the coming two weeks, appeals will be made before the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognizance (of the cases). If the Supreme Court does not hear our pleas, then we will appeal to Sikhs at an international level, that they unite and go before the United Nations under the auspices of the Genocide Treaty, so Sikhs get justice,” says Balbir Kaur, Sikhs for Justice.


Sikh groups in India and the US also want Tytler to hand to the CBI, the Doordarshan CDs that he says show him near Indira Gandhi's body on 1st November 1984.
IBN



23 years since the riots, Sikh groups in America feel energized to form a front and start naming Indian politicians they believe were involved in the violence and to seek direct legal action in India. However, in Delhi, Sikh groups gathered at Majnu Ka Tilla gurudwara assuring support to Surinder Singh, whose chilling eyewitness account was broadcast on CNN IBN.


“It is not only Jasbir Singh or Surinder Singh who are a witness against Jagdish Tytler. There are many such people who are ready to give their account in the court,” says Karnail Singh, President, All India Sikh Student Federation.