Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, recently the London Institute of South Asia held an event to honor author Professor Gurtej Singh, who has a significant book on the repression in India. In connection with that, they held a seminar on the topic of a separate electorate in India for minorities. Dr. Gunnit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, spoke at the Institute in connection with the seminar. He spoke about the struggle to liberate Khalistan, the Sikh homeland. As you know, Mr. Speaker, Khalistan declared its independence on October 7, 1987. Yet Indian repression of the Sikh Nation continues to this day.

Dr. Aulakh spoke out against a separate electorate within India for the Sikhs, arguing that only full independence will allow the Sikhs to live in peace, prosperity, dignity, and freedom. He said that independence for Khalistan is inevitable, noting the recent marches, seminars, and other events showing the rising tide of support for freedom for Khalistan. And the politicians in Punjab have noticed and are beginning to speak out for Khalistan. That is a good sign. Even the Congress Party government of Punjab explicitly asserted the sovereignty of Punjab when it cancelled the agreements allowing the transfer of Punjabi water to non-riparian states last year.

He reported on the repression of the Sikhs that continues to show up in the form of the Indian Government destroying Sikh farms with bulldozers, farms that Sikh farmers had worked their lives for, only to see a lifetime of work destroyed by the Indian regime. This repression takes the form of arresting people for raising the flag of Khalistan, even though the Indian courts have ruled that wearing the saffron of Khalistan or raising a flag is not a crime. But the Indian Government apparently believes that it is not bound by the law, a position held not by democratic, but totalitarian governments. As my friend from California has said, for minorities, ``India may as well be Nazi Germany.''

Mr. Speaker, we cannot sit idly by and let this repression continue. I know that there are many pressing problems on the world stage that require our attention, such as the situation in Lebanon and the continuing fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. But we must not let the necessity of attention and action in these important situations allow us to let Indian repression slip under the radar. It is our duty to the principles on which this country was founded to support freedom everywhere in the world, not just in the hot spots. It is time to take action, Mr. Speaker. America should cut off aid and trade with India until all people there are allowed to live in freedom. And we should support real democracy, the kind India claims to believe in, in the form of a free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, in Nagalim, in Kashmir, and wherever people seek their freedom in South Asia.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to place the Council of Khalistan's press release on Dr. Aulakh's visit to the London Institute of South Asia into the Record at this time.

Dr. Aulakh Speaks to London Institute of South Asia--Book Award to

Professor Gurtej Singh

Washington, D.C., July 12, 2006.--Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,

President of the Council of Khalistan, spoke last month at

the London Institute of South Asia (LISA.) He went there for

a ceremony honoring Professor Gurtej Singh IAS for his book,

Tandev of the Centaur, which won the LISA Book Award. The

seminar addressed the topic of a separate electorate for

Indian. minorities. Dr. Aulakh spoke on the topic of the

liberation of Khalistan. He said that the idea of CI separate

election could be good for some minorities but was something

that would hold back the struggle for freedom of minority

nations that are dominant in their areas. He gave four radio

interviews on Punjabi stations that are listened to

worldwide.

Professor Gurtej Singh said, ``As part of my narration [for

the book], I found myself suggesting a theory indicating the

spurious nature of India's struggle for freedom. I am aware

that it renders the main activities of the Congress Party and

its leaders to an exercise in collaboration. But I am in good

company in coming to that conclusion. Michael Edwards, in his

The Myth of the Mahatma. has clearly shown that the British

really feared the `Western style revolutionaries' whom Gandhi

effectively neutralized. The Administration considered Gandhi

as an ally of the British as a neutralizer of rebellion.''

``This book does not clarify everything, but it clarifies a

lot,'' said Brigadier Usman Khalid, Director of LISA. ``It

lays the foundation for friendship between two irrepressible

nations of the subcontinent--the Muslims and the Sikhs. The

national cohesion that exists within the Muslims and the

Sikhs cannot be replicated in the caste based Brahminic

society,'' Brigadier Khalid said, ``Indian secularism is

'fraudulent; Indian nationalism is a pious hope without

foundation or purpose. The book nails those lies. It is a

great starting point for the `freedom for all in South Asia.'

''

``Despite the Indian Government's massive efforts over two

decades to crush the Khalistani freedom movement and the

other freedom movements, there remains strong support for

Khalistan in Punjab and the surrounding Sikh areas,'' Dr.

Aulakh said. He noted the anniversary of the attack on the

Golden Temple and the atrocities that were committed in

Operation Bluestar. He took note of the arrests of Sikh

leaders in Punjab for making speeches and hoisting the flag.

He noted that Khalistan slogans were raised inside the Golden

Temple recently. He noted the seminars organized by Atinder

Pal Singh and took note of the atrocities committed by the

Indian government. such as the kidnapping and murder of

Jaswant Singh Khalra, the murder of Akal Takht Jathedar

Gurdev Singh Kaunke, tearing apart the driver of Saba Charan

Singh, and the mass cremation of Sikhs. He cited the

Chithisinghpora massacre, the bombing of an Indian Airlines

flight in 1985, and other atrocities committed by the Indian

government.

A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression

(MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268

political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and

Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA) even though it expired in

1995. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. There as

been no list published of those who were acquitted under TADA

and those who are still rotting in Indian jails.

Additionally, according to Amnesty International, there are

tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political

prisoners. The MASR report quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy

as writing ``if we add up the figures of the last few years

the number of innocent persons killed would run into lakhs

[hundreds of thousands.]'' The Indian government has murdered

over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 300,000 Christians

in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir. tens of

thousands of Christians and Muslims throughout the country,

and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, and

others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian

government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide,''

Government-allied Hindu militants have burned down

Christian churches and prayer halls, murdered priests, and

raped nuns. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) described the

rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and called the nuns

``antinational elements.'' Hindu radicals, members of the

Bajrang Dal, burned missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his

two sons, ages 10 and 8, to death while they surrounded the

victims and chanted `Victory to Hannuman,'' the Hindu monkey-

faced God. The Bajrang Dal is the youth arm of the RSS. The

VHP is a militant Hindu Nationalist organization that is

under the umbrella of the RSS.

``The genocidal policies of the Indian government are aimed

at eliminating all these groups,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``Self-

determination must be the standard,'' he said. ``Short of

that, it is hard to see how the freedom of all people in

South Asia will be protected.''

We thank the London Institute of South Asia for including

Dr. Aulakh in its presentations. We would like to thank

General Khalid, Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon, V.T. Rajshekar, and

all the trustees of the Institute for inviting Dr. Aulakh to

make this presentation.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, recently spoke at the London Institute of South Asia, which was holding a seminar on separate electorate in India. He also contributed an article to the Journal of the London Institute of South Asia. Both presentations were on the same theme: freedom for Khalistan, the sovereign Sikh state that declared its independence from India on October 7, 1987, and has been under Indian occupation ever since then.

Dr. Aulakh stressed that a separate electorate within India, although it might help some of the oppressed minorities there, would not be appropriate for the Sikh nation, which is separate and distinct from India. He said that the achievement of full sovereignty and independence for Khalistan is inevitable. He took note of the Sikh farmers whose farms were bulldozed earlier this year by the Government. He discussed the Sikh activists who were arrested for raising the Khalistani flag. ``How can India claim it is a democracy and continue to hold political prisoners?'' he asked. ``How can a democratic, secular state make it a crime to

raise a flag and make speeches? Would America arrest people for raising the Confederate flag? Would the United Kingdom arrest people for speaking in support of Scottish independence?'' And the answer is that of course we wouldn't. We may not like these things, but they are not crimes. Yet in India the equivalent act gets you arrested.

Dr. Aulakh noted several other acts of tyranny against the Sikhs, including the kidnapping of human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, the murder of former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Gurdev Singh Kaunke, the killing of the driver for Sikh religious leader Baba Charan Singh, who was tied to two Jeeps which drove in different directions, tearing this human being apart, and many other atrocities. These things are the mark of a tyrannical, totalitarian regime, Mr. Speaker. Dr. Aulakh writes that in light of these atrocities, ``independence for Khalistan is inevitable.''

Dr. Aulakh takes note of the rising support for Khalistan in Punjab. He notes the marches being organized, that politicians and other Sikh leaders are speaking out for Khalistan, the seminars held by a former member of Parliament on the subject, and other activities in support of freedom for Khalistan.

Mr. Speaker, the essence of democracy is the right to self- determination. All people and all nations have a right to be free. That is the idea that gave birth to America. As such, we must be active and vigilant in supporting freedom around the world. We should stop our aid and trade with India, which is only propping up the repressive regime. The time has come to put the U.S. Congress on record in support of a free and fair plebiscite in Khalistan and all the minority nations that seek their freedom in South Asia.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to place Dr. Aulakh's article from the Journal of the London Institute of South Asia into the Record at this time.

[From the Journal of the London Institute of South Asia, July, 2006]

Flame of Freedom Burns in Khalistan: Establishment of a Sovereign Sikh

State Is Inevitable

(By Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh)

January 2006 was not a good month for the Sikh farmers in

Uttaranchal Pradesh, India. Their farms were bulldozed and

they were thrown out of the state. They had worked peacefully

all their lives, but now everything they had worked for was

destroyed. Once again, the government had decided to make

Sikhs the victims. This continues a pattern of repression

that has kept the Sikh Nation from living in freedom or

prosperity. Since 1984, over a quarter of a million Sikhs

have been murdered at the hands of the Indian government.

There is no way for these farmers to gain redress within

the Indian system. They have lost their life's work with no

way of making themselves whole. And they have no means to

begin again. They received no compensation for their

bulldozed property. This is just a recent example of why

Sikhs need their own independent country, Khalistan.

Khalistan, the Sikh homeland, declared its independence

from India on October 7, 1987. Since then, India's brutal

repression of the Sikh nation has intensified. Last year on

Republic Day, 35 Sikhs were arrested for making speeches in

support of Khalistan and raising the flag of Khalistan. This

past June, even more Sikhs were arrested for hoisting a flag

and making speeches. They join at least 52,268 Sikh political

prisoners that India admitted to holding, according to the

Movement Against State Repression (MASR) (as well as tens of

thousands of other political prisoners, according to Amnesty

International.)

India proclaims itself the world's largest democracy. How

can India claim it is a democracy and continue to hold

political prisoners? How can a democratic, secular state make

it a crime to raise a flag and make speeches? Would America

arrest people for raising the Confederate flag? Would the

United Kingdom arrest people for speaking in support of

Scottish independence?

The Sikhs are a separate people from India--culturally,

linguistically, and religiously distinct. As such, the Sikh

Nation is logically and morally a separate nation, a separate

people. Every day Sikhs pray ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa,'' meaning

``the Khalsa shall rule.'' It is part of the Sikh

consciousness that we are either rulers or we are in

rebellion.

Since 1947, the Indian government has been enslaving the

Sikh Nation. Under Indian rule, Sikhs are slaves. They are

exploited, tortured, and killed for the convenience of the

rulers. Despite India's repression of the Sikhs `symbolized

by half a million troops enforcing the peace of the bayonet'

the Sikhs are reclaiming the freedom that is our birthright.

The record of India's treatment of the Sikhs makes it clear

that there is no place for the Sikhs in `India's democracy'.

In 1995, human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra

published a report exposing India's policy of secret

cremations of Sikhs under which Sikh men are picked up,

tortured, and murdered, then their bodies are declared

`unidentified' and secretly cremated. Khalra did his work by

studying several cremation grounds in Punjab. He established

about 25,000 Sikhs who have been secretly cremated. Follow-up

work has established that the number is around 50,000. Their

bodies have never been given to their families. For his work,

Sardar Khalra was murdered in police custody; no wonder his

body also disappeared.

The one witness to the Khalra kidnapping, Rajiv Singh

Randhawa, has been consistently harassed by the Indian

regime. He even got arrested for trying to hand information

about the repression of the Sikhs to the British Home

Minister outside the Golden Temple.

Former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Gurdev Singh Kaunke was

murdered by police official Swaran Singh Ghotna. He has never

been brought to justice. The driver for Sikh religious leader

Baba Charan Singh was killed when his legs were tied to two

jeeps which then drove in different directions. The cases of

torture by rolling heavy rollers over the legs of Sikh

prisoners are too numerous to mention. In 1994, the U.S.

State Department reported that the Indian government paid

out over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for

killing Sikhs.

The only way that Sikhs will be able to live in freedom,

peace, stability, dignity, and prosperity, without constantly

fearing for their lives, is by liberating Khalistan.

The establishment of an independent Khalistan is

inevitable. Support for an independent Khalistan is rising in

Punjab. Last November, Khalistan slogans were raised at

Nankana Sahib during the celebration of Guru Nanak's birthday

and at a subsequent seminar. More than 25,000 people were in

attendance for the birthday celebration. There have been

numerous marches demanding freedom for Khalistan in Punjab.

Former Member of Parliament Atinder Pal Singh held a seminar

on Khalistan. Even when the Punjab Legislative Assembly

canceled the agreements that had allowed Punjabi water to be

diverted to other states, they openly asserted the

sovereignty of the state of Punjab. It seems that the Indian

government is aware and afraid of the rising tide of support

for Khalistan.

As Steve Forbes wrote in Forbes Magazine in 2002, ``India

is not a homogeneous state. Neither was the Austro-Hungarian

Empire. It attacked Serbia in the summer of 1914 in the hopes

of destroying this irritating state after Serbia had

committed a spectacular terrorist act against the Hapsburg

monarchy. The empire ended up splintering, and the Hapsburgs

lost their throne.'' India is doomed to a similar fate. It is

not a single, homogeneous state, but many countries thrown

together under one umbrella by the British colonial rulers

for their convenience. It has 18 official languages. Such

countries historically fall apart. The Soviet Union,

Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia are other examples from recent

history.

Even former Home Minister L.K. Advani has acknowledged the

instability of India, saying in Parliament: ``if Kashmir

goes, India goes.'' At a seminar in Lahore in November 2005,

I predicted that India will break up into five or six

different countries. This caused the Akali leaders present to

walk out, betraying the interests of the Sikh Nation once

again. Sikhs are willing to sit down and negotiate the

borders of a free and independent Khalistan. as long as that

is the sole subject for negotiation.

The Sikh Nation has a long and distinguished history of

freedom and secularism. Guru Gobind Singh Sahib established

the Khalsa Nation in 1699 at the historic Vaisakhi

Congregation in Anandpur Sahib. This event is celebrated

every April on the Sikh holiday of Vaisakhi Day. By his

action, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib firmly established a distinct

identity for the Khalsa Panth. He gave the Khalsa the

blessing of sovereignty and independence: Ain grieb Sikhin ko

deon Patshahi. `Khalsa Bagi Yan Badshah.'

The Gurus laid down the correct way for the Sikh Nation by

their example. Guru Nanak Sahib, the first Sikh Guru,

confronted the atrocities of the first Mogul ruler Babar

against the innocent population. Guru Arun Dev Ji Sahib

became a martyr in defense of his principles and acceptance

of the will of God. Guru Teg Bahadur Singh Sahib sacrificed

his life in defense of the weak and other religions,

defending Hindus from forced conversions. Today, it is

nationalist Hindus who are carrying out forced conversions,

more precisely forced reconversions of those who have

converted to another religion.

The tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, completed

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sahib's mission. He infused a new spirit

into the Sikh Nation and designed a new road map for the

Sikhs. He initiated the Sacrament of Steel (khande de pahul),

ordained the first five Sikhs as Singhs B the Panj Piaras, or

Five Beloved Ones B and instituted the Order of the Khalsa.

From then on, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib commanded the Sikhs to

mark their distinct identity known through five symbols:

unshorn hair, symbolizing natural and saintly appearance

(worn under a turban); a special comb to keep the hair clean;

a steel bracelet symbolizing discipline and gentility; the

Kirpan. or sword, a symbol of courage and commitment to

justice, truth, freedom, and human dignity; and special knee-

length under shorts, symbolizing chastity.

In 1706 Guru Gobind Singh left this world for his heavenly

abode. Just two ears later. Banda Singh Bahadur established a

Sikh Raj. It lasted from 1710 until 1716. From 1716 to 1765,

Sikhs went through horrible persecution by the Mogul ruler

Aurang Zeb. During that period, Sikhs experienced the chhota

ghalugara (small holocaust) and the wadde

ghalugara (large holocaust) In 1762, one third of the Sikh

population was killed in three days.

In 1765, Sikhs again established Sikh rule in several Sikh

missals (free cantonal republics) as well as the

principalities of Patiala, Nabha, Faridkote, Kapurthala,

Jind, and Kalsia. This lasted until 1799 when Maharajah

Ranjit Singh established Khalsa Raj in Punjab by uniting the

missals and principalities. They marched into the capital

city of Lahore and hoisted the Sikh flag, manifesting the

spirit of liberty reaffirmed at the Vaisakhi of 1699. This

Khalsa Raj lasted until 1849 when the British conquered the

Sub-continent. This Sikh nation of Punjab was recognized by

most of the Western powers of the time. The contemporary

struggle to liberate the Sikh homeland, Punjab. Khalistan, is

part of the same historical process.

Maharajah Ranjit Singh's rule was the Golden Age for

Punjab. Sikhs destroyed Mogul rule and stopped invasions from

the Afghan rulers to the west. Under the command of Hari

Singh Nerwa, Sikhs defeated the Afghans and occupied Kabul.

Nelwa left Kabul after securing the promise from the Afghans

that they would not cross east of the Khyber Pass. Maharajah

Ranjit Singh and Hari Singh Nerwa invaded Kashmir, which was

part of Afghanistan. and annexed it to Punjab in 1819. India

and Pakistan owe a debt of gratitude to the Sikhs, as both

countries claim Kashmir as their own.

During Maharajah Ranjit Singh's rule, Hindus, Muslims, and

Christians all had a share of power alongside the Sikhs. All

of them were represented as ministers in his Cabinet. The

Faqir brothers, who were Muslims, were trusted ministers in

the inner circle of Maharajah Ranjit Singh. General Ventura,

a Christian, was in charge of the artillery. The Hindu Dogras

(Dhian Singh Dogra and his brother Lal Singh Dogra) wielded

enormous power with Maharajah Ranjit Singh.

The Dogras betrayed the Sikhs and connived with the British

in the defeat of the Sikh army.

When Hari Singh Nalwa took a lone bullet from an Afghan, he

wrote his last letter in blood rather than ink to bid his

last fateh to Maharajah Ranjit Singh. Nalwa had previously

asked for more troops but those letters were intercepted by

the Dogra brothers, who kept the requests to themselves

instead of telling Maharajah Ranjit Singh. They wanted Hari

Singh Nalwa to be killed.

Nalwa instructed the messenger to give his letter to

Maharajah Ranjit Singh personally and to no one else. The

messenger arrived early in the morning.

Maharajah Ranjit Singh and Dhian Singh Dogra were out for a

morning walk. When the messenger tried to give the letter to

Maharajah Ranjit Singh, Dogra tried to intercept it. The

messenger told Maharajah Ranjit Singh that he was instructed

to give the letter to him personally. When Maharajah Ranjit

Singh read the letter, he was so angry with Dhian Sigh Dogra

that he hit Dogra with his water bucket. Then he instructed

the army to get ready to march towards Afghanistan.

They arrived at the River Attack. It was flooded. It had

overflowed its banks. The Sikhs wanted to wait until the

flood was over, but Maharajah Ranjit Singh led his horse into

the river. The water went down and the Sikhs crossed the

river. Maharajah Ranjit Singh fought the Afghans and defeated

them. That stopped the incursion of the Afghans into the Sikh

territory of Punjab.

After the demise of Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1839, the

British infiltrated their agents like the Dogra brothers and

others into the Sikh Raj. Sikh rulers were murdered, one

after the other. The Sikhs gave the British a tough fight in

the Anglo-Sikh wars, but the Sikhs lost the war through the

betrayal of the Dogra brothers and the British annexed Punjab

in 1849.

The Sikh Nation's desire for sovereignty has not

diminished. Sikhs always recite the couplet `Raj Kare Ga

Khalsa' after their morning and evening Ardas (prayers.) The

Sikhs actively participated in the Indian struggle for

independence from the British. Although Sikhs were just 1.5

percent of the population, they gave over 80 percent of the

sacrifices in the freedom struggle. 2,125 Indians were

executed during the freedom struggle. Of these, more than

1,500 were Sikhs. Out of 2,645 exiled by the British, 2,147

were Sikhs.

At the time of India's independence in 1947, the Hindus of

India and the Muslims of Pakistan received sovereign,

independent states. Sikhs were supposed to be a party to

the arrangement and receive their own state as well. But

the Sikh leadership of the time accepted the false promise

of Jawahar Lal Nehru (reaffirmed in resolutions of the

Indian National Congress) that they would have `the glow

of freedom' in Punjab and no law affecting Sikh rights

would be passed without Sikh consent. On this basis Sikhs

took their share with India.

However, soon after the independence of India. the Sikhs

discovered that they had been betrayed. The Indian leaders

had no intention of giving them what they had promised. Home

Minister Patel shamefully sent out a memo describing Sikhs as

a `criminal tribe'. The repression of the Sikh Nation began

with that memo and continues to this day.

The time has come for Sikhs to break free of the repressive

Indian regime. This is the only way that their human rights

will ever be respected. And the world is beginning to notice.

In the United States Congress, the Congressional Record is

serving as a vehicle to keep an accurate record of the

repression and to defeat India's effort to whitewash the

situation and the history of the Sikhs and other minorities.

The Congressional Record carries repeated calls for a free

and fair plebiscite on the independence of Khalistan and the

other nations seeking their freedom from India. There are

also repeated calls for a cut off of U.S. aid to India until

human rights are respected. The pressure is mounting for

human rights and freedom in South Asia. How soon will India

collapse under the pressure? It is only a matter of time.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I am really concerned that, in implementing any health information technology initiative, that we will not have the best information to address the needs of medically underserved areas. My amendment to H.R. 4157 creates a critically important study that would give us the benchmarks to use in implementing this technology in these communities, both urban and rural.

First, the proposed study will examine and determine the impact of health information technology on improving the capacity of primary care providers in medically underserved communities.

Second, the study would identify the barriers to the implementation of health information technology in these communities.

Third, the study will assess the feasibility and costs associated with implementing health information technology in these communities.

Some of the Nation's finest foundations have done tremendous work in how health information technology can be used in hard-to-reach and difficult areas to serve in our Nation. They include the Markle Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. We want to incorporate this work and other's work done by the Agency For Health Care Research and Quality, and make sure it is applied to the development and implementation of health information technology and medically underserved areas.

For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I believe that this study is vital to the assessment, examination, and implementation of health information, technology in medically underserved areas in this Nation. And I do believe that my amendment adds considerable value to the health information technology bill. I have worked in a bipartisan fashion on this bill with Representative Ferguson of New Jersey to present the portion of the bill related to grants in medically underserved areas.

Mr. Chairman, I do feel that this amendment strengthens this bill and is something that we really need to do if we want to reach the hard-to- reach areas and to be able to have the kind of data and have the kind of information to give them quality health care.

On that note, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut for supporting the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time,

Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2006, more than 10,000 Iraqis accompanied by delegates from 121 parties and associations took part in the Iraqi people solidarity congress in Ashraf City, Iraq, the declaration by 5.2 million Iraqi citizens, 121 political parties and social groups, 700,000 women, 14,000 lawyers and jurists, 19,000 physicians, 35,000 engineers, 320 clerics, 540 professors, 2,000 tribal sheikhs and 300 local officials were among the signatories of the declaration.

Following is an excerpt from the declaration by 5.2 million Iraqis, partly printed in the New York Times, on June 23, 2006.

The Iranian regime's leaders have repeatedly declared that

they have been the first winners of the war in Iraq. Mahmoud

Ahmadinejad said, ``God placed the fruit of the occupation of

both our neighboring countries (Iraq and Afghanistan) on

Iran's lap.'' He concluded, ``We must be prepared to run the

world.'' (January 5, 2006)

After the elections in Iraq, Iran's Interior Minister

announced, ``From the ballot boxes in Baghdad and Iraqi

provinces, one can hear the Slogans of the Muslim people of

Iran.'' He said, ``This major historic Phenomenon attests to

the realization'' of Khomeini's motto ``of conquering Qods

(Jerusalem) via Karbala.'' (Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, December

22, 2005)

As Iran's rulers acknowledge, nuclear weapons are the

strategic Guarantee for their survival. Would nuclear weapons

not

also empower them to separate the oil-rich southern territory

in Iraq?

As a result:

A. The Iranian regime prevents the establishment of

security, Stability and democracy in Iraq and poses an

immediate threat to our Country's integrity and liberty. It

is the main obstacle to our Independence and the quick

departure of the Multi-National Force.

B. Presently, the main dispute is between democracy and

Dictatorship. The first and most important political

alignment in Iraq is between democratic and patriotic forces

with their various inclinations and thoughts on the one hand

and affiliates of the Iranian regime on the other.

C. During the elections and formation of the new government

of Iraq, an Iraqi alternative was formed against the option

presented by Iran's ruling mullahs, thus providing an

encouraging prospect for the country.

D. In this geopolitical situation and in this juncture of

History, democracy in Iraq and democracy in Iran are

interdependent, Guaranteeing each other's survival.

E. The solution and the only encouraging prospect for

Neutralizing these threats come through eviction of the

Iranian regime from Iraq and recognition of the status of the

People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, which is the

principal bulwark against the Iranian regime's interventions.

Similarly, the MEK's disarmament upset the strategic balance

in this sensitive region of the world in favor of the Iranian

regime.

The Iranian regime, however, launched an astounding

demonizing and Disinformation campaign against the MEK.

Iran's agents in the Interior Ministry kidnapped MEK members

while others discontinued the government's allocation of food

rations, medicine and fuel for residents of Ashraf City

contrary to all Islamic and Iraqi traditions. Through the

Iraqi National Security Advisor, the government announced

that the MEK ``may not even use their allocation of food.''

(November 18, 2005)

The Iranian regime's fingerprints are evident in paragraph

C of Article 21 of the Constitution. Contrary to all

international laws on Asylum, this paragraph disentitles the

accused of the right to asylum merely based on the unverified

charge of terrorism.

Repeated calls by the Iranian regime and its operatives in

Iraq for Retribution of the MEK and confiscation of their

property (ex. Asshahed weekly, April 4, 2005), the Iranian

embassy's advertisements in the Iraqi press demanding

``retribution of members of this organization as a more

important opening for democracy in Iraq'', setting

their ``prosecution'' or at least ``expulsion'' as a

``test'' for the government of Iraq (Badr weekly,

September 5 and November 27, 2005) and urging their

referral to the ``Criminal Court'' (Asshahed weekly,

January 15, 2006) are the most obvious signs of collusion

with the Iranian regime.

Having investigated the MEK's 20-year residence in Iraq and

stressing their readiness to defend the rights of the MEK in

any court of law, over 12,000 Iraqi jurists declared in

January 2006, ``The MEK has never interfered in Iraq's

internal affairs and the claim that the Organization

participated in the suppression of the Kurds or Shiites is a

sheer lie fabricated by the Iranian regime to tarnish the

image of its opposition and alternative.''

We urge the following:

1. Agreement of the government of Iraq with the People's

Mojahedin Organization of Iran and the coalition of National

Council of Resistance of Iran on a worthwhile legal and

political status for them in Iraq;

2. Acknowledgment of MEK members' right to political asylum

in Iraq and ensuring respect for their right to own their

places and Properties;

3. Modification of article 21C of the Constitution in the

Course of reviewing this clause, so that the Iranian regime

would not be able to manipulate it against its opposition;

4. Commitment of the government of Iraq to international

laws, conventions and agreements on the status of the MEK in

Iraq, Particularly with regards to the principle of ``non-

refoulement'' in relocating people from one country to

another as verified by the International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC) and the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) in the

case of the MEK;

5. Coordinated measures by the government of Iraq and the

MNF-I to secure the release of the two abducted MEK members.

We declare that:

The terrorist designation of the People's Mojahedin

Organization of Iran, 120,000 of whose members and

sympathizers have been murdered by the Iranian regime and is

the prime victim of state-sponsored terrorism is neither

legitimate nor credible and should not be regarded as a basis

for relations with this organization.

Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan has condemned the train bombings in Bombay this week. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, whom most of us know, said that ``this is a terrible incident and shameful for whoever carried it out. Terrorism is never acceptable.''

The attacks have been attributed to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri organization. One thing you have to say about Lashkar, though: normally, they take responsibility for what they do. But as Dr. Aulakh pointed out, they have not done so in this instance and the attack fits the pattern of the kinds of attacks carried out by the Indian government and its operatives, which the Council of Khalistan details in the release. These include the Air India bombing, the many attacks on Christian groups, the Gujarat massacre, and the fact that as the Washington Times reported, India is sponsoring cross-border terrorism in Sindh. These are not the acts of a responsible democracy.

This kind of activity is the mark of a terrorist state, Mr. Speaker. If we are serious about fighting terrorism, we should stop our aid and trade with India and we should support a free and fair plebiscite in the minority nations that seek their freedom in South Asia.

Council of Khalistan Condemns Train Bombings

Washington, DC., July 12, 2006--Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,

President of the Council of Khalistan, today condemned the

train bombings in Bombay in which 190 people were killed and

over 660 were injured.

``This is a terrible incident and shameful for whoever

carried it out,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``Terrorism is never

acceptable.'' He endorsed the request to donate blood for the

victims. ``We should join together to take care of the people

who were victimized by this brutal attack,'' he said. The

Council of Khalistan leads the peaceful, democratic,

nonviolent movement to liberate Khalistan, the Sikh homeland

that declared its independence from India on October 7, 1987.

Dr. Aulakh was interviewed on WRC-TV Channel 4 news in

Washington yesterday about the bombings. Dr. Aulakh noted

that the first-class cabins were bombed. ``This is where the

rich people hid,'' he said. No one has taken responsibility

for the attack, although the Indian government has blamed the

Kashmiri organization Lashkar-e-Taiba.

``This is the kind of thing the Indian government is quite

capable of carrying out itself,'' Dr. Aulakh said. He noted

that the book Soft Target shows how the Indian regime bombed

its own airliner in 1985, killing 329 innocent people, to

justify further repression against the Sikhs. The flight was

bound for Bombay. The book quotes an investigator from the

Canadian Security Investigation Service as saying, ``If you

really want to clear the incidents quickly, take vans down to

the Indian High Commission and the consulates in Toronto and

Vancouver, load up everybody and take them down for

questioning. We know it and they know it that they are

involved.'' The book shows that within hours after the flight

was blown up, the Indian Consul General in Toronto, Surinder

Malik (no relation to Ripudaman Singh Malik), called in a

detailed description of the bombing and the names of those he

said were involved, information that the Canadian government

didn't discover until weeks later. Mr. Malik said to look on

the passenger manifest for the name ``L. Singh.'' This would

turn out to be Lal Singh, who told the press that he was

offered ``two million dollars and settlement in a nice

country'' by the Indian regime to give false testimony in the

case.

India fomented and pre-planned the massacre of Muslims in

Gujarat, according to a police officer who was quoted in the

newspapers. Government forces were caught red-handed in a

village in Kashmir, trying to burn down the Gurdwara (Sikh

place of worship) and some Sikh homes, to blame the Muslims.

Two independent investigations, one carried out jointly by

the Movement Against State Repression (MASR) and the Punjab

Human Rights Organization and the other carried out by the

International Human rights Organization of Ludhiana. both

concluded that Indian troops carried out the massacre of 38

Sikhs in Chithlsinghpora. Both former President Bill Clinton,

in his introduction to Madeleine Albright's book, and New

York Times reporter Barry Bearak came to the same conclusion.

The killers dressed as ``militants'' but spoke to each other

in the language of the Indian army. This is just one of many

incidents where the Indian army or its paid ``Black Cats''

paramilitary have been caught carrying out terrorist

incidents while trying to create the impression that they

were alleged ``militants.''

The Indian newsmagazine India Today reported that the

Indian government created the Liberation Tigers of Tamil

Eelam, identified by the U.S. government as a terrorist

organization. The January 2, 2002 issue of the Washington

Times noted that India sponsors cross-border terrorism in

Sindh. The Indian newspaper Hitavada reported that India paid

the late governor of Punjab, Surendra Nath, $1.5 billion to

foment and support covert state terrorism in Punjab and

Kashmir.

A report issued by MASR show that India admitted that it

held 52,268 political prisoners under the repressive

``Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA) even

though it expired in 1995. Many have been in illegal custody

since 1984. There has been no list published of those who

were acquitted under TADA and those who are still rotting in

Indian jails. Additionally, according to Amnesty

International, there are tens of thousands of other

minorities being held as political prisoners. The MASR report

quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy as writing ``if we add up

the figures of the last few years the number of innocent

persons killed would run into lakhs [hundreds of

thousands.]'' The Indian government has murdered over 250,000

Sikhs since 1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland,

over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, tens of thousands of

Christians and Muslims throughout the country, and tens of

thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, and others. The

Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders

of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.''

Government-allied Hindu militants have burned down

Christian churches and prayer halls, murdered priests, and

raped nuns. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) described the

rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and called the nuns

``antinational elements.'' Hindu radicals, members of the

Bajrang Dal, burned missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his

two sons, ages 10 and 8, to death while they surrounded the

victims and chanted ``Victory to Hannuman,'' the Hindu

monkey-faced God. The Bajrang Dal is the youth arm of the

RSS. The VHP is a militant Hindu Nationalist organization

that is under the umbrella of the RSS.

``Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and

get justice,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``This is the only issue.

India is a terrorist state in which we will never escape from

the repression and tyranny.'' he said. ``It is time to

liberate Khalistan so that the Sikh Nation can live in

freedom, security, prosperity, and dignity,'' he said.

``Remember the words of former Akal Takht Jathedar Professor

Darshan Singh: `If a Sikh is not a Khalistani he is not a

Sikh.' The only way we can escape the terrorism and

repression is to free Khalistan. Khalistan Zindabad.''

Mr. Speaker, the London Institute of South Asia recently published an edition of its Journal. It included many excellent articles on the plight of minorities in India. There were articles about the Sikhs, Dalits, Muslims, and others. A writer named Tim Phares wrote a very comprehensive article on the subject that I would like to share with my colleagues.

He took note of the plight of the Sikhs, the Dalits, the Muslims, the Christians, and other minorities in India. He noted that Christians have become ``the targets of choice.'' He noted that the Indian constitution bans the caste system but it remains in place, a vehicle of oppression of minorities. He reported that India's constitution denies people their fundamental right of self-determination. That is the essence of democracy, Mr. Speaker. I don't know how a country can call itself democratic when it denies people such a fundamental democratic right.

The article takes note of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), formed in support of the fascist movement, publishing a booklet on how to frame Christians and other minorities in fake criminal cases. It comments on anti-conversion laws. It details some of the violence that has come about due to such laws. Shouldn't a person's religion be a fundamental freedom, Mr. Speaker?

The article notes the studies that have been done on the massacre in Chithisinghpora in which at least 35 Sikhs were murdered. It notes that they have come to the common conclusion that the Indian government's forces carried out this massacre. It notes the government's involvement in the Gujarat massacres. The article does an excellent job of detailing incident after. incident of repression against minorities in India.

Mr. Speaker, we must do what we can to support freedom throughout the world. It is time to stop our aid and trade with India until it stops being the repressive regime that it is and starts being the democracy that it says it is. We should declare our support for a free and fair plebiscite in Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagalim, and everywhere people are seeking their freedom in South Asia.

[From the Journal of the London Institute of South Asia, July 2006]

Repression in India

(By Tim Phares)

It is not safe to be a minority in India. As U.S.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Cal.) pointed out, if you're

a Sikh, Muslim, Christian, or other minority, ``India might

as well be Nazi Germany.'' While democratic elections occur,

they have little effects on minorities except to change the

faces.

India has committed or allowed to be committed numerous

actions against people (men, women and children) within its

borders, actions that, if committed against Americans

anywhere would be condemned by us as terrorism.

In India, the overwhelming issues are caste and religion.

The caste system defines the rights that people enjoy based

on a system of social stratification founded on ancestry and

occupation. Unless you are born a Brahmin or other upper-

caste Hindu, you are a slave in India. The term Brahmin, for

all practical purposes. incorporates all the Hindu upper-

castes of India. The Brahmins claim that they were are the

``chosen people of God.'' Brahmins believe that whatever

exists belongs to the Brahmin.

Under BJP rule, a new term--Hindutva--came into use that

bundled all the peoples of India (except those of foreign

faiths--Christians Muslims and Parsis) into the fold of

Hinduism. A Cabinet member in the previous government led by

BJP was open about it. He said that in India, either you must

be a Hindu or you are subservient to Hinduism. Despite the

fact that India's constitution bans the caste system, it

remains the foundation of Hinduism and the Hindu supremacist

system.

India's constitution ignores that India is many nations

brought together only under foreign imperial rule and denies

its peoples their right to self-determination as recognized

under International Law.

The target of choice these days seems to be the Christians.

Indian Christians have faced many hardships. Christians in

India report that they or fellow believers have faced

threats, physical attacks, and jail time for sharing their

faith. Baptisms, in particular, became a significant

challenge for local churches. Under the anti-conversion laws,

anyone who chose to become baptized was legally obligated to

seek permission from the government, as well as provide them

with the name of the person performing the baptism. Fearing

repercussions, many new Christians did not make this outward

profession of faith until after the laws were repealed.

Human-rights organizations report that more than 300,000

Christians in Nagaland have been killed by the Indian

government. In addition, tens of thousands of Christians have

been killed throughout the country. Priests have been killed,

nuns have been raped and forced to drink their own urine,

churches have been burned, Christian schools and prayer halls

have been attacked. No one is ever punished for these

activities.

In 2002, the Associated Press reported an attack on a

Catholic church on the outskirts

of Bangalore in which several people were injured. The

assailants threw stones at the church, then broke in,

breaking furniture and smashing windows before attacking

worshippers. The February 25, 2002 issue of the Washington

Times reported another church attack in which 20 people were

wounded. Earlier that month, two church workers and a teenage

boy were shot at while they prayed. The boy was injured. Two

Christian missionaries were beaten with iron rods while they

rode their bicycles home. A Christian cemetery in Port Blair

was vandalized. Indian police broke up a Christian religious

festival with gunfire.

The Hindu militant Rashtriya Swaysmsewak Sangh (RSS), of

which all the leaders of the BJP and its various allies and

factions are members (founded in support of the Fascists in

Italy), published a booklet on how to file false criminal

cases against Christians and other religious minorities.

The attacks on Christians continue and the oppression of

Christians that has been going on since Christmas 1998 is

unabated. In fact, the atrocities have been increasing in the

past year. According to Rev. Dave Stravers, President of

Mission India, ``There is no question that extremists are

trying to instill fear in Christians. They want to make

Christians afraid to assemble or share their faith.''

These Hindu militants accuse Christians of forcibly

concerting people, then they forcibly reconvert them to

Hinduism.

Several Indian states have passed laws forbidding anyone to

convert to any religion other than Hinduism. These laws range

from requiring a government fee for converting to forcing

Dalits to appear before a magistrate and prove a level of

education before converting. They often restrict the

religious speech of minority believers as those of a certain

income or education level are prohibited from discussing

religious matters with uneducated, poor Dalits.

On January 28, 2006, a group of Christians in Madhya

Pradesh were engaged in prayer. A mob of Hindu militants

stormed the hall, a private facility, and severely beat eight

Christians. Five of them are still in the hospital as of this

writing. The attack appears to be premeditated. The attackers

burst in and knew precisely where to go. They arrived on

motorbikes, broke windows, and forced the doors open.

On December 29, 2005 a landmine was planted in the Lengjen

(Ngarichan) Committee Hall in Tamenglong District which is a

Naga inhabited area in the state of Manipur. The land mine

exploded when the children of the village went and played at

the hall. One 12-year-old boy died in the hospital. Another

boy's limb was ripped off and several others were seriously

injured.

On November 4, 2005, a Hindu mob attacked Pastor Feroz

Masih of the Believers Church of India. He was threatened

with death and arson. After beating Pastor Masih, the Hindu

militants told him that unless he and his 60 church members

took part in a reconversion, they would be burned to death.

Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young

sons, ages 8 and 10, were burned to death while they slept in

their jeep by a mob of Hindus chanting ``Victory to

Hannuman,'' a Hindu god with the face of a monkey. Staines's

widow was expelled from the country, but only one person was

ever brought to trial for the Staines murder.

American missionary Joseph Cooper was beaten so badly that

he had to spend a week in an Indian hospital. Then he was

expelled from India. No one has ever been brought to justice

for Cooper's beating.

The missionaries are having a good deal of success in

converting members of the lower castes, especially Dalits,

also known as ``Untouchables.'' This removes the lower-caste

people from the stratification of the caste system, which is

essential to the Hindu religion and its social structure.

Recently, in response to the history of caste and its

problems, hundreds of thousands of Indians, Dalits

particularly, have turned away from Hinduism to join other

religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Sikhism. This

practice created a backlash from a sizeable portion of the

Indian population.

Even though they are officially considered Hindus, the

Dalits may be the most oppressed people on Earth. The 250

million lower castes include 170 million people called the

Scheduled Castes (Untouchables) and 70 million people called

the Tribals. Both are looked upon by upper-caste Hindus as

less than human and to touch a Dalit renders a person himself

``Untouchable.'' They are called impure, they are shunned,

they are banned from Hindu temples, and they are considered

to be so low on India's social scale that they are outside of

the caste system.

The Untouchable Dalits and Sudras (another low caste) make

up 70 percent of the population of India. Most live in very

impoverished conditions. At least half the population of

India lives below the international poverty line. Forty

percent live on less than two dollars per day.

A few years ago, a Dalit girl was hit across the eyes and

blinded by her teacher. Her crime had been to drink from the

community water pitcher. A Dalit constable took shelter in a

Hindu temple one day, only to be stoned to death by the

upper-caste Hindus there. Discrimination against Dalits

includes education inequality, economic disenfranchisement,

religious discrimination, a poor system of medical care, and

targeted violence against women. Dalit students are often

denied the opportunity to receive the public education

guaranteed by the Indian constitution. Rape is widespread and

massively underreported.

On August 31, 2005, upper-caste villagers in the village of

Gohana burned more than 60 Dalit residences, driving over

2,000 Dalit families out of Gohana. In 1998, a judge in

Allahabad cleaned the courtroom with blessed water from the

Ganges River because it was previously occupied by a judicial

officer belonging to a Scheduled Caste.

When Dalits are walking in the presence of a Brahmin, they

can be beaten or killed with impunity. Under strict

interpretation of the caste system, Dalits are obligated to

perform certain manual duties for upper-caste families

without compensation. These duties include cleaning latrines,

skinning dead animals, and crafting leather shoes, and other

menial tasks.

The Sikhs are also highly victimized by the Indian

government. Over 250,000 Sikhs have been killed since the

military attack on the Golden Temple in June 1984, according

to the book The Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Singh

Jaijee. The figures were compiled by the Punjab State

Magistracy, which represents the judiciary of Punjab. A

report issued by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR)

showed that India admitted to holding 52,268 political

prisoners. Amnesty International reports that tens of

thousands of other minorities are also being held as

political prisoners. How can a democracy hold political

prisoners?

According to many reports, some of these political

prisoners have been in custody for almost two decades.

Amnesty International reported last year that tens of

thousands of minorities are being held as political

prisoners. These prisoners continue to be held under a law

called the ``Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act''

(TADA), which expired in 1995. It empowered the government to

hold people virtually indefinitely for any offence or for no

offence at all.

In June 2005, at the observance of the Indian government's

1984 military attack on the Golden Temple, a group of Sikhs

marched, then made speeches in support of independence for

Khalistan, the Sikh homeland that declared its independence

on October 7, 1987, and hoisted the Sikh flag. For this they

were arrested. This follows the arrest of 35 Sikhs in January

2005, when they made speeches and raised the Khalistani flag

at a Republic Day event. Some of the leaders were held for 50

days without trial.

MASR also co-sponsored with the Punjab Human Rights

Organization an investigation of the March 2000 massacre of

35 Sikhs in the village of Chithisinghpora in Indian Kashmir

on the eve of the visit of President Clinton to India. It

concluded that Indian forces carried out the massacre. The

apparent intent was to make use of the presence of the world

press to blame Muslims for massacre and vilify the resistance

to the occupation of the state by India. A separate

investigation conducted by the International Human Rights

Organization came to the same conclusion. So did reporter

Barry Bearak of the New York Times magazine.

Recently in the state of Uttaranchal Pradesh, Sikh farmers

were forced out of their farms, which were bulldozed, and

they were thrown out of the state. They received no

compensation and have nowhere to go to find roof over their

heads or livelihood for their families. The truth is that

discrimination against and oppression of minority faiths is

so widespread that it draws little attention within or

outside India. Although outsiders are allowed to buy land in

the Punjab, Sikhs cannot buy land in neighbouring Rajasthan

and Himachal Pradesh. This discriminatory policy prevents

Sikh farmers from making a living. It has impoverished them

forcing many to migrate overseas.

About 50,000 Sikhs were ruthlessly killed by the Punjab

Police and their bodies were secretly disposed of to hide the

crime. Young Sikhs were abducted, tortured and killed in

Police custody. Their bodies were then declared

``unidentified'' and cremated incinerating all proof of the

Indian State's barbarity. Countless bodies were consigned to

the canals which abound in the Punjab. The secret cremation

policy was exposed by human-rights activist Jaswant Singh

Khalra who was arrested for publishing his report and was

murdered while in police custody.

Narinder Singh, a spokesman for the Golden Temple, the seat

of the Sikh religion, was interviewed in August 1997 by

National Public Radio. He told his interviewer, ``The Indian

government, all the time they boast that they are secular,

that they are democratic. But they have nothing to do with a

democracy, nothing to do with secularism. They just kill

Sikhs to please the majority,''

The Indian government has murdered over 300,000 Muslims in

Kashmir. They have sent over 700,000 troops to suppress the

people of Kashmir.

On February 27, 2002, a fire on a train in Godhra in

Gujarat killed fifty-eight passengers, among them fifteen

children. This gave rise to massacres in which 2,000 to 5,000

Muslims were murdered. According to a policeman in Gujarat

who was quoted in an Indian newspaper, the government pre-

planned the massacre. In an eerie parallel to the Delhi

massacre of Sikhs in November 1984, the police were kept from

intervening.

In a 70-page report on the massacre, Human Rights Watch

reported that not a single person has been convicted in these

massacres. More than one hundred Muslims have been charged

under India's much-criticized Prevention of Terrorism Act

(POTA) for their alleged involvement in the train massacre in

Godhra. No Hindus have been charged under POTA in connection

with the violence against Muslims.

In Lunawade village in Panchmahal district of Kashmir,

during the last week of December 2005, a mass grave was

discovered. It contained the bodies of at least 26 victims of

the Indian government's pogrom against the Muslims. Their

crime? The Kashmiri people were promised a referendum on

their status in 1948, but that vote has never been held. In

1989, when all hope of that promise being fulfilled had

evaporated, violent resistance began that is being ruthlessly

crushed resorting to pogroms and genocide that has led to

100,000 resistance fighters being killed by the Indian

military.

The Sikhs were promised their own sovereign state by the

leaders of the Congress Party (which rules India today) in

exchange for their active support to the freedom movement led

by it. The Sikhs have continued to press that the promise be

kept. Their representatives did not sign and endorse the

Indian constitution for it did not fulfill that promise.

Instead of respecting ``the glow of freedom'' that Nehru and

Patel promised to the Sikhs, the government declared them a

``criminal class'' as soon as the ink was dry on the

constitution. It is because of betrayal of such promises that

currently there are 17 freedom movements going on within

India's borders.

Some Members of the U.S. Congress have called for sanctions

against India and for an end to American aid. Some have also

endorsed self-determination for the peoples seeking freedom

from India through a plebiscite on independence. The Indian

government's negotiations with the freedom fighters in

predominantly Christian Nagaland have taken a turn for the

worse lately, as the ceasefire there has been called off.

Former Home Minister L.K. Advani said that once Kashmir

achieves freedom. it will cause India to break apart. The

truth is India can only survive if it conceded the right of

self-determination to those areas where peoples have been

betrayed. India must fulfill its promises to the people of

Punjab, Khalistan (the Sikh homeland), predominantly

Christian Nagaland, predominatly Muslim Kashmir, and the

tribal peoples of Assam.

India clearly has a problem with its untouchables who are a

majority in many states of India. It has failed to assimilate

or integrate them. Since they do not belong to a single race,

caste or religion, they are increasingly drawn towards

Christian egalitarianism to throw off the yoke of slavery

imposed by the caste system. I believe that those who ignore

the oppression of the low castes and foreign faiths in India

and declare India a `natural ally' and the friendship of the

`biggest democracy' a state objective of the U.S., do not

understand India at all. They help perpetuate systematic

oppression and humiliation of a vast segment of humanity--700

million people--who have nothing, not even hope for anything.

Even if India continues to make rapid economic rise as it is

doing, this segment of humanity would be completely bypassed.

Mr. Speaker, I was interested to note that the London Institute of South Asia recently held an event to honor Professor Gurtej Singh for his interesting book Tandev of the Centaur. It expounds the theory that the Indian freedom movement was an act of collaboration with the colonialists.

As Professor Gurtej Singh says ``As a part of my narration [for the book], I found myself suggesting a theory indicating the spurious nature of India's struggle for freedom. I am aware that it renders the main activities of the Congress Party and its leaders to an exercise in collaboration. But I am in good company in coming to that conclusion. Michael Edwards, in his The Myth of the Mahatma, has clearly shown that the British really feared the `Western style revolutionaries' whom Gandhi effectively neutralized. The Administration considered Gandhi as an ally of the British as a neutralizer of rebellion.''

Professor Gurtej Singh has written previously about the false nature of Indian secularism. His book, Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism, exposes the truth that behind its mask of secularism, India is a repressive, theocratic state where minority rights are not respected.

Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. We must take strong action to protect the freedom that is the birthright of all people. Self- determination is the essence of democracy. That is why we should put the Congress on record in support of self-determination for the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan, the Muslim people of Kashmir, the Christians of Nagalim, and all the peoples of South Asia. We should also stop our aid and trade with India until basic human rights are respected. India is not a friendly country and it has a long record of anti-American activity. Now it wants to be our partner in fighting terrorism, while it practices terrorism and tyranny against its own people. America should not stand for that.

Seminar and Lisa Book Award--2006

London, June 26, 2006.--London Institute of South Asia

(lisa) Seminar on the subject of Separate Electorate was held

in London on June, 24, 2006 with Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,

President Council of Khalistan, in the chair. Separate

Electorate was introduced by the British in India in 1905 to

give fair representation to all of India's many faiths and

castes. Separate Electoral rolls for them provided for

effective local government for decades. However, when the

same was proposed under the Communal Award in 1932 for state

assemblies, the high castes--who constituted only 15 per cent

of India's population--saw their dominant position

threatened. The Congress party started a campaign against the

proposal alleging that the British were playing a game of

``divide and rule`'. The Muslims under the leadership of Mr.

Jinnah accepted ``Separate Electorate'' but Mr. Gandhi was

able to persuade the leader of the Untouchables, Dr.

Ambedkar, by starting a ``fast unto death'', to reject the

British offer. By a deal signed with the Congress Party

(Poona Pact of 1932) the Untouchables accepted Joint

Electorate with the Hindus. Mr. Gandhi claimed that India was

a Hindu country. With perpetual majority assured, the Hindu

leadership of the Congress Party set upon the task of denying

all the faith and caste identities and their fair share in

power.

In the states where the Muslims were in majority, Joint

Electorate suited them better but they took a principled

stand for the sake of the minorities. Separate Electorate and

the Muslim majority states in the East and the West being

grouped into regions were the two Muslim demands. If those

had been accepted there would have no partition in 1947 and

all the faiths and castes would have had their fair share in

power. But that meant the Hindus would have got only 15% in

contrast with the Muslims who were 25% of the population and

the Bahujan (i.e. native majority who are Untouchables) would

have been the largest group in the parliament. The Hindus

preferred partition over accepting Separate Electorate to

give fair share in power to all faiths and castes. The irony

is they have the temerity to blame the Muslims and Mr. Jinnah

for the partition and continue to do so. The fact is that the

Hindu leaders of the Congress Party forced the partition by

rejecting every fair formula for sharing power. After having

tricked the Untouchables into accepting Joint Electorate with

them, they hoped to rule over India in perpetuity.

The Seminar was addressed by Mr. V.T. Rajshekar, Editor of

Dalit Voice, Bangalore,

who explained how the dominance of the Brahmin has been

challenged by Bahujan. He said that by his thesis that the

best way to fight discrimination is to strengthen the caste

identity, has helped the castes to consolidate their vote

banks to help their own kin to win elections. The result is

that the Bahujan parties have won power in several states in

India. The rejection of the fair system of Separate

Electorate has backfired on the Brahmin. He is looking for

new ways to restore its grip over power. The new method is to

embrace Communism. They have organized Communist parties and

groups all over India. They have captured power in West

Bengal and Kerala through elections but in most other areas

they operate as terrorist groups under the title of Naxalites

or Maoists. The landlords in much of rural India are

Thakurs--a caste one level below the Brahmin--and the farm

labour is from Untouchable castes. The humiliation of the

caste system piled upon exploitation by forced or unpaid

labour makes rural India a hell hole. In this charged

environment, the Brahmin cadres have started their Naxalite

Movement. Given a gun the irate labourers shoot and kill the

land lord and end up in prison or on the gallows; the Brahmin

secures confirmation as ``revolutionary leader''. The

Brahmin schemes are so complex and diabolical that it is

hard to fathom the truth. But the low castes in India are

waking up, says Mr. Rajshekar. They can now act wisely and

devise a new polity that recognizes rather than denies the

multiplicity of India's faiths, castes and states to give

them their due and obtain internal harmony and peace with

all the neighbours.

Three more papers were read at the Seminar. Brigadier 

Usman Khalid, Director of Lisa, said that the system of

Separate Electorate is necessary for India to give justice to

minority faiths (like in Pakistan)--Muslims, Christians,

Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. But the decision is for the

majority to make. They may prefer to extend the protection of

Separate Electorate to the top 5% high castes instead. As for

the Sikhs in the Punjab, the Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir,

and the tribal peoples of Assam, they are separate nations

who have struggled for freedom for many decades; they should

be allowed to exercise their right of self-determination.

Professor Gurtej Singh, explained how ``reservation'' of

seats in education and employment has not provided justice to

the oppressed low castes but has made them subject of hate

further isolating them. He proposed that reservation should

be extended to all faith communities and all castes.

Dr. Aulakh in his presidential address at the end exposed

the truth about India, which practises the worst form of

apartheid under minority rule. The Brahmin keeps inventing

new gimmicks and tricks to maintain his hold over power. He

made a powerful case for a sovereign state for the Sikh

nation in the Punjab which has been endorsed by the

resolutions of Sarbat Khalsa and reinforced by the massacre

of the Sikhs in the Punjab and other parts of India in the

wake of the assault and desecration of Durbar Sahib in 1984.

He supported the struggle for freedom of the people of Jammu

and Kashmir, of Nagas and other peoples of Assam.

The seminar was followed by a ceremony for ``Lisa Book

Award'' given every year to a book by an author from South

Asia that has made a difference. The award in 2006 was given

to ``Tandev of the Centaur--Sikhs and Indian Secularism'' by

Professor Gurtej Singh. It was presented to him by the winner

of the same award last year--Mr. V.T. Rajshekar. The citation

read:

``This book shows that the `freedom struggle' of India was

in fact a struggle for succession to hegemony. The British

had repeatedly said they were preparing India for self rule

and would leave once the job was done. The Muslims took

notice and declared that the Brahmin not the British were

their main adversary. Since the Muslims were concentrated on

the periphery and were sparse in numbers in the rest of

India, they wanted autonomous Muslim majority regions and

Separate Electorate. This would have protected the rights of

all faiths and castes. They demanded Pakistan after failing

in every attempt to get their due share in power by

constitutional guarantees prior to Independence. The effort

of the Hindu leadership was to try and build a majority

around the idea of `Secularism' and `Joint Electorate'. Under

the Poona Pact of 1932, the Bahujan compromised their

identity when they agreed to be included on the electoral

rolls with the Hindus.

``The Sikhs believed that the British would not leave until

thrown out and thus played into the hands of the Hindus to

become the vanguard of the armed struggle against the British

making thus making the most sacrifices. The Sikhs were

promised their separate state; that was a false promise they

call `Raj Neeti'. All those who trusted M.K. Gandhi and

relied on Congress `promises' now feel betrayed. The book

reveals that India is founded on a polity of paranoia; it is

united only in fear and hate. The Hindu leaders feared the

Muslim and wanted the partition even more than the Muslims.

After the Muslim majority left and went to Pakistan the Sikhs

are seen by them as a threat. The wanton use of force against

them for a decade in the wake of the assault on Durbar Sahib

in 1984, the Sikh Nation virtually stands expelled from the

Indian Union. A sovereign Sikh state is only a matter of

time. This has become inevitable due to the clarity of vision

of scholar leaders like Sirdar Gurtej Singh.

Mr. Speaker, United States and Japan have, since the end of hostilities in 1945, enjoyed a strong friendship, an economic partnership, and a diplomatic alliance.

Because our countries have such a durable relationship, it is possible for us, when circumstances demand, to offer criticism to each other in regard to issues of grave concern.

The occasion of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the United States, in which he will be meeting with President Bush and other prominent Americans, provides a special opportunity for gentle but pointed criticism of one of our ally's shortcomings.

Mr. Speaker, our colleagues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) have introduced H. Res. 759, legislation that cals on Japan to acknowledge and accept responsibility for forcing women and girls into sexual slavery during the World War II era. In Korea, China, the Philippines, and other countries in the Pacific region, the Japanese use of women and little girls as sex slaves known as ``comfort women'' was among the most horrific degradations imaginable.

Sadly, despite decades of democratic rule and engagement with the United States and other countries that have condemned human trafficking of the past and of today, the Japanese government refuses to apologize to the world for its role in this atrocity. In fact, it will not even acknowledge Japan's responsibility for the suffering of so many women and girls forced into prostitution.

``Comfort women'' were recruited in countries throughout Asia and the Pacific as Japanese troops advanced through conquest in the 1930s and 1940s. The suffering and humiliation of these girls and women ended only with the peace that came with the end of the war.

H. Res. 759 sends a strong signal to Japan, a friend and ally of the United States, that American leaders are not satisfied with the silence of the Japanese government on this human rights issue. I urge my colleagues to become cosponsors of this resolution and to bring this issue close to their hearts.

Mr. Speaker, on this issue, I commend to the House an article that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, June 18, written by international health consultant Cesar Chelala and entitled ``Japan Must Atone for Acts of Savagery.''

[From the Philadelphia Inquirer,

June 18, 2006]

Japan Must Atone for Acts of Savagery

(By Cesar Chelala)

Japan's continuing refusal to reach an agreement with the

former ``comfort

women''--women from conquered countries who were forced into

sexual slavery to serve Japanese troops--has been sharply

criticized by Amnesty International, which has called on the

Japanese government to accept full responsibility.

Of the estimated 80,000 to 200,000 comfort women, 80 to 90

percent were from Korea. Girls as young as 11 were forced to

serve between five and 40 soldiers a day, and almost 100

soldiers daily on weekends. Those who resisted were beaten,

burned or wounded with the soldiers' swords. During the

Japanese retreat, many were left to starve or were executed

to eliminate any trace of the atrocities.

For many years after the Second World War, Japan insisted

that the comfort stations had been private brothels. Only in

1993 did Japan admit any military responsibility. Although

many of the comfort women have died, and many are now quite

old, Japan must make restitution. The principle is not so

much war as the human dignity of women, and as long as Japan

does nothing, it implies that it does not care.

The first South Korean woman to tell her story was Bae Bong

Ki in 1980. Kim Hak Soon, who died in 1997, related in 1991

how Japanese soldiers had abducted her when she was 17 and

forced to carry ammunition by day and serve as a prostitute

by night. Her testimony sparked several others. Evidence of

comfort stations has already been found in Korea, China,

Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand,

Burma, New Guinea and Okinawa.

Chung Seo Woon, interviewed by Dai Sil Kim-Gibson in the

book Making More Waves, was the only child of a wealthy

landowner in South Korea. Her father was sent to prison and

badly tortured. When she was 16, she was allowed to visit

him. She was told that if she agreed to work in Japan for 2

years, her father would be released. Despite strong

objections from her mother, she agreed.

Chung Seo Woon was placed on a ship with many other girls

and women. Her group went from Japan to Indonesia, where they

were sterilized and sent to Semarang, a coastal town, where

they were forced to serve dozens of soldiers and officers

daily. In the process, she was forced to become an opium

addict. When Chung Seo Woon attempted to commit suicide by

swallowing malaria pills, she was revived, and, she remarks,

``It was then that I made up my mind to survive and tell my

story, what Japan did to us.'' When war ended and she

returned home, she found her house deserted. Her father had

died in prison, and her mother, humiliated by a rape attempt

by Japanese soldiers, had committed suicide.

Chung Seo Woon kicked her opium addiction after 8 hard

months of struggle and worked hard to regain her dignity. She

was never able to attain a normal sex life, but found

companionship and care from a physician who had had a nervous

breakdown after serving in the Japanese army.

In November 1994, an international commission of jurists

stated that ``it is indisputable that these women were

forced, deceived, coerced and abducted to provide sexual

services to the Japanese military'' and that Japan ``violated

customary norms of international law concerning war crimes,

crimes against humanity, slavery and the trafficking in women

and children. . .Japan should take full responsibility now,

and make suitable restitution to the victims and their

families.''

Still forthcoming is a formal, clear and unambiguous

apology to the victims of sexual abuse by Japanese soldiers,

adequate monetary compensation, and punishment of those

involved.

In 1995, the Japanese government introduced the Asian

Women's Fund as a response to international criticism. But

the fund is widely perceived by survivors as a way for the

Japanese government not to fulfill its legal

responsibilities. As Purna Sen, director of Amnesty

International's Asia-Pacific Program, has stated: ``The

Japanese government must finally right the wrongs of over 60

years by providing full reparations to the survivors of this

horrific system of sexual slavery.''

The money is more than money; it carries with it an

important symbolism. During her testimony at the Fourth World

Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, Chung Seo Woon

declared, ``I might be poor, but not that poor. I demand the

compensation that is rightly due to me, even if I would burn

the money after it is in my hand. It is not a matter of money

but of principle. The Japanese have defiled my body but not

my spirit. My spirit is strong, rich and proud.''

Contact Cesar Chelala at [email protected].

Mr. Speaker, on June 6 of this year, the President of the Republic of Congo, Mr. Denis Sassou-Nguesso, met at the White House with President Bush.

Not a mere photo opportunity, this meeting was substantive and included discussions of the situation in Darfur (Sudan), terrorism in Somalia and other parts of Africa, combating HIV/AIDS, and debt relief.

These discussions were important because, in addition to being leader of his own country, President Sassou-Nguesso serves as chairman of the African Union. Congo is also currently a member of the United Nations Security Council.

The two presidents exchanged views on issues of importance to the entire African continent, in particular the crisis of Darfur (Sudan), the electoral process in Congo's neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the situation in the Ivory Coast.

President Bush welcomed President Sassou-Nguesso's assertion that Africa should take the lead in the search for solutions to Africa's problems. In regard to the crisis of Darfur, I the two heads of state agreed on the sending of U.N. forces to replace those of the African Union. There is a delegation of the U.N. Security Council currently carrying out a mission in the Central African Republic, and they agreed that this mission should remain in place to supervise operations in Darfur, the DRC, and Chad. President Sassou-Nguesso thanked President Bush for the U.S. leadership in the fight against the HIV pandemic in Africa.

They also discussed ecological management of the Congo Basin and the Gulf of Guinea as well as bilateral co-operation between the Republic of Congo and the United States. Congo is one of the countries eligible to participate in trade and investment opportunities under the terms of the African Growth and Opportunity Act of 2000.

After the meeting, President Bush stated: ``We had a very constructive discussion about a variety of issues. We talked about our common commitment to help end the genocide in Darfur. I appreciate the President's leadership in helping negotiate a peace agreement, and I appreciate his leadership in working with the United Nations so we can get the AU forces blue-helmeted as quickly as possible.

``And one of my interests, of course, is to join with African nations in combating HIV/AIDS, and I want to congratulate the President for the low infection rate in Congo.''

For his part, President Sassou-Nguesso said: ``President Bush is absolutely right, we discussed a lot of issues that we're all interested in: peace, security, and not just in Africa, but beyond Africa, in the world. We talked about terrorism, we talked about the Iranian nuclear issue, we talked about the dialogue that's about to open up, I hope, and that will bring good results to that problem.

``And on behalf of all of Africa, I thank President Bush for his commitment in fighting AIDS, the commitment of the United States in the fight against HIV/AIDS. As you know, we had a special meeting on AIDS at the United Nations General Assembly, and as you know also, Africa is the continent that suffers the most from this scourge.

``And we also talked about African development issues. We talked about the situation in the Gulf of Guinea, and the Congo Basin, the NEPAD, Project for African Development in Africa. And I was happy to see President Bush give his entire support to the development of Africa.''

Mr. Speaker, the emergence of the Republic of Congo as a leader in African diplomacy and economic issues is worth noting. Only a few years ago, this small country was suffering from the aftermath of protracted civil conflict. President Sassou-Nguesso has diligently embarked on a program of political reform, social reconciliation, and economic modernization that can serve as a model for other parts of Africa.

I hope that the talks at the White House result in concrete measures for addressing the many issues President Bush and President Sassou- Nguesso discussed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to Keisha Arso on the occasion of her graduation from Martin Van Buren High School in New York City on June 27, 2006. It behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding citizen and student and I hope that my colleagues will join me in recognizing her impressive accomplishments.

Keisha Arso was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1987. As the second of four daughters, Keisha lived in New Orleans until August 2005 when she and her family had to evacuate their home because of the impending onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most horrific and devastating hurricanes to hit the United States.

Keisha Arso was one of the lucky ones. She was able to escape to Texas prior to the hurricane's landing in New Orleans. However, her mother Brenda Arso, a nurse, had to stay behind. For days, Keisha Arso, like many others separated from family members and unable to establish communication, fretted with anxiety as she watched the visual images of thousands of people fighting for survival among the rising flood waters, lack of food and water, and outlaws victimizing the weak and helpless.

However, with the assistance of clergy, volunteers in New Orleans and New York City, and family members in Texas, Keisha was finally reunited with her mother and other siblings. Add to that, the dedicated teachers and administrators from Martin Van Buren High School, Keisha and her family have been able to face and survive many obstacles that from the outset seemed insurmountable. The Arso family home may not have survived the catastrophic levee breach of Lake Pontchartrain, but Keisha's spirit remains intact. Keisha's strength, courage and ability to rise above all obstacles and receive her diploma are prominent examples of the power of faith, freedom, compassion and the American spirit.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize the accomplishments of Keisha Arso, as she serves as a role model for others facing adversity.

Mr. Speaker, please join our community in honoring Keisha Arso, as her steadfast perseverance makes her most worthy of our recognition today.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Ambassador of Uganda to the United States.

His Excellency Perezi Kamunanwire presented his credentials to President Bush last month, succeeding the long-serving ambassador, Mrs. Edith Ssempala.

Ambassador Kamunanwire's previous diplomatic experience includes serving as his country's ambassador to Germany (1986-88) and to the United Nations in New York (1988-96).

In his capacity as a senior African diplomat, Ambassador Kamunanwire has also served as chairman of the Committee of African Ambassadors to the UN (1990-91); chairman of the Special Political Committee of the 45th session of the UN General Assembly (1991); chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Committee to Elect the UN Secretary General (1991); vice chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the 1992 UN Conference on Environmental Development (1991); chairman of the Committee for Rationalization and Revitalization of the Work of the UN General Assembly (1993); co-convener of the Seventh Pan-African Congress in Kampala, Uganda (1994); and vice president of the UN Non- Proliferation Treaty Review (1995).

Ambassador Kamunanwire has also had a distinguished career in the academic world. Since 2003, he has been an adjunct professor at the Center for Conflict Management and Organizational Research at Bulgaria's Sophia University.

From 1997 to 1999, Ambassador Kamunanwire was director of the Black Studies Program at the City College of the City University of New York, where he has also been a lecturer since 1974. Since 1997, he has also served as a lecturer in the International Relations Program of City College's Department of Sociology. At City College, he has developed and taught courses on the United Nations, African politics, human rights, and other related topics.

Ambassador Kamunanwire was educated at Columbia University in New York, where he earned a B.A. in political science and a master's degree in international relations.

Ambassador Kamunanwire is the author of Education for Development: The Establishment and the Success of Universal Primary Education in Uganda (2000) and co-editor of A Study Guide for Uganda (1970). He contributed the foreword to We, The PanAfrikans: Essays on the Global Black Experience, by Professor Kannuti Kiteme (1973).

In 2003, Ignatius College in New York awarded Ambassador Kamunanwire an honorary doctor of laws degree, in recognition of ``lifetime achievements in the field of international relations.''

On June 14, my colleague (Mr. Smith of New Jersey) and I, in our capacity as cochairs of the Congressional Caucus on Uganda, hosted a welcome reception for Ambassador Kamunanwire. The Department of State's ``Washington File'' published an article about that event the next day (``U.S. Lawmaker Hails Uganda as Emerging `Superstar'''), which, without objection, I would like to insert in the Congressional Record.

Ambassador Kamunanwire is a personable human being and an able diplomat. I look forward to working with him on issues of common concern to Uganda and the United States.

[From the Washington File, June 15, 2006]

U.S. Lawmaker Hails Uganda as Emerging ``Superstar''

(By Jim Fisher-Thompson)

Washington.--Uganda is ``emerging as one of the superstars

of Africa,'' in part because of its success in fighting HIV/

AIDS, House Africa Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith

(Republican of New Jersey) said at a June 14 reception

honoring Ugandan Ambassador Perezi Kamunanwire.

Smith was joined by fellow lawmaker Edolphus Towns

(Democrat of New York). The lawmakers are co-chairmen of the

Congressional Caucus on Uganda, formed in November 2004.

Congressional staff members, including Smith's Africa

specialist, Greg Simpkins, also attended the evening event,

as well as Rwandan Ambassador Zac Nsenga and former U.S.

Ambassador to Sierra Leone Joseph Melrose.

Smith welcomed Ambassador Kamunanwire, most recently

Uganda's envoy to Germany, who presented his credentials to

President Bush on May 15, noting that he represents a country

that has made significant inroads in AIDS prevention.

``Uganda is truly emerging as one of Africa's real

superstars, and that is well known to people here on Capitol

Hill--on both sides of the [political] aisle,'' Smith said.

In particular, the nation is setting an example for AIDS

prevention, the lawmaker said, because of President Yoweri

Museveni and his government's strategy of ``working

with local faith-based organizations and others . . .

especially to reach young people with the message of [sex]

deferral and of life for themselves and their loved

ones.''

Smith, a champion of human rights and health issues in

Africa who has visited the continent numerous times,

including a recent trip to Uganda, said, ``Frankly, I was

blown over by the enthusiasm I saw for family values [there]

. . . so it was a very remarkable trip.''

Uganda is one of 12 African nations targeted in the U.S.

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPF AR),

initiated by President Bush in 2003. The program is a five-

year, $15 billion effort aimed at battling the killer disease

in 120 nations worldwide using the ABC strategy, which stands

for ``Abstain, Be faithful and Correct and Consistent use of

condoms. ``

On the treatment front, as of March 31, life-saving

antiretroviral medicines have gone to 561,000 people

worldwide under the PEPFAR program--61 percent of them women.

During that period, 75,000 people received anti-AIDS drugs in

Uganda. Antiretroviral prophylaxis was also provided to women

for 342,200 pregnancies, preventing an estimated 65,100

infant HIV infections, according to a PEPFAR fact sheet.

On the security front, Smith added, ``We're also very

encouraged and hopeful about what's happening in northern

Uganda with the Lord's Resistance Army [LRA],'' the rebel

movement that has kidnapped children from villages, forcing

them to serve as child soldiers.

``I know the government of Uganda is doing everything it

can to try and mitigate and hopefully end that despicable

activity by [LRA leader] Joseph Kony in abducting young

children,'' Smith told the gathering.

Turning to Kamunanwire, the lawmaker pledged: ``We will

work with you. Our committee is a workhorse committee. We

write a lot of laws'' in areas such as human trafficking, and

``we want to work with you on trade, environmental

protection, humanitarian and human rights issues.''

Kamunanwire, who described himself as ``the new boy on the

block,'' thanked the caucus for the welcome and pledged to

work closely with Congress, as his predecessor Ambassador

Edith Ssempala had done, on issues of interest to both Africa

and the United States.

Mr. Speaker, June 3 through June 6 marked the anniversary of a very dark chapter in history, the Indian government's military invasion of the Golden Temple, the seat of the Sikh religion, in 1984. That atrocity was commemorated by Sikhs and others all over the world. There were demonstrations here in Washington and in many cities.

At the Golden Temple in Amritsar they had a ceremony to commemorate the occasion. The Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Joginder Singh Vedanti, the highest Sikh religious leader, led the commemoration. During his remarks, he did not mention Saul Jamail Singh Bhindranwale, the leader of the Sikhs who was murdered at the Golden Temple, or General Shabeg Singh or any of the others who were murdered. This displeased the crowd.

The Sikhs in attendance, hundreds of them, chanted slogans of ``Khalistan Zindabad,'' which means ``Long live Khalistan,'' Khalistan is the Sikh homeland which declared itself independent from India on October 7, 1987. These chants show that the movement to liberate Khalistan is still alive in Punjab. Last year, there were speeches and flag-raisings on the Golden Temple anniversary. There were similar events this past January. Those events resulted in arrests and criminal complaints, even though the Indian courts have ruled that speaking out [or Khalistan is not a crime, In spite of these intimidation tactics, the Sikhs spoke out again for Khalistan.

Over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in the Golden Temple attack and the attacks on 37 other Gurdwaras around Punjab, known as Operation Bluestar. During Operation Bluestar, the Indian army shot bullet holes in the Sikh holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib. Young boys were taken outside and summarily shot. The Golden Temple itself was ransacked and severely damaged. Do these sound like the acts of a democracy?

If India were truly committed to democratic values, at the very least, the Indian government would issue a public apology to the Sikhs and pay compensation to the victims' families.

The Golden Temple attacks show that there is no place for Sikhs in India, and other minorities also feel the massive repression of ``the world's largest democracy.'' More than a quarter of a million Sikhs have been killed and over 52,000 continue to be held as political prisoners. India has killed over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland and tens of thousands more in the rest of the country, as well as more than 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims, thousands more Muslims around India, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities. For minority peoples and nations, India is one of the world's worst tyrannies. It is a democracy for the Brahmins and a police state for the minorities.

This is not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. I would like to express the sympathy of the Congress to the Sikh Nation for the Golden Temple massacre. In light of this atrocity and the ongoing atrocities of the Indian government, I wonder why the United States continues to fund such a country. The time has come, Mr. Speaker, to stop our aid and trade with India and to support self-determination for all peoples and nations in South Asia. This is the best way to bring about stability, peace, freedom, and prosperity in the subcontinent, to defuse the troubles there, and to make sure that every person's rights are protected.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to place a couple of very good articles on the chanting of Khalistan slogans at the Golden Temple into the Record for the information of my colleagues.

[From the Tribune (Chandigarh), June 7, 2006]

Radicals Raise Khalistan Slogans

Amritsar, June 6.--Activists of various radical Sikh

organizations raised slogans in favour of Khalistan on

Ghallughara divas (genocide day) to mark the 22nd anniversary

of Operation Bluestar in front of Akal Takht here today.

Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, president, SAD, distanced himself

from it.

As soon as Mr. Simranjit Singh Mann, president, SAD (A),

came out from Akal Takht after participating in ardas,

radicals started raising slogans for an independent Sikh

state and showed pages containing statements in favour of

Khalistan and posters displaying damaged Akal Takht in the

military operation. However, Mr. Badal accused those who

indulged in sloganeering of being agents of the Congress,

which was responsible for the infamous Army operation. He

said Mr. Mann was well aware that Punjab had to suffer

greatly because of this.

Mr. Mann said though they were not allowed to continue

their peaceful struggle to attain independence, they would

contest the next elections democratically.

Commenting on the recent judgments and coverage in

newspapers, he claimed that judges and the English media had

also saffronised. He asked people to raise their hands if

they wanted revival of Anandpur Sahib's resolution of 1973

and for severing of relations with the Congress and the BJP.

Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathcdar, Akal Takht, said

the real tribute to those killed in the operation would be to

protect the Sikh history and culture, and to stop apostasy

and addiction among the Sikh youth.

He said the Sikh religion was formed to safeguard human

ideal's of truth, righteousness and values. He added at for

this reason it had to fight against rulers who forgot their

duties towards the masses.

Among those present on the occasion were Mr. Avtar Singh,

president, SGPC, Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SGPC president, and

senior Akali leaders, including Mr. Gurdev Singh Badal, Mr.

Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Mr. Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Mr. Sucha

Singh Langah, Mr. Bikramjit Singh Majithia and Mr. Guljar

Singh Ranike.

Mr. Speaker, a good article appeared in the Argus of Fremont, California on repression of the Sikhs in India. Fremont has a large Sikh population and the article appeared earlier this month in conjunction with the commemoration of the Indian government's June 1984 attack on the Golden Temple, the most sacred Sikh shrine.

The article points out that the abuse at Abu Ghbraib which embarrassed all of us, was a lesser offense than what India did to its Sikh population in June 1984 when it attacked the Golden Temple and 37 other Gurdwaras in Punjab.

The article quotes a Sikh named Jasdeep Singh as saying that ``We would have said that was nothing'' referring to Abu Ghraib.

Now, Mr. Speaker, since we know how atrocious the Abu Ghraib incidents are, that gives us an indication of the carnage that was inflicted on the Sikh Nation by the Indian regime in June 1984.

The article also discusses the Sikhs' desire for an independent, sovereign Khalistan, which declared its independence from India in 1987. This has been met with many years of bloody repression, including the murders of over 250,000 Sikhs and over 52,000 who are held as political prisoners in ``the world's largest democracy.''

Mr. Speaker, the time has come to demand self-determination and full human rights for all people in South Asia. We should stop our aid and trade with India and we should demand a free and fair plebiscite not only on the status of Khalistan, but of Kashmir (as India promised in 1948), of Nagalim, and all the nations seeking their freedom in that troubled region. It would be good for the freedom, prosperity, and stability of all concerned.

I would like to insert the Argus article into the Record at this time.

[From the Argus, June 5, 2006]

Fremont Sikhs Recall Oppression

(By Matthew Artz)

Fremont.--Jasdeep Singh couldn't help but laugh at the

uproar over the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

``We would have said that was nothing,'' said Singh, who

moved to Fremont in 1992, he said, after Indian authorities

detained and tortured him three times because he is Sikh.

Sikh nationalism barely a blip on the international radar,

was front and center Sunday at the Fremont Gurdwara Sahib,

the local Sikh house of worship, where community leaders

reaffirmed support for transforming the Indian state of

Punjab into a secular Sikh-majority state of Khalistan.

``We know from our history that Sikhs will never be safe or

truly free unless they have a homeland of their own,'' Singh

said.

For the estimated 150,000 Sikhs living in the Bay Area,

Tuesday marks the anniversary of two of the most devastating

and seminal events in the history of the 500-year-old faith.

In 1984, with Sikhs pressing for an independent Punjab,

where they are a majority, the Indian government invaded the

Golden Temple--Sikhism's holiest place--and 36 other

religious sites where separatists were hiding, killing

thousands. The attack came on the 378th anniversary of the

torture and death of a Sikh religious leader.

Four months later, when Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was

murdered by two of her Sikh bodyguards, rioters murdered

thousands more Sikhs, who are easy to identify because the

men wore turbans and grow long beards.

The bloodbath and ensuring eight years of repression drove

many Sikhs to North America.

Now, 7,500 miles from their ancestral land, leaders of the

Fremont gurdwara won't let their brethren forget about what

transpired in India.

Photographs of 73 Sikhs murdered by Indian authorities in

1984, including the two men who killed the prime minister,

ring the gurdwara's dining room.

On Sunday, the gurdwara installed an exhibit about their

faith that included photographs of Sikh men being burned

alive or beaten by Indian soldiers. Other pictures

commemorated the 400th anniversary of the torture and murder

of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, who refused to remove references to

Islam and Hinduism from the Sikh's holy book.

``We're trying to make people aware,'' said Ram Singh, a

gurdwara leader who plans to protest outside the Indian

Consulate in San Francisco tomorrow. ``We don't want our

future generations to forget what happened to us.''

Jasdeep Singh, an engineer, won't forget the day in 1989

when soldiers raided his graduate school boarding house and

detained all the Sikhs in an effort to gain intelligence on

separatist leaders.

``First the clothes came off,'' he said. Later, guards tied

his hands behind his back and hung him from the ceiling.

``These two shoulders,'' he said, ``felt like they were going

to pop out.''

Since Singh arrived in Fremont, persecution of Sikhs in

India has decreased and the governing Congress Party named a

Sikh, Mammohan Singh, to serve as prime minister.

Years of repression followed by some reforms have stifled

the independence movement in Punjab and left Sikhs in the Bay

Area divided over the nationalist cause, said Ram Singh, who

favors an independent Khalistan.

``It's not that simple,'' said Balraj Gil as he peered at

the pictures of torture. ``You can't just get an independent

state.''

Mr. Speaker, on June 3 Sikhs from around the East Coast gathered here in Washington to commemorate the June 1984 attack on the Golden Temple by the Indian government. That attack occurred simultaneously with attacks on 37 other Gurdwaras in what came to be known as Operation Bluestar. Operation Bluestar took the lives of over 20,000 Sikhs in Punjab.

The demonstration was organized by the Council of Khalistan, which has been leading the peaceful, nonviolent, democratic Sikh struggle for independence for almost 20 years, ever since Khalistan declared its independence from India in 1987.

Mr. Speaker, given the repression of the Sikhs and other minorities, such as Christians, Muslims, and others, I think we would do well for America to support the freedom movement in Khalistan and throughout the subcontinent. This is especially so given that India has a history of anti-American activities.

It is time to press India to pay attention to human rights by stopping our aid and trade with that country and it is time to put the Congress on record in support of self-determination. The essence of democracy is the right to self-determination.

I would like to add the Council of Khalistan's press release on its June 3 demonstration to the Record at this time.

Sikhs Commemorate Golden Temple Attack

Washington, DC, June 3, 2006.--Sikhs from Philadelphia,

Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere on the

East Coast gathered in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 3

to commemorate the Indian government's brutal military attack

on the Golden Temple, the center and seat of the Sikh

religion, and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras throughout Punjab, in

June 1984, in which over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered. They

chanted slogans such as ``India out of Khalistan'',

``Khalistan Zindabad'', and others. In addition,

demonstrations were held in several other cities throughout

the world.

During the Golden Temple attack, young boys ages 8 to 13

were taken outside and asked if they supported Khalistan, the

independent Sikh country. When they answered with the Sikh

religious incantation ``Bole So Nihaf,'' they were shot to

death. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures,

written in the time of the Sikh Gurus, were shot full of

bullet holes and burned by the Indian forces.

The Golden Temple attack was a brutal chapter in India's

repression of the Sikhs, according to Dr. Gurmit Singh

Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, the government

pro tempore of Khalistan, which leads the struggle for

Khalistan's independence. ``Sikhs cannot forgive or forget

this atrocity against the seat of our religion by the Indian

government, said Dr. Aulakh ``This brutal attack clarified

that there is no place in India for Sikhs,'' he said. On

October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared its independence

from India, naming its new country Khalistan.

``Sant Bhindranwale said that attacking the Golden Temple

would lay the foundation stone of Khalistan, and he was

right,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``Instead of crushing the Sikh

movement for Khalistan, as India intended, the attack

strengthened it,'' he said. ``The flame of freedom still

burns bright in the hearts of Sikhs despite the deployment of

over half a million Indian troops to crush it,'' he said.

A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression

(MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268

political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and

Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA) even though it expired in

1995. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. There has

been no list published of those who were acquitted under TADA

and those who are still rotting in Indian jails.

Additionally, according to Amnesty International, there are

tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political

prisoners. MASR report quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy as

writing ``if we add up the figures of the last few years the

number of innocent persons killed would run

into lakhs [hundreds of thousands.]'' The Indian government

has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 300,000

Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, tens

of thousands of Christians and Muslims throughout the

country, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese,

Manipuris, and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the

Indian government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a

genocide.''

In the introduction to former Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright's new book, The Mighty and the Almighty, former U.S.

President Bill Clinton writes that ``Hindu militants'' are

responsible for the massacre of 38 Sikhs at Chithisinghpora

in March 2000. This reflects previous findings by the Punjab

Human Rights Organization, the International Human Rights

Organization, the Movement Against State Repression, and New

York Times reporter Barry Bearak. President Clinton writes,

``During my visit to India in 2000, some Hindu militants

decided to vent their outrage by murdering 38 Sikhs in cold

blood. If I hadn't made the trip, the victims would probably

still be alive.''

``Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and

get justice,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``When Khalistan is free, we

will have our own Ambassadors, our own representation in the

UN and other international bodies, and our own leaders to

keep this sort of thing from happening. We won't be at the

mercy of the brutal Indian regime and its Hindu militant

allies,'' he said. ``Democracies don't commit genocide. India

should act like a democracy and allow a plebiscite on

independence for Khalistan and all the nations of South

Asia,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``As Professor Darshan Singh, a

former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, said, `If a Sikh is not a

Khalistani, he is not a Sikh','' Dr. Aulakh noted. ``We must

continue to pray for and work for our God-given birthright of

freedom,'' he said. ``Without political power, religions

cannot flourish and nations perish.''

Mr. Speaker, in a time of increasing public demand for clean air, clean water, energy independence and improved environmental quality, I wish to commend the founder of EcoMedia--Mr. Paul Polizzotto for his visionary public-private partnership called ``EcoZone,'' which will debut this week here in our Nation's capital. EcoZone leverages the resources of private corporations to improve local community environments at no cost to the taxpayer. Whether this is through funding projects which promote clean air, clean water, energy efficiency or greenspace, EcoZone allows corporations to demonstrate their commitment to local communities and is an example of the growing recognition by corporations that environmental sustainability and good corporate citizenship are profitable enterprises. I encourage the EPA, the Department of Energy, NOAA and other relevant government entities to pursue partnerships via the EcoZone program all across this country.

EcoZoneSM District of Columbia

Overview

1. EcoZone is the flagship program of EcoMedia, the world's

premier environmental media company, which brings together

government and industry to fund technologies and solutions to

serious environmental problems--at no additional cost to

taxpayers.

2. EcoMedia's flagship program, EcoZone, is the first

public-private media partnership model in the nation to use

corporate sponsorships to generate revenue for local

governments to fund critical environmental and clean energy

projects in their communities.

3. EcoZone consists of initiatives in four signature areas:

air; energy; water; and parks and green space.

4. District of Columbia is the first city in the nation to

launch EcoZone; other cities and states expected to launch

EcoZone programs in 2006 include St. Petersburg, Miami, Long

Beach and additional Southern California communities and the

State of New Jersey and many more.

5. The historic agreement between the District of Columbia

and EcoMedia implements the nation's first EcoZone program

and will help the city comply with federal and state

environmental regulations mandating clean water and air in

Washington, as well as identify best management practices to

promote greater energy efficiency, preservation of greenspace

and a cleaner local environment.

6. Previously, EcoMedia launched its EPA award-winning

pilot program Adopt-A-Waterway, to help fund and clean up

local waterways. Successful Adopt-A-Waterway cleanup programs

are currently underway in Miami, FL; Long Beach, CA:

Sacramento County, CA, among other communities.

7. Under the EcoZone program, the city will receive

critical funds secured through sponsorships of educational

signage that promote environmental messages. The signage will

include EcoZone's public education messages, encouraging

citizens to be stewards of

the environment and remind them to recycle, ride-share, turn

lights off when not in use and avoid littering, among other

eco-friendly tips, accompanied by sponsoring corporate logos.

In the District of Columbia, there will be approximately 100

EcoZone signs located throughout the city.

8. Half of the sponsorship revenues from the educational

signage go directly to a dedicated and audited local

government account to fund pre-determined environmental

projects selected by the cities. This is accomplished at no

additional cost to local taxpayers.

9. Since 2002, EcoMedia Partnerships, through the pilot

Adopt-A-Waterways program, have funded critical community

programs such as these:

Water quality testing

Storm drain catch basin insert filters that mitigate storm

water runoff

Watershed cleanup

Steambank restoration

Extensive educational programs

10. Local governments can also use EcoZone funding to

undertake environmental projects that otherwise simply

wouldn't happen. The funds can be used for such things as:

Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles (buses and municipal

auto fleets) that improve both air quality and energy

efficiency;

Solar paneling on city facilities to provide alternative,

cleaner energy;

Greening projects to convert industrial lots into green

space;

Catch basin insert filters that filter out trash and

debris, oil and grease, contaminated sediments and even

pathogens.

11. EcoZone leverages corporate sponsorships to fund,

produce and implement comprehensive public education and

environmental outreach programs including public service

commercials on local cable stations and radio, grassroots

education campaigns, local community events and online media.

12. EcoMedia's founder and chief executive is noted

environmental entrepreneur Paul Polizzotto, who was named an

``environmental hero'' in 1999 by the Environmental

Protection Agency for a process he pioneered while running

his industrial environmental cleaning company, Property

Prep--the first of its kind to help companies become

environmentally compliant. Paul's inspiration for pioneering

private sector solutions to environmental challenges began

during his surfing days in Manhattan Beach, California, his

hometown. Paul recognized the importance of creating a

comprehensive model that involved business, government,

environmental advocates and communities without increasing

additional costs for local communities and taxpayers.

13. In recognition of his achievements, Polizzotto has

received the following recognition: ``Public-Private

Visionary'' as featured in Vanity Fair magazine's May 2006

``Green Issue''; the Coastal Living 2003 Leadership Award

from Coastal Living magazine for protecting our coastlines;

the 2002 Keeper Award for improving water conditions in the

Santa Monica Bay from the Santa Monica Baykeeper; and the

Year 2000 Achievement Award from the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency for developing innovative technologies to

mitigate toxic urban runoff.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams Announces That the District of Columbia Will Become the Nation's First Site to Implement the `Ecozone sm

Program

Washington, DC, June 20, 2006.--In a unique public/private

partnership designed to forge solutions to the District's

most critical environmental challenges, District of Columbia

Mayor Anthony A. Williams today announced that the city will

launch the nation's first, and flagship, `EcoZone

sm program designed to fund important technologies

and solutions to measurably improve the local environment in

the areas of air, water, energy and greenspace--at no

additional cost to taxpayers.

As the Nation's Capital, it is fitting that the District of

Columbia should implement the nation's first--and flagship--

EcoZone program,'' said Mayor Williams. ``In partnering with

the federal government and the private sector for revenue and

support, the city can now address some of the most urgent

environmental challenges in our city--at no additional cost

to District taxpayers. Washington, DC is one of the most

beautiful cities in the world, and it is critical that we

maintain its beauty and a clean and healthy environment for

our residents and visitors.''

Initial corporate sponsors for the District of Columbia's

EcoZone program include DaimlerChrysler and CH2MHill, AbTech,

Alcoa, BAE Systems, Zipcar and Willard Intercontinental

Hotel. Government agencies that will lend their support

include NOAA, EPA and the Department of Energy.

Mayor Williams made the announcement at a press conference

at the City Museum & Historical Society of Washington, DC, at

Mt. Vernon Square. Among those joining the Mayor were Paul

Polizzotto, founder and CEO of EcoMedia; John Bozzella, Vice

President of External Affairs and Public Policy, Americas,

DaimlerChrysler Corporation; Liliana Maldonado, Senior Vice

President and Northeast Regional Manager, CH2M HILL; Benjamin

Grumbles, Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, EPA; Alan

Hecht, Director for Sustainable Development, Office of

Research and Development, U.S. EPA; Stephanie Branche,

Government Liaison, Region 3, EPA; Richard Moorer, Deputy

Assistant Secretary for Technology Development, U.S.

Department of Energy; Elizabeth Scheffler, CFO, Administrator

for Management and Budget, National Ocean Service, NOAA; and

William O. Howland, Jr., Director, Department of Public

Works, the District of Columbia.

The District has entered into an agreement with EcoMedia to

implement the EcoZone program. EcoMedia is a leading

environmental media company that brings together government

and industry to forge solutions to pressing environmental

problems. The initiative will be funded solely through

corporate sponsorships, with half of all EcoZone revenues

generated from educational outdoor signage going to fund the

District's pre-determined environmental and clean energy

projects in each of the EcoZone's four signature areas: air,

energy, water, and greenspace.

``We are particularly happy today to announce our corporate

sponsorship of the innovative EcoZone program as it launches

in the nation's capital,'' said John Bozzella, Vice President

of External Affairs and Public Policy, Americas,

DaimlerChrysler Corporation. ``The EcoZone program

complements our commitment to developing vehicles that have

less impact on our environment, whether that's through

reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, emitting

less CO2 or developing new alternative drive

systems, such as fuel cells.''

Said Liliana Maldonado, Senior Vice President and Northeast

Regional Manager, CH2M HILL, ``We are proud to join in the

launch of today's EcoZone program, a partnership project

between communities and companies, because it reflects CH2M

HILL's ongoing mission to protect and preserve natural

resources around the globe. Since 1946, CH2M HILL has been

helping clients provide high quality drinking water and

sanitation for communities around the globe, environmental

remediation, sustainable development, habitat restoration,

energy efficiency, green architecture and low impact

development. From planning to design to construction and

operations, CH2M HILL embraces health, safety and

environmental protection because it is the right thing to do

for our people, our communities and our environment.''

Under the EcoZone program, educational signage featuring

environmental messages will be posted throughout the

district. The signage will include EcoZone's public education

messages reminding consumers to recycle, ride-share, turn

lights off when not in use and avoid littering, among other

eco-friendly tips. In the District of Columbia there will be

approximately 100 EcoZone signs located throughout the city.

Half of the revenues from the EcoZone corporate

sponsorships of educational outdoor signage will go directly

to a dedicated and audited government account to fund the

pre-determined environmental projects selected by the

District government. This will help the city comply with

federal environmental regulations, and/or fund new local

environmental programs that otherwise would not happen.

Cleanup projects can include:

Storm drain catch basin insert filters that mitigate storm

water runoff,

Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles for municipal fleets

that improve both air quality and energy efficiency,

Solar paneling on city facilities to provide alternative,

cleaner energy,

Greening projects to convert industrial lots into green

space.

EcoZone leverages program sponsorships to fund, produce and

administer comprehensive public education and environmental

outreach programs, including local cable television and radio

public service commercials, grassroots education campaigns,

branded merchandise, local community events and online media.

Paul Polizzotto, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,

EcoMedia, said, ``We commend Mayor Williams for his

commitment to the quality of life in the District of Columbia

and for joining with businesses to launch our nation's first

EcoZone program. The District's EcoZone program, we hope,

will be the beginning of a national grassroots movement among

cities, corporations and consumers working together to

improve and strengthen our environment.''

Additional cities and states to be included in a 2006

national rollout of the EcoZone program include: Miami; Long

Beach and other Southern California communities; and the

State of New Jersey, among others. EcoZone is the second

public private sponsorship model created by and managed by

EcoMedia. Its pilot program, Adopt-A-Waterway',

was launched in 2001. This award-winning, national program

pioneered the public/private model of raising money for

environmental cleanup--at no additional cost to taxpayers--

and is currently underway in Miami, FL, Long Beach, CA,

Sacramento County, CA, as well as other communities

throughout the country.

Based in New York City, EcoMedia is a leading environmental

media company dedicated to pioneering market-based media

solutions that generate necessary funds and resources to

address critical environmental challenges. For more

information, log on to: www.ecomedia.us.