Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the unveiling of a statue of Mohandas K. Gandhi in Johannesburg, South Africa, set off a discussion about the anti-black racism of the founder of India.

When the eight-foot high Gandhi statue was unveiled, portraying him as a young human-rights lawyer, many leaders attacked Gandhi's anti- black statements. ``Gandhi had no love for Africans,'' said one letter in The Citizen, a South African newspaper. ``To him, Africans were no better than the `Untouchables' of India.''

As you may know, Mr. Speaker, the dark-skinned aborigines of the subcontinent, known as Dalits or ``Untouchables,'' occupy the lowest rung on the ladder of India's rigid and racist caste system. The caste system exists to protect the privileged position of the Brahmins, the top caste. Although it was officially banned by India's constitution in 1950, it is still strictly practiced in Hindu India.

Others have pointed out that Gandhi ignored the suffering of black people during the colonial occupation of South Africa. When he was arrested and forced to share a cell with black prisoners, he wrote that they were ``only one degree removed from the animal.'' In other words, Mr. Speaker, he described blacks as less than human. We condemn anyone who says this in our country, such as the Ku Klux Klan and others, as we should. Why is Gandhi venerated for such statements?

In addition, G.B. Singh, a Gandhi biographer, has looked through many pictures of him and never seen one single black person. Gandhi also attacked white Europeans.

Gandhi is honored as the founder of India. These statements and attitudes reveal the racist underpinning behind the secular, democratic facade of India. It explains a worldview that permits a Dalit constable to be stoned to death for entering the temple on a rainy day, that allows the murders of over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 250,000 Sikhs in Punjab, Khalistan, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the country, including Graham Staines and his two young sons, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities. It explains why the pro-Fascist, Hindu militant RSS is a powerful organization in India, in control of one of its two major political parties.

India must abandon its racist attitudes and its exploitation of minorities. It must allow the enjoyment of full human rights by everyone. Until it does so, we should stop our aid and trade with India. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, the essence of democracy is the right to self-determination. India must allow self-determination for Kashmir, as it promised the United Nations in 1948, in Punjab, Khalistan, in Nagaland, and wherever the people seek to free themselves from the boot of Indian oppression. We should put this Congress on record in support of self-determination for the people of the subcontinent in the form of a free and fair plebiscite on the question of independence. Khalistan declared its independence on October 7, 1987. The people have never been allowed to have a simple, democratic vote on the matter. Instead, India continues to oppress the people there with over half a million troops.

Mr. Speaker, reporter Rory Carroll of The Guardian wrote an excellent article on the controversy about the Gandhi statue. I would like to place it in the Record at this time.

[The Guardian, Friday Oct. 17, 2003]

Gandhi Branded Racist as Johannesburg Honours Freedom Fighter

(By Rory Carroll)

It was supposed to honour his resistance to racism in South

Africa, but a new statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Johannesburg

has triggered a row over his alleged contempt for black

people. The 2.5 metre high (8ft) bronze statue depicting

Gandhi as a dashing young human rights lawyer has been

welcomed by Nelson Mandela, among others, for recognising the

Indian who launched the fight against white minority rule at

the turn of the last century.

But critics have attacked the gesture for overlooking

racist statements attributed to Gandhi, which suggest he

viewed black people as lazy savages who were barely human.

Newspapers continue to publish letters from indignant

readers: ``Gandhi had no love for Africans. To [him],

Africans were no better than the `Untouchables' of India,''

said a correspondent to The Citizen.

Others are harsher, claiming the civil rights icon

``hated'' black people and ignored their suffering at the

hands of colonial masters while championing the cause of

Indians.

Unveiled this month, the statue stands in Gandhi Square in

central Johannesburg, not far from the office from which he

worked during some of his 21 years in South Africa.

The British-trained barrister was supposed to have been on

a brief visit in 1893 to represent an Indian company in a

legal action, but he stayed to fight racist laws after a

conductor kicked him off a train for sitting in a first-class

compartment reserved for whites.

Outraged, he started defending Indians charged with failing

to register for passes and other political offences, founded

a newspaper, and formed South Africa's first organised

political resistance movement. His tactics of mobilising

people for passive resistance and mass protest inspired black

people to organise and some historians credit Gandhi as the

progenitor of the African National Congress, which formed in

1912, two years before he returned to India to fight British

colonial rule.

However, the new statue has prompted bitter recollections

about some of Gandhi's writings.

Forced to share a cell with black people, he wrote: ``Many

of the native prisoners are only one degree removed from the

animal and often created rows and fought among themselves.''

He was quoted at a meeting in Bombay in 1896 saying that

Europeans sought to degrade Indians to the level of the ``raw

kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition

is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with,

and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness''.

The Johannesburg daily This Day said GB Singh, the author

of a critical book about Gandhi, had sifted through photos of

Gandhi in South Africa and found not one black person in his

vicinity.

The Indian embassy in Pretoria declined to comment, as it

prepared for President Thabo Mbeki's visit to India.

Khulekani Ntshangase, a spokesman for the ANC Youth League,

defended Gandhi, saying the critics missed the bigger picture

of his immense contribution to the liberation struggle.

Gandhi's offending comments were made early in his life

when he was influenced by Indians working on the sugar

plantations and did not get on with the black people of

modern-day KwaZulu-Natal province, said Mr. Ntshangase.

``Later he got more enlightened.''

Mr. Speaker, on November 17, leaders of the Akali Dal, the predominant Sikh party, walked out of a seminar in Lahore after Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, Preside: of the Council of Khalistan, predicted that India will break up. The Akali leaders said ``We came to unite, not to divide India.''

In front of an audience of about 1,500 people, Dr. Aulakh predicted that Kashmir will soon be free and India will break into five or six separate countries, including Khalistan. Former Home Minister L.K. Advani, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has said that ``if Kashmir goes, India goes.'' Steve Forbes of Forbes magazine predicted in his magazine

that India will break apart as the Austro-Hungarian Empire did.

The Akali leaders who walked out were clearly representing the Research and analysis Wing (RAW), the intelligence operation of the Indian government. Yet as Inderjit Singh Jaijee reported in The Politics of Genocide, more than 250,000 Sikhs were murdered by the Indian government, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy. Another 52,268 are being held as political prisoners, according to the Movement Against State Repression (MASR.) Some of these political prisoners have been held since 1984.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has apologized for the November 1984 Delhi massacres in which over 20,000 Sikhs were killed. This establishes the guilt of the Indian government beyond any doubt. If he really wants to make amends, he should end India's occupation of Khalistan, the Sikh homeland that declared its independence on October 7, 1987.

India has also killed over 300,000 Christian in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and others. Tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians have been killed in other parts of the country. India is not a single country, but a multinational state that cannot hold together. We must do our part to see that this happens peacefully by supporting self-determination for all the people of South Asia. We should also cut off our aid to India and our trade as well until basic human rights are observed fully and enjoyed by all.

Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan's recently issued a press release about the betrayal of the Sikhs by the Akali Dal. I would like to put this release into the Record for the information of my colleagues and the people.

Akalis Again Betray Sikh Nation

Washington, DC, Nov. 22, 2005.--On November 17, 2005, the

Akali Dal again showed its true colors, as its leaders walked

out of a seminar in Lahore after Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,

President of the Council of Khalistan, predicted the breakup

of India during a speech in support of liberating Khalistan,

the Sikh homeland, Khalistan. The Sarbat Khalsa passed a

resolution on April 29, 1986 for a free Khalistan and

established the Panthic Committee. The Panthic Committee

declared Khalistan's independence on October 7, 1987, forming

the Council of Khalistan to lead the independence struggle.

About 1,500 people attended the seminar. Dr. Aulakh

predicted that Kashmir will soon be free and India will break

up into six or seven countries' and Khalistan will be free.

The Akali leaders said, ``We came to unite, not to divide

India.'' This was a clear indication that those leaders were

representing RAW, not those of the Sikh Nation. True Sikhs

pray every morning ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa'' (``the Khalsa shall

rule.'') Former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Professor Darshan

Singh has said, ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a

Sikh. ``

India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according

to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human

rights groups and reported in the book The Politics of

Genocide by Inderjeet Singh Jaijee. It has also killed more

than 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, over 300,000

Christians in Nagaland since 1947, and thousands of

Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the country, as well as

tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits

(``Untouchables,'' the dark-skinned aboriginal people of

South Asia), Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities.

The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's

murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' According to a

report by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR),

52,268 Sikhs are being held as political prisoners in India

without charge or trial. Some have been in illegal custody

since 1984! Amnesty International reported that tens of

thousands of other minorities are also being held as

political prisoners. We demand the immediate release of all

these political prisoners.

Cases were registered against dozens of Sikhs for raising

the Sikh flag at the Golden Temple on the anniversary of the

Golden Temple attack in the presence of over 30,000 Sikhs.

Warrants have been issued for their arrest. The flag of

Khalistan was also raised on Republic Day, January 26. 35

Sikhs were arrested at that time. Some of them have been

denied bail.

Recently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally

apologized to the Sikh Nation for the genocide against the

Sikhs in November 1984 in which over 20,000 Sikhs were killed

just in Delhi and surrounding areas while Sikh police were

locked in their barracks and Indian radio and television

called for more Sikh blood. This apology establishes the

Indian government's responsibility for the genocide against

the Sikh Nation. India must end its occupation of Khalistan,

which is the root cause of this genocide. Sikhs are a

sovereign nation and they are fighting for their freedom.

Indian police arrested human-rights activist Jaswant Singh

Khalra after he exposed their policy of mass cremation of

Sikhs, in which over 50,000 Sikhs have been arrested,

tortured, and murdered, then their bodies were declared

unidentified and secretly cremated. He was murdered in police

custody. His body was not given to his family. History shows

that multinational states such as India are doomed to

failure. Countries like Austria-Hungary, India's longtime

friend the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and

others prove this point. India is not one country; it is a

polyglot like those countries. Steve Forbes, writing in

Forbes magazine, said that India is doomed to disintegrate

like the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ``India is not a

homogeneous state,'' Forbes wrote. ``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 fall apart

just as Austria-Hungary and the others did.

``We must continue to pray for and work for our God-given

birthright of freedom,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We must continue

to press for the liberation of Khalistan,'' he said.

``Without political power, religions cannot flourish and

nations perish. India claims to be a democracy. It is time it

recognized the right of self-determination for all people in

South Asia.''

Mr. Speaker, I was recently informed of the passing of Gurdev Singh Sandhu at the young age of 62. I would like to extend my sympathies to his family and friends. He is survived by his wife Jaswant Kaur Sandhu, whom he married in 1974, his daughters Samreet and Ramneek, his son Sanmeet, his son-in-law Jason Pavlak, and his grandson London Singh Pavlak.

Gurdev Singh Sandhu was a very passionate supporter of Sikh freedom. He came to this country at age 18 and attended Wayne State University. He worked at many careers, including working as an engineer at Motown Records, working at DEA, employment as an engineer at General Dynamics, and a Quality Manager at Thyssen-Krupp Budd Company. He even had a couple of businesses of his own. He was very involved with his children, helping with homework, coaching Little League Baseball, teaching them to ride a bike, and so many other activities. He designed the house where he and his wife lived.

In his last few years, Gurdev Singh Sandhu had learned to play golf, worked in his garden, was active at a local gym, and worked in his yard and on various home-improvement projects. He had recently built a deck and designed his new garage.

Gurdev Singh Sandhu was a strong supporter of the cause of Sikh freedom and the Sikh homeland, Khalistan. He had hoped to live to see Khalistan free. Hopefully, even though he won't be around to see it, this dream will be achieved in very short order.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my condolences to Mr. Sandhu's family and friends and I know that the Members of this House join me in that. May God bless him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tangible, but often under-appreciated efforts the part of South Korea to address an important and urgent humanitarian concern--the resettlement of North Korean refugees.

South Korea has consistently maintained a policy to accommodate all North Korean refugees who have found safe haven abroad by permitting them to resettle in South Korea. The South Korean government also provides necessary cooperation, if the refugees wish to remain in another country, to avoid the forcible repatriation to North Korea against their will.

In the past 50 years, South Korea has resettled more than 7,100 North Korean refugees, an average of 20 persons per year between 1954 and 1997 (878 total), but at an accelerating rate since then: 72 in 1998, 148 in 1999, 312 in 2000, 583 in 2001, 1,141 in 2002, 1,281 in 2003, 1,894 in 2004, and 882 to date in 2005, with an expectation of a total refugee population of 10,000 by the end of 2006.

When North Korean refugees arrive in South Korea, they spend their first 3 months at Hanawon, a facility run by the Ministry of Unification, to receive education, orientation and basic vocational training. They also participate in social adjustment and cultural assimilation programs.

Following their orientation, the refugees are then provided with a variety of resources by the South Korean government that include assistance in finding meaningful employment for 5 years and a permanent residence in cooperation with local municipalities. They also receive general health insurance coverage and seed money to help sustain independent living.

For women refugees--which accounted for 68 percent of all North Korean refugees this year--the South Korean government additionally provides specific female vocational training and assistance with child- rearing and home protection.

For younger refugees, the South Korean government fully subsidizes all education fees through high school. If accepted into public universities, the refugees will receive full tuition including room- and-board. Should a North Korean refugee seek to study at a private university, the related costs will be covered jointly

between the government and the designated institution.

It is important to note that South Korea, for some time, has been working diligently, behind the scenes, without much publicity or due recognition, in order to enhance the security of the North Korean refugees it is seeking to assist.

The aim is to make all refugees and their families self-sufficient within the context of democracy and free enterprise, so that they can be full contributors to South Korean society. In this regard, the South Korean government also works in collaboration with many civic, religious, and non-governmental (charitable) organizations in a comprehensive and coordinated effort to provide a variety of resources and a strong social safety net.

For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I wish to express my personal appreciation to the government and people of South Korea for their important contributions to help address the urgent humanitarian crisis in North Korea through the ``firm resettlement'' policy. As a staunch ally of the United States with a mutually comprehensive alliance partnership, South Korea deserves our recognition and expression of support.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear that the Legislative Assembly in Punjab recently had a discussion on terrorism there. Terrorism is an important issue which all leaders of the world must address. However, the debate turned into partisan politics of the type we're too familiar with here--each side blaming the other for spurring the terrorism in Punjab, while they ignored the real cause of the problem--the Indian government.

India has imposed a reign of terror in Punjab, Khalistan for many years, starting with a memo sent to police by their first Home Minister, Mr. Patel, describing Sikhs as ``a criminal class.'' This month marks the anniversary of one particularly brutal chapter in that reign of terror--the Delhi massacres of November 1984, in which 20,000 Sikhs were murdered. The government locked Sikh police officers in their barracks to keep them from getting involved and the government's own radio and TV called for more Sikh blood.

The newspaper Hitavada reported that the Indian government paid the governor of Punjab, the late Surendra Nath, the equivalent of $1.5 billion to foment terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir. The U.S. State Department reported that the government paid more than 41,000

cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. One even got a bounty for killing a three-year-old boy.

Human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra compiled and published a report showing that India had a policy of picking up young Sikh men, torturing and killing them, declaring their bodies unidentified, and then secretly cremating them. Khalra identified over 25,000 such cases at three cremation grounds in Punjab. Others who have followed up on Khalra's work found that the number is at least 50,000. For his work, Mr. Khalra was arrested by the Punjab police and killed while in police custody. The only witness to the Khalra kidnapping, Rajiv Singh Randhawa, has been repeatedly arrested and harassed by the police.

Gurdev Singh Kaunke was the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest Sikh religious leader. He was murdered by a police official named Swaran Singh Ghotna. No one has ever been punished for this atrocity. The driver for another religious leader, Baba Charan Singh, had his legs tied to two jeeps, which then drove off in different directions, tearing the man in half.

Mr. Speaker, why are such actions tolerated, especially by a government that calls itself democratic? America must take a stand against such tyranny.

The time has come to stop all our trade with India and all our aid to that country until such time as basic human rights are fully protected. And we must put this Congress on record in support of self- determination for the people of Punjab, Khalistan, and all the other peoples and nations seeking freedom, such as predominantly Muslim Kashmir and predominantly Christian Nagaland. This is the most effective way to end terrorism in the subcontinent.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert the Council of Khalistan's press release into the Record now for the information of my colleagues.

Punjab Assembly Debates Terrorism

amarinder, badal should discuss freedom for sikh nation

Washington, D.C., November 2, 2005--The Punjab Legislative

Assembly recently had a session to debate terrorism. Both the

Congress Party and the Akali Dal blamed each other for

encouraging Sikh youth to carry out the violence.

Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal are trying to

change the history of Punjab. They are fully aware that

Punjab, Khalistan has been engaged in a long struggle for

independence after the Delhi massacres of November 1984. On

April 29, 1986, Sarbat Khalsa passed a resolution for the

independence of Khalistan and formed the Panthic Committee.

On October 7, 1987, the Panthic Committee declared the

independence of Khalistan. The Council of Khalistan was

formed at that time to lead the peaceful, democratic,

nonviolent struggle to liberate Khalistan.

These leaders are betraying the Sikh Nation. They need to

be exposed and removed from their leadership roles. As

Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht,

said, ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh.''

Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apologized for the

Delhi massacres, in which over 20,000 Sikhs were killed,

firmly establishing India's guilt in this atrocity against

the Sikh Nation.

The Indian government controls the Sikh leadership. Both

Badal's Akali Dal, which claims to be the protector of Sikh

interests, and Amarinder Singh's Congress Party, which is the

party that carried out the Golden Temple attack, are under

Indian government control.

New Sikh leadership is emerging in Dal Khalsa and other

organizations. They hoisted the Khalistani flag in front of

the Golden Temple on Republic Day in January and again on the

anniversary of the Golden Temple attacks. They marched and

made speeches for Khalistan. For this, they were charged by

the Indian government and 35 were arrested.

History shows that multinational states such as India are

doomed to failure. Countries like Austria-Hungary, India's

longtime friend the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia,

and others prove this point. India is not one country; it is

a polyglot like those countries, thrown together for the

convenience of the British colonialists. It is doomed to

break up as they did. Last year, the Punjab Legislative

Assembly passed a bill annulling all water agreements with

the Indian government, preventing the government's daylight

robbery of Punjab river water. Punjab needs its river water

for its crops. In the bill, the Assembly explicitly stated

the sovereignty of Punjab.

The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since

1984, more than 300,000 Christians since 1948, over 90,000

Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of

Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, and others. The Indian

Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs

``worse than a genocide.''

Indian police arrested human-rights activist Jaswant Singh

Khalra after he exposed their policy of mass cremation of

Sikhs, in which over 50,000 Sikhs have been arrested,

tortured, and murdered, then their bodies were declared

unidentified and secretly cremated. He was murdered in police

custody. His body was not given to his family. No one has

been brought to justice for the kidnapping and murder of

Jaswant Singh Khalra. The police never released the body of

former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Gurdev Singh Kaunke after

SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered him. Ghotna has never been

brought to trial for the Jathedar Kaunke murder.

According to a report by the Movement Against State

Repression (MASR), 52,268 Sikhs are being held as political

prisoners in India without charge or trial. Some have been in

illegal custody since 1984! Tens of thousands of other

minorities are also being held as political prisoners,

according to Amnesty International. We demand the immediate

release of all these political prisoners.

``It is time to replace Amarinder Singh and Badal with new

leadership that is committed to the interests of the Sikh

Nation,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the

Council of Khalistan. ``Only a sovereign, independent

Khalistan will end the repression and lift the standard of

living for the people of Punjab,'' he said. ``We must

continue to press for our God-given birthright of freedom,''

he said. ``Without political power, religions cannot flourish

and nations perish.''

Mr. Speaker, on November 1, Human Rights Watch wrote an excellent letter to the National Human Rights Commission of India demanding full accounting for the secret cremations of Sikhs in India. The secret cremations were described by India's Supreme Court as ``flagrant violation of human rights on a mass scale.'' The court ordered the Indian government in November 1995, two months after the ``disappearance'' of Jaswant Singh Khalra, to conduct a full investigation into this brutal policy. Ten years later, that investigation has never taken place. Instead, the commission has chosen to focus on the trivial issue of whether the cremations were conducted in accord with the police rules, a terrible diversion from the real issue, which is that the Indian government is carrying out this genocidal policy against the Sikh minority.

This investigation must proceed, and it must be a full-fledged inquiry into this murderous policy, India must make full restitution to the victims' families.

Mr. Speaker, I will be inserting the letter from Human Rights Watch into the Record at this time.

November 1, 2005.

Re mass secret cremations in Punjab.

Hon. Dr. Justice A.S. Anand,

Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Faridkot

House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi, India.

Dear Justice Anand: As the National Human Rights Commission

prepares to issue a decision in the Punjab mass secret

cremations case, we urge the Commission to order a full

accounting of the systematic abuses that occurred in Punjab,

determine liability after detailed investigations into the

violations, and provide for compensation for surviving family

members based on a detailed understanding of the scope of

violations suffered by each individual.

In 1994, investigations by human rights activist Jaswant

Singh Khalra revealed that security forces had abducted,

extrajudicially executed, and secretly cremated thousands of

Sikhs in Punjab from 1984 to 1994. Mr. Khalra exposed over

2,000 secret cremations in Amritsar district alone--one of 17

districts in Punjab. Subsequent investigations by human

rights groups confirmed that secret cremations had occurred

throughout the state, and that cremation was only one form of

disposing of victims' bodies. After publicly disclosing his

findings, Mr. Khalra was abducted by the Punjab police and

``disappeared'' in September 1995. In November 1995, the

Supreme Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation

(CBI) to inquire into his abduction and allegations of mass

cremations.

On December 12, 1996, the Indian Supreme Court found the

inquiry by the CBI into mass cremations in Punjab disclosed a

``flagrant violation of human rights on a mass scale'' and

ordered the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to

adjudicate these mass crimes and ``determine all the issues''

(Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab). After challenges by the

Indian government, the NHRC limited its investigation to

illegal cremations in Amritsar district alone. The NHRC has

now received 3,500 claims of illegal cremation in Amritsar.

Instead of investigating these secret cremations as

unlawful deprivations of life, the Commission has adopted the

narrow issue of whether the victims' bodies were cremated

according to police rules. At two hearings in October 2005,

the petitioner Committee for Information and Initiative on

Punjab (CIIP) challenged the Commission's decision to

discard investigations, especially given the failure to

identify the vast majority of victims and establish

procedures, standards and

mechanisms to adjudicate these cases to capture the full

scope of human rights violations.

In almost nine years, the Commission has not heard

testimony in a single case, or held a single security

official or agency responsible for human rights violations.

Further, at hearings in recent months, the Commission has

indicated its intention to dispense with investigations into

the violations altogether, and only determine whether the

cremations occurred according to police procedure. This is an

odd decision for a human rights body.

Human Rights Watch strongly urges the Commission to commit

itself to detailed investigations into the rights violations

suffered by all victims of illegal cremations and their

family members, including whether individual deaths were

unlawful, the role of state security forces or their agents

in planning or carrying out illegal killings, identifying

individual perpetrators, and determining proper compensation.

It is critical that those cases not addressed by the NHRC's

order of November 2004 are also investigated. Until the facts

are determined, ``disappearances'' remain an ongoing crime

and the NHRC ruling does not close the case.

Such investigations are required by international human

rights law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights, which India ratified in 1979, provides in article 2

that a victim of a rights violation shall have an effective

remedy and that the right to such a remedy be determined by a

competent authority and be enforced when granted. A victim's

right to an effective remedy imposes an obligation on the

state to undertake investigations to identify the

perpetrators of human rights violations. Indeed, the

Commission's August 1997 order concluded that the Commission

must lay the factual foundations of the case in order to

establish liability, but for reasons that are not clear the

Commission has never implemented its own order. Anything less

than proper investigations will be a betrayal of victims and

their families.

We note that in the nine years since the Commission took

cognizance of the Punjab mass cremations matter, it has

investigated and resolved numerous other complaints of human

rights violations throughout India. Moreover, the Commission

has pursued cases suo motu, without even receiving a

complaint, after violations came to its attention through

media reports. The NHRC has earned a well-deserved reputation

for taking on powerful forces in India, which makes the

Commission's decisions in the Punjab cases even more

puzzling.

In this upcoming order, we also urge the Commission to

clarify that the November 2004 order of compensation is

interim. This order announced a total award of 2.5 lakhs

rupees (around U.S. $5,500) to 109 families in whose cases

police admitted custody of next of kin, without determining

individual responsibility, providing other reparatory

measures, or engaging in an inquiry into the facts as

directed by the Supreme Court. This grant of compensation is

not only paltry, but it does not fulfill the Commission's

responsibilities under international human rights law to make

an individual determination.

Developing a compensation policy requires extensive

investigation to clarify the extent of human rights

violations, the potential beneficiaries, and the nature of

injuries suffered, among other issues. The expert report

submitted at the hearing on October 24, 2005 by Physicians

for Human Rights (PHR) and the Bellevue/NYU Program for

Survivors of Torture (Bellevue), demonstrates that the

deprivation of life occurred within a pattern of violations

that included intentional abuse among multiple family members

of the ``disappeared.'' The CIIP further called on the

Commission to summon the authors of the report to testify.

This report should compel the Commission to investigate the

deprivation of the right to life of the victim, and the

physical and psychological trauma inflicted upon surviving

family members. In addition, our brief, submitted to the

Commission in December 2003 in conjunction with Harvard

Law Student Advocates for Human Rights, demonstrates that

human rights bodies have considered evidence from numerous

sources to adjudicate ``disappearances'' and extrajudicial

executions, including evidence from international human

rights experts. In its upcoming order, we urge the

Commission to admit and fully weigh all evidence

available, including the PHR/Bellevue report.

To demonstrate its intention to fulfill the mandate of the

Supreme Court, the Commission must act to redress the

violations of the rights to life and liberty suffered by

thousands of families in Punjab. Its failure to do so is

contributing to impunity, sending the message that

perpetrators of mass crimes are more powerful than the

Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission. The

Commission, no doubt, is aware that the prosecution of the

officials who ``disappeared'' Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human

rights defender who exposed the mass cremations in Punjab,

has not concluded in nine years. The Commission should not

allow the Punjab mass cremations case to also stand as an

example of the triumph of impunity over the right to justice.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to a

fruitful dialogue with you and other members of the

Commission on this case.

Sincerely,

Brad Adams,

Executive Director, Asia Division,

Human Rights Watch.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 4011.

Mr. Speaker, one of the pleasures of being a Congressman is the ability to personally meet and publicly recognize individuals who have made positive contributions on behalf of their communities and business associates. One such individual with whom I have coordinated to better the lives of consumers and the automotive aftermarket is Art Lottes, III.

Mr. Lottes and I began coordinating on legislation in 2001 that we believe will help motorists of all financial backgrounds, and have worked to continue to improve the competitive spirit of America's business community. That legislation is the ``Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act.''

Mr. Lottes, following years of working in his family's aftermarket business, A.E. Lottes Company, a Carquest distributor in St. Louis, Missouri, was named president of Carquest Corporation, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, my birth State.

During Mr. Lottes's tenure with A.E. Lottes Company, he was one of the founding fathers of the ``Coalition for Auto Repair Equality- Care,'' a national organization headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, which represents companies in the automotive aftermarket and America's motoring consumers. He served as care's secretary-treasurer from CARE's founding in 1991 until 2002, when he was unanimously voted by the CARE Board of Directors to assume the position of CARE chairman.

Mr. Lottes kept a ``hands-on-approach'' to Carquest store owners' and employees' needs, whether with A.E. Lottes Company or Carquest Corporation. He worked with many aftermarket companies nationwide to help strengthen that industry's five million-plus employee base.

But, Mr. Lottes, always mindful that communities and business rely on the strengths of one another to improve the lives of all, worked for many years, and continues to, with the Juvenile Diabetes Association. He has been an active volunteer with the Triangle/Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the National Juvenile Diabetes Association. He has mobilized ``Carquest Team'' walks to help raise money for the Triangle/ Eastern North Carolina Chapter, as well as raising money within Carquest Corporation for this worthy cause.

Mr. Lottes is now retiring from the Carquest Corporation and from the CARE Board of Directors after many years of distinguished service to the aftermarket. Although he is officially retiring, he will continue to stay involved with the many aftermarket causes which benefit America's small business community, and with CARE, where he will be missed for his wisdom and guiding hand.

I, too, will miss coordinating with Mr. Lottes, but I know that whatever he endeavors, he will do so with a pure spirit and the continued good wishes for his fellow aftermarket associates, Carquest Associates and his community.

Therefore, CARE, the aftermarket and I will not say goodbye to Mr. Lottes, just so long.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Dr. Atul B. Chokshi, a member of the Brooklyn community and a distinguished member of the healthcare profession. It is an honor to represent Dr. Chokshi in the House of Representatives and it behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding leader in American Medicine.

Mr. Speaker, on Dr. Atul B. Chokshi's resume he states that his life's goals are to ``be as complete a cardiologist as possible'' and ``to be as nice and loving a human being as possible.'' To the thousands of people of the Interfaith Medical Center community who have been touched by Dr. Chokshi's gentleness and caring nature, he has already met his life's goals.

Born and trained in India, with an 18-month stint in England, Dr. Chokshi has been with Interfaith Medical Center for nearly his entire medical career. Joining one of Interfaith Medical Center's predecessor hospitals, Jewish Hospital and Medical Center of Brooklyn, or ``Brooklyn Jewish'' in the summer of 1978 as an Intern in Internal Medicine. Dr. Chokshi has served in a variety of positions leading up to his being named the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

As head of Interfaith Medical Center's Cardiac Cath Lab since 1993, Dr. Chokshi has pioneered thoughtful and gentle cardiology care. In November 2004, Dr. Chokshi launched the City's first Walk-in-Walk-Out transradial cardiac catheterization program. Virtually painless and allowing the patient to go home to resume normal activity within an hour, Interfaith Medical Center's Walk-in-Walk-Out service involves inserting the catheter into the radial artery at the wrist for complete cardiac evaluation and even a peripheral angiogram can be done at the same time without the use of the femoral artery.

In addition to being a brilliant physician, Dr. Chokshi is an ardent student of the Bhagawad Gita, which inspired him to combine his devotion to the teachings of Lord Krishna with his cardiology expertise to help establish The Krishna Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, India. Since its opening in 2000, The Krishna Heart Institute has performed more than 4000 open heart surgeries and 25,000 other life-saving procedures.

Dr. Chokshi is married to Dr. Vandana Chokshi, a radiologist with a subspecialty in Nuclear Medicine and Chief of both Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Interfaith Medical Center. Drs. Atul and Vandana Chokshi have a daughter, Krishna.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize the accomplishments and selfless service of Dr. Chokshi as he offers his talents and philanthropic services for the betterment of our local and national communities.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Chokshi has continuously demonstrated a level of altruistic dedication that makes this kind gentleman and master scientist most worthy of our recognition today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Eugene R. McGrath, a distinguished member of the business community.

Mr. Speaker, Eugene R. McGrath is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Edison, Inc., the holding company; and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of its largest subsidiary, Con Edison of New York, the regulated utility. It behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding leader and I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing his impressive accomplishments.

Mr. McGrath joined Con Edison of New York as an engineer following college graduation in 1963. He eventually held key executive positions in the utility's major operating and customer service areas and managed fossil-fired and nuclear generating plants. He was elected Vice President in 1978, Executive Vice President in 1982, and President and Chief Operating Officer in 1989. He became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in September 1990.

Mr. McGrath serves on the board of directors of many organizations that advance economic development, human services, culture and education. He is chairman of the Union Square Partnership; director of AEGIS Insurance Services, Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, Barnard College, the Business Council of New York State, the Fresh Air Fund, the Hudson River Foundation for Science and Environmental Research, Inc., Manhattan College, the Partnership for New York City, Schering- Plough Corporation, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Development Advisory Council for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.

Within the energy industry, Mr. McGrath is a director of the Edison Electric Institute and a member of the Energy committee of the New York Building Congress.

A native New Yorker, Mr. McGrath earned a mechanical engineering degree from Manhattan College in 1963, a Masters in Business Administration from Iowa College in 1980 and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1989.

Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $10 billion in annual revenues and $24 billion in assets, provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers. Its subsidiaries include Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., Con Edison Solutions, Con Edison Energy, Con Edison Development, and Con Edison Communications.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize the accomplishments and selfless service of Eugene R. McGrath, as he is more than worthy of our recognition today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Bernard B. Beal, a distinguished member of the business community. It behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding leader and hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing his impressive accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, Bernard B. Beal is Chief Executive Officer of M.R. Beal & Company, a nationally recognized investment banking firm. Mr. Beal founded the minority-owned firm in 1988 following a successful career in municipal and corporate finance at Shearson Lehman Hutton. The oldest continuously operating African-American investment bank in the United States, the firm offers investment banking, financial advisory and broker-dealer services to municipalities, state governments and numerous corporations in the telecommunications, media, technology, energy and financial services industries.

M.R. Beal & Company is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Sacramento, Chicago, Dallas, Baltimore, New Orleans and Washington, DC. Through the end of 2004, the firm has co-managed municipal financings exceeding $450 billion, senior-managed over $7 billion and has served as an underwriter in over 3,200 municipal transactions. For the past decade, M.R. Beal & Company has been ranked as one of the top twenty underwriters of municipal securities nationwide. In addition, the firm has consistently been a member of the Black Enterprise 100 List and was named BE's Finance Company of the Year in June of 2001.

Mr. Beal serves on several boards. He is the Chairman of the A Better Chance Foundation whose mission is to increase the number of well- educated minority youth capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. Mr. Beal serves on the Municipal Executive Committee of the Bond Market Association and is a Trustee of the National Foundation for Affordable Housing.

Mr. Beal has received numerous professional and civic awards. He has the distinction of being one of only three people listed on both the Black Enterprise list of the 25 Hottest Blacks on Wall Street in 1992 and the Top 50 Blacks on Wall Street in 2003.

A graduate of Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Mr. Beal also received a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the Stanford University School of Business. He was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Sacred Heart University.

Mr. Beal is married to Valerie Lancaster Beal and is the proud father of two children, Michael, a senior at Harvard University and Erica, a senior at Horace Mann High School.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize the accomplishments of Bernard B. Beal as he offers his talents and philanthropic services for the betterment of our local and national communities.

Mr. Speaker, Bernard B. Beal's selfless service has continuously demonstrated a level of altruistic dedication that makes him most worthy of our recognition today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a member of the Brooklyn community and distinguished member of the healthcare profession, Dr. Atul B. Chokshi. It is an honor to represent Dr. Chokshi in the House of Representatives and it behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding leader in American Medicine.

Mr. Speaker, on Dr. Atul B. Chokshi's resume he states that his life's goals are to ``be as complete a cardiologist as possible'' and ``to be as nice and loving a human being as possible.'' To the thousands of people of the Interfaith Medical Center community who have been touched by Dr. Chokshi's gentleness and caring nature, he has already met his life's goals.

Born and trained in India, with an 18-month stint in England, Dr. Chokshi has been with Interfaith Medical Center for nearly his entire medical career. Joining one of Interfaith Medical Center's predecessor hospitals, Jewish Hospital and Medical Center of Brooklyn, or ``Brooklyn Jewish'' in the summer of 1978 as an Intern in Internal Medicine. Dr. Chokshi has served in a variety of positions leading up to his being named the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

As head of lnterfaith Medical Center's Cardiac Cath Lab since 1993, Dr. Chokshi has pioneered thoughtful and gentle cardiology care. In November 2004, Dr. Chokshi launched the City's first Walk-in-Walk-out transradial cardiac catheterization program. Virtually painless and allowing the patient to go home to resume normal activity within an hour, Interfaith Medical Center's Walk-in-Walk-out service involves inserting the catheter into the radial artery at the wrist for complete cardiac evaluation and even a peripheral angiogram can be done at the same time without the use of the femoral artery.

In addition to being a brilliant physician, Dr. Chokshi is an ardent student of the Bhagawad Gita, which inspired him to combine his devotion to the teachings of Lord Krishna with his cardiology expertise to help establish The Krishna Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, India. Since its opening in 2000, The Krishna Heart Institute has performed more than 4,000 open heart surgeries and 25,000 other life-saving procedures.

Dr. Chokshi is married to Dr. Vandana Chokshi, a radiologist with a subspecialty in Nuclear Medicine and Chief of both Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Interfaith Medical Center. Drs. Atul and Vandana Chokshi have a daughter, Krishna.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize the accomplishments and selfless service of Dr. Chokshi as he offers his talents and philanthropic services for the betterment of our local and national communities.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Chokshi has continuously demonstrated a level of altruistic dedication

that makes this kind gentleman and master scientist most worthy of our recognition today.

Mr. Speaker, over $1.6 trillion is spent on health care annually in the U.S., which is over 13% of the GDP. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, U.S. health care spending increased to $1.7 trillion in 2003 and was projected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2004. Furthermore, our country spent 15.3% of the GDP on health care in 2003 and a projected increase of 18.7% is expected within the next 10 years.

Even though the U.S. spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, and those countries provide universal health coverage to all of their citizens, approximately 45 million Americans are uninsured. Nevertheless, the U.S. remains the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee health care for all of its citizens.

Clearly, universal health care is needed for all American citizens and a universal health care plan is certainly in the best economic interest of our country.

When one considers that health care spending accounted for only 9.7% of the GDP in our sister nation Canada, it becomes apparent that we are not best managing our resources and serving the interest of our Nation as a whole.

As members of Congress we are entrusted with the responsibility of protecting and advancing the Nation's health. It is a given that health care costs are rising for all American citizens. Let us not deceive ourselves. We are all interconnected as human beings and the health status of one impacts the health status of all regardless of one's ability to pay for health services or not.

Disease, especially communicable and infectious, has no boundaries. The current health disparities and unnecessary suffering experienced by vulnerable populations such as the poor, elderly, uninsured, women and children and racial and ethnic minorities is outright immoral. It is a national disgrace and international embarrassment that America, a country with astounding wealth and means, chooses not to provide universal health care to her citizens while her sister country Canada does so for her citizens, as does the country of Cuba whose wealth is not even comparable to that of the U.S. and other industrialized nations.

I urge Congress today to fully assume its responsibility as the defender of our Nation's health, and exercise its political will and sincerely work towards the implementation of a universal health care system and guarantee universal health care as a right for all American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-Hui to Washington, DC this week.

President Lee was born on January 15, 1923, in Sanchih, a rural community on the outskirts of Taipei. After graduating from Taipei High School, he was admitted into Kyoto Imperial University in Japan. After World War II, he returned home to continue his studies at National Taiwan University (NTU) , majoring in agricultural economics.

After being elected vice president in 1984, he helped engineer various political and economic reforms. On the sudden death of President Chiang Ching-kuo on January 13, 1988, Dr. Lee became President and completed the remainder of Chiang's. During his 2 years in office he greatly impressed the people of Taiwan with his able leadership. And, on March 21, 1990, Dr. Lee was elected in his own right by the National Assembly as president of Taiwan.

President Lee Teng-hui can rightfully called the founding father of Taiwan's democratic system. ``The George Washington of Taiwan.''

At the age of 82 today, he still seeks to learn and educate himself about our American democracy. He visited the National Archives to see the Constitution and the U.S. Declaration of Independence. He received a tour at the Jefferson Memorial; no doubt prompted by the fact that he himself stood at the cradle of democracy in Taiwan.

Mr. Speaker: We have an opportunity to meet with President Lee in person this Wednesday afternoon. I urge all my colleagues to participate in this historic occasion and join me in welcoming President Lee to Washington, DC.

We need more friends like President Lee. Yes, we need more friends like Taiwan.

I hope that soon all restrictions on high-level visits from Taiwan will be lifted including the President, the vice-President, the foreign minister and the defense minister. So that a balanced understanding of both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be directly available to Congress, the Administration and the American public.

After President Lee's visit, I look forward to welcoming Taiwan's current President--Mr. Chen Shui-bian--to Washington, DC as well. Sooner rather than later.

Mr. Speaker, recently, the Council of Khalistan issued an open letter in which it called for all Sikhs to work for independence for Khalistan. The letter cites abuses against the Sikh Nation such as the torture of Jagtar Singh Hawara, who had a cigarette forced into his mouth in contravention of a Sikh religious tenet and was forced to desecrate the Sikh holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. This shows that there is no freedom and no tolerance for religious minorities in Hindu-dominated India. And unfortunately, whichever party is in power, the imposition of Hindu theocracy continues. The latest atrocities have occurred under the secular Congress Party, not the openly Hindu nationalist BJP.

It is outrageous that such atrocities against human beings are still occurring in the twenty-first century, Mr. Speaker. The civilized nations of the world must step in to put a stop to this tyrannical brutality.

We must do whatever we can to help all people live in freedom. We can start by ending our aid and our trade with India and by publicly demanding a free and fair vote to settle the question of independence for Khalistan and all the nations of South Asia the democratic way. Separating from India appears to be the only way that the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan, the Muslims of Kashmir, the Christians of Nagaland, and so many other minority groups will ever have a chance to live in the freedom that is their birthright as human beings.

I would like to introduce the Council of Khalistan's open letter into the Record for the information of my colleagues. It goes into much more detail than I am able to go into here. I urge my colleagues to read it carefully.

Council of Khalistan,

Washington, DC, October 12, 2005.

All Sikhs Must Work for the Liberation of Khalistan

Dear Khalsa Ji: WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI