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1984 Victims Had A Day in United Nations – Human Rights Officer With OHCHR Documents Testimony of Witnesses

November 8, 2014 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

New York, USA: For the first time in 30 years New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights afforded the 1984 victims an opportunity to present evidence on the Sikh Genocide. While hundreds of Sikhs from North America rallied outside the UN Headquarters, Human Rights Officer Stenfano Sensi of OHCHR recorded the testimony of the 1984 witnesses and received documentary evidence about the role of Congress leaders in killing of Sikhs.

The testimony about genocidal nature of 1984 anti Sikh violence was given by Gurdeep Kaur and Jasbir Singh, survivors of November 1984. Gurdeep Kaur, whose husband is on death bed since 1984 travelled from Ludhiana to give testimony before the United Nations Human Rights Commission Jasbir Singh who lost twenty six members of his family is a prime witness in Tytler’s case.

In two hour long session with the representative of OHCHR, survivors Gurdeep Kaur and Jasbir Singh gave account of how they witnessed Congress leaders leading death squads carrying voter lists, police and Delhi administration turning a blind eye on the broad day light killing of Sikh men and rape of Sikh women after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Witness Jasbir Singh, a resident of California testified how he saw Tytler rebuking his men for not killing enough Sikhs and guaranteeing protection if they killed more.

Rights group “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ), submitted a report titled “November 1984 Sikh Genocide” to the presiding Human Rights Officer Sensi for submission to Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The report carried details of the systematic, organized and deliberate killing of the Sikhs in 19 states of India, eyewash investigations by the successive governments, zero convictions and the failure of the Supreme Court to take cognizance of thousands of civilian deaths during the first week of November 1984.

Parts of the report carrying official records of Government of India showing more than 35,000 claims of life and property damages filed by victims of November 1984 was reviewed with particular interest by the presiding Human Rights Officer.

According to attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ, “First time in 30 years UN afforded an opportunity to the victims of November 1984 to present in person testimony and evidence to show that violence against Sikhs was genocidal in nature”. “The facts and evidence presented to the Human rights Commission proves that 1984 violence is Genocide as per article 2 of the Genocide Convention”, added attorney Pannun.

30 page report prepared by SFJ and AISSF concludes with a quotation from genocide scholar Dr. Gregory Stanton holding that “denial of Genocide is actually a continuation of the genocide because it is a continuing attempt to destroy the victim groups psychologically and culturally, to deny its members even the memory of their relatives….studies prove that single best predicator of future genocide is denial of past genocide coupled with impunity for its perpetrator”.

Putting a noose around the effigies of Bachchan, Kamal Nath, Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, Sikhs raised slogans demanded punishment for the perpetrators of 1984 Sikh Genocide. Friday’s Genocide Awareness Rally was organized by SFJ with the support management committees of Gurudwaras across America.

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Related Topics: 1984 Sikh Genocide, November 1984, Sikhs for Justice, United Nations

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