New York/ Chandigarh (October 29, 2013): It is learnt that around 1 million (ten lakh) persons have already signed the Sikh Genocide 1984 Petition. The shall be submitted to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in Geneva by various Sikh and human rights organizations on November 1, 2013 which marks the 29th anniversary of the genocide of Sikhs in November 1984.
As per information many people are still signing it online in around 30 countries across the globe. Meanwhile, Karnail Singh Peermohammad, president of All India Sikh Students Federation (Peermohammad) had issued an appeal to those who have not yet put their signature on the petition, to immediately sign the petition.
The petition that is titled as “1984: Yes, It’s Genocide” will be filed before the UN human rights body under 1503 procedure of the United Nations. US-based human rights and advocacy group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), initiated the petition last year in association with All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF).
SFJ legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said, “[u]nder 1503 procedure, UNHRC refers the petition to the sub-commission on the promotion and protection of human rights, which examines complaints regarding gross human rights violations and impunity. Even in the case of November 1984, when innocent Sikhs were not just massacred, they were also denied justice subsequently and the perpetrators were honoured with high positions in the government.”
“We started getting signatures from May 2012 and Akal Takht jathedar issued an appeal to Sikhs to gather maximum signs for the petition. Since then, special camps were held at all the five Sikh Takhts in India and several historical gurdwaras to get the signatures,” said AISSF president Karnail Singh Peermohamad.
“As the Sikh diaspora is also playing important role in getting signatures for the petition to seek justice for the hapless victims, camps were organized in Gurdwaras in various countries for the purpose and awareness campaigns were also run through social media,” Pannun and Peermohamad reportedly said.
AISSF chief said the campaign spread to 30 countries, including US, Canada, UK, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Malaysia and Singapore among others.
Sikh genocide survivor Bibi Jagdish Kaur, whose husband and other family members were massacred during Sikh genocide 1984, said: “Sheer number of signatures on the petition suggest how the community was having a strong feeling that it was being perpetually denied justice by the successive governments of India”.
Read this news in Punjabi/Gurmukhi: ਸਿੱਖ ਨਸਲਕੁਸ਼ੀ 1984 ਪਟੀਸ਼ਨ ਉੱਤੇ 10 ਲੱਖ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਧ ਦਸਤਖਤ ਦਰਜ਼ ਹੋਏ; ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਕਾਂ ਨੇ ਦਸਤਖਤੀ ਮੁਹਿੰਮ ਜਾਰੀ ਰੱਖਣ ਦੀ ਅਪੀਲ ਕੀਤੀ