LONDON, UK—Last week, the Sikh Federation (UK) organized an event in the UK Parliament to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the attack on Sri Harmander Sahib (the Golden Temple). In anticipation of the event, an Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled in relation to the 30th anniversary, calling for an independent public judge-led inquiry.
EDM 79 by UK Members of Parliament (MPs) expresses ‘condolences to the families and friends of all those who were killed and injured in this massacre’ and condemns the ‘desecration of the holiest site of the Sikh religion.’
The motion continues by calling on David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, to ‘establish an independent public judge-led inquiry into the involvement of the UK government of the time in the events leading up to the attack, the attack itself and the subsequent abuse of human rights in the Punjab by the Indian army and police.’
It continues by calling for the ‘release of all documents, reports and materials, especially those relating to the advice provided by the UK to the Indian government and military, and the dialogue between UK government Ministers and officials and Indian government Ministers and officials.’
Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK), said:
The EDM keeps up the pressure from MPs on David Cameron. We now have around 160 UK politicians backing an independent public inquiry and are most grateful for their support in our search for the truth.
To date, the call has been for an independent public inquiry into the events leading up to and subsequent to 1984, but the latest motion is now also referring to subsequent abuse of human rights in the Punjab by the Indian army and police.
We have drawn up plans up to the May 2015 General election for the Sikh community up and down the country to challenge as many existing MPs as possible, as well as their main opponents, to clarify their stance on an independent public inquiry and our search for the truth.
This year we will be organising events at the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences in Manchester and Birmingham respectively in the middle and end of September, so that politicians are left in no doubt that this is an issue that cannot be ignored. We are also considering an event at the UKIP conference in late September in Doncaster.
The wording of EDM 79 is below:
That this House commemorates with deep sadness the 30th anniversary of the attack in June 1984 by Indian armed forces on the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple at Amritsar; expresses its condolences to the families and friends of all those who were killed and injured in this massacre and condemns this desecration of the holiest site of the Sikh religion; calls on the Prime Minister to establish an independent public judge-led inquiry into the involvement of the UK Government of the time in the events leading up to the attack, the attack itself and the subsequent abuse of human rights in the Punjab by the Indian army and police, including the release of all documents, reports and materials, especially those relating to the advice provided by the UK to the Indian government and military and the dialogue between UK Government Ministers and officials and Indian government ministers and officials.
Gurjeet Singh, National Press Secretary Sikh Federation (UK)
