Sikhs for Justice – Kamal Nath’s Presence in Belgium draws protest from Sikhs

Several hundred Sikhs gathered and protested in Leuven, Belgium in front of the Central Library where India’s Minister for Urban Development attended 5th EuroIndia Summit on Thursday. The protest rally was organized by Sikh organization of Europe including Sikh Council of Belgium and management committees of European Gurudwaras.

Sikhs who came from UK, Italy, Holland, Germany and other parts of Europe were protesting Nath’s presence in Belgium and demanding that Nath be criminally prosecuted under Belgium’s law for leading an attack on Gurudwara Rakab Ganj on November 1, 1984 in which many Sikhs were burnt alive. Nath’s action amounts to Genocide and Crime and Against Humanity and Belgium’s law provides for prosecution of these crimes in Belgium even when the crime is committed in another country.

According to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), since Belgian Government has not initiated criminal prosecution against Nath, SFJ will start the process of private prosecution against Nath in Belgian Court and will force the Belgian Government to take stand against Nath, a known human rights violator.

In spite of sufficient evidence of Nath’s involvement in the killing of Sikhs in November 1984, PM Singh’s government is letting Nath represent India abroad which undermines the claims of democracy by India. To invite the attention of the world towards apathy of India towards human rights violations and PM Singh’s silence on Nath’s role in the massacre of Sikhs, SFJ will hold a justice rally in Cannes, France on November 02, where PM Singh will be participating in G-20 Summit, added attorney Pannun.

In April 2010 the US Federal Court has issued summons under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) & Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) against Kamal Nath for his involvement in November 1984 massacre of Sikhs. The suit against Nath has been filed by victims of November 1984 and plaintiffs have asked for a “jury trial”.

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The Tribune – Punjab Regiment is 250 years old

Vijay Mohan/TNS

Chandigarh, October 14. As part of the 250 Raising Day Celebrations of the Punjab Regiment, a special commemorative stamp and a first day cover were released by President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhawan today. Defence Minister AK Antony, Chief of the Army Staff, Gen VK Singh and Colonel of the Punjab Regiment, Lt Gen KJS Oberoi, were also present on the occasion.

A host of other events and adventure activities are being undertaken to mark the occasion. These include a 1,156 km para-motor gliding expedition from Meerut to Ramgarh (Jharkhand) where the regimental centre is located and a cycle expedition from Ramgarh to New Delhi. The purpose of these expeditions is to display the regiment’s spirit of adventure and to connect with the masses in the hinterland, to motivate the youth and foster national solidarity.

The Punjab Regiment is the oldest Infantry regiment of the Indian Army and traces its origin to the later half of the 18th century. The ancestral units of the Punjab Regiment were formed out of the erstwhile Coastal Sepoys, which were later known as Carnatic Battalions and then Madras Battalions. In October 1761, the first battalions of the Punjab Regiment were raised. The designation of these battalions underwent several changes in subsequent years and later came to be known as 2nd Punjab Regiment and its recruitment was confined to areas of Punjab.

The First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, now part of the Army’s elite Special Forces, was a part of the Punjab Regiment, having been raised as the 8th Battalion Coast Sepoys in 1761 at Trichinopoly.

Its later redesignations included 67th Punjabis, 1/2nd Punjab Regiment and the 1st Battalion Punjab Regiment. In 1952 it was converted to 1 Para (Punjab) and later reorganised into a commando battalion.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111015/main6.htm

The Times of India – 1984 anti-Sikh riots: Hundreds of Sikhs against Kamal Nath in Belgium

P Singh

Jalandhar, 14 October 2011. Several hundred Sikhs protested in Leuven, Belgium in front of the Central Library where urban development minister Kamal Nath attended the 5th EuroIndia Summit on Thursday.

The protestors were demanding that Nath be prosecuted under Belgium’s law for his alleged role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. The protest rally was organized by Sikh organization of Europe, including Sikh Council of Belgium and management committees of European Gurudwaras.

Hundreds of Sikhs converged from UK, Italy, Holland, Germany and other parts of Europe to protest against him.

Human rights body ‘Sikhs For Justice’ (SFJ), which is also spearheading a legal battle against Nath in a US Federal Court, has announced that as Belgian government has not initiated criminal proceedings they would start a private prosecution against him in a Belgian court.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ said that through private prosecution they would force the Belgian government to take a stand against Nath.

Earlier SFJ had written to Belgian Prime Minister to deny entry to Nath and to initiate a criminal prosecution against him for his role in genocide. The Belgium’s law provides “extra territorial jurisdiction” to criminally prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity and genocide committed outside Belgium. “Belgium law of extra territorial jurisdiction does not provide immunity to any head of the states or dignitaries. Under this law, criminal prosecution was initiated against Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel for his role in the 1982 Sabra-Shatila massacre in Lebanon,” SFJ’s Pannun had argued. (TNN)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1984-anti-Sikh-riots-Hundreds-of-Sikhs-against-Kamal-Nath-in-Belgium/articleshow/10350273.cms

Pictures supplied by Sikhs for Justice

Belgium, Limburg, Sint-Truiden, No-car Sunday 18 September 2011

Once a year all cars are banned from the centres of most Flemish cities and towns
Some activities are organised on the day

Palwinder Kaur works for the ‘Stad Sint-Truiden’ and helps to organise the events
These are her younger sister and brother

Western clothes but clearly ‘visible Sikhs’

 Jumble Sale on the ‘Grote Markt’

Bands on the ‘Groenmarkt’

To see more Sint-Truiden pictures go to :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622046344528/

More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – India, Pakistan finalise draft for new visa regime

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 14. Officials of India and Pakistan today gave final touches to a bilateral visa agreement with a view to easing travel for the nationals of either country desiring to visit the other. The agreement was discussed at a two-day meeting of the joint working group (JWG) on visa matters held in New Delhi, which concluded this evening.

“The two sides finalised the draft text of the agreement, which will be submitted to the respective governments for obtaining necessary approvals in order to sign the agreement at an early date,’’ a joint statement said.

The meeting was held in pursuance of the decision taken during the India-Pakistan Home/ Interior Secretary level talks held in New Delhi on March 28-29. It was a follow-up on the deliberations held in the first meeting of the JWG in Islamabad on June 2-3.

The meeting commenced with remarks by Anil Goswami, Additional Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs.

Leader of the Pakistani delegation Nasar Hayat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Interior, made the opening remarks on behalf of his country.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111015/main5.htm

BBC News – ‘Haqqani commander killed’ in Pakistan drone strike

13 October 2011

A top Haqqani militant commander has been killed in a suspected US drone strike in the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan, officials say.

Janbaz Zadran “played a central role in helping the Haqqani network attack US and coalition targets” in Afghanistan, a US official told the BBC.

Pakistani officials say three other militants were killed in the raid.

Drone attacks frequently target Pakistan’s restive tribal areas, where many insurgents have taken shelter.

The US blames the Haqqanis for attacks including one on the US embassy and Nato in Kabul last month.

Escalation

In line with US policy, the official did not confirm reports earlier on Thursday that the killing was the result of a strike from an American-operated drone aircraft.

Janbaz Zadran, who the US says was also known as Jamil, was a key lieutenant to Badruddin Haqqani, one of the group’s commanders and a son of its founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Associated Press says.

Badruddin Haqqani is on a US state department blacklist. US officials designated him a terrorist in May.

Zadran is believed to have had access to Haqqani leaders in the town of Miran Shah in North Waziristan.

“His death in Miran Shah makes him the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield,” the official said.

Pakistani intelligence officials also confirmed the death of Zadran.

Another US drone attack on Thursday targeted a compound in South Waziristan, killing at least six suspected militants, Pakistani officials said.

The strikes come as the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, arrived in Islamabad in an effort to improve relations with Washington.

Drone attacks have escalated in the region since President Barack Obama took office in 2008. More than 100 raids were reported in the area last year.

A number of militants, some of them senior, have been killed in the raids, but many civilians have also died.

The US does not routinely confirm drone operations, but analysts say only American forces have the capacity to deploy such aircraft in the region.

Last month, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US was in the final stages of deciding whether to label the Pakistan-based Haqqani network a foreign terrorist organisation.

Relations between the US and Pakistan have been severely strained this year and worsened after the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil by US commandos in May.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15299871