24-03-2011, issue
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24-03-2011, issueTRANSCRIPT
Tel: 905-670-1522, Fax: 416-661-7273 Vol.8 , No. 1069 Thursday, March 24, 2011 11 Chetah, Nanaksahi Calendar 543
A case of Defamation of the Canadian SikhsSukhminder Singh Hansra
The Sikh Working Group has called it's third pub-
lic meeting for Saturday March 26th 2011 to
discuss the ongoing absurd comments by
some caucus members of the Liberal party
of Canada. Though this has been going on
for many years but last year at the Nagar
Kirtan in Surrey BC, an organizer made
some comments on a local radio show that
the organizers have not officially in-
vited Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh, MP and Mr. Dave
Hayer MPP to the parade. The spokesperson
of the event went on to say that though they
can attend the parade, the organizers will
not be responsible for their security.
Publicly removing any liability for their
safety or well being.
In response to this radio statement, objec-
tionable statements were made by Mr. Dosanjh,
provoking the CBC and others to broadcast
negative reporting and the infamous CBC
documentary “Samosa Politics”, for which CBC
is facing law suits in the Ontario Superior Court.
The Sikh Working Group took on the task
of organizing these town hall meetings all over
Canada, meeting with the leaders of the Sikh
community and also inviting Liberal Party
members to these meetings.
The first of such meetings took place in
Brampton in September 2010, where the grit
veteran Hon. Joe Volpe and Liberal chair for
multiculturalism Rob Oliphant, both MP's from
GTA heard from dozens members of the Sikh
community how extremely disturbed the commu-
nity is by these comments made by Mr. Dosanjh
and others.
The second meeting took place in Surrey
BC. both meetings, Brampton and Surrey where
very well attended, drawing huge crowds.
Then, the leader of the Liberal party of
Canada Michael Ignatieff met with the
Sikh Working Group to ease their cam-
paign. According to Manohar Singh Bal,
member of the Sikh Working group, Mr.
Ignatieff acknowledged the problem and
assured them that no member of his cau-
cus will repeat such comments in fu-
ture. A Photo was also taken at the
meeting which was later published by
Punjabi Daily newspaper.
Soon after the meeting, Mr Ujjal
Dosanjh made some very disturbing, very similar,
rather much stronger comments to reiterate his
previous statements. When contacted, his office
replied “ Mr. Dosanjh is not talking about the
Sikhs at all; only about some Khalistanis.
Mr.Dosanjh has no further comments.”
Cont...pg 11
Public meeting!!
Ujjal Dosanjh Michael Ignatieff Rob Oliphant
Courageous Journalism02 March 24, 2011
The martyrdom of Sohan Singh in Police custodyHuman Rights and India!!!
Amnesty slams‘arbitrary’ arrestsGovt Using PSA As Parallel
Criminal Justice SystemARIF SHAFI WANI WASIMKHALID
Srinagar Mar 21: Calling for an
imme¬diate end to arbitrary arrests and re-
peal of the controversial Public Safety Act
(PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir,
interna¬tional human rights watchdog-
Amnesty International on Monday said the
state government has been using PSA to
create a parallel or informal criminal justice sys-
tem. The Amnesty said that 20,000 persons in the
state have been detained under PSA over the past
two decades and recommended to the Government
to carry out an impartial probe into the alleged
abuses against the detainees and their families.
The global human rights body asked the Govern-
ment of India to extend invi¬tations and facilitate
the visits of the UN special rapporteur on torture
and the Working Group on arbitrary detentions to
the Valley.
“Jammu and Kashmir authorities are using
PSA detentions as a revolving door to
(Cont..to page no 7)
16th March 2011 I visited Amritsar
and a village close by Varpal, where
S. Sohan Singh lived with his wife
Bibi Bhupinder Kaur and his chil-
dren. This was his home for several
years and he and his family lived
with his mother in law Bibi Jasbir
Kaur. Some years ago Sohan Singh
had suffered from a very bad leg in-
jury in a motorcycle accident in Jul-
landhar, as a result of which the
orthopedic surgeon had inserted a
steel rod into his injured left leg. He
was lame and a handicapped person.
His brother Gurbinder Singh had
been killed by the Police at village
Maniarawala in the Patti area of Am-
ritsar district earlier in the 1990's.
Sohan Singh and his family have
been true Sikh patriots who have sac-
rificed their lives to gain a hon-
ourable place under the sun for the
Sikh nation, which is stateless and
under Hindu rule at present.
In the press, especially The Trib-
une it was written that Sohan Singh
had traveled to Pakistan many a
time. But he had gone to Pakistan
legally with a passport every time.
When the press and THIS (Theo-
cratic Hindu Indian State) state that
a Sikh has gone to Pakistan on a pil-
grimage it is assumed by the Hindu
state that he has gone there to carry
out some nefarious activities against
THIS (Theocratic Hindu Indian
State). This is a misconception of the
Hindu mind and its press and media,
because half of the Sikh religion, its
history, culture, language lie in this
Islamic state which was bifurcated
by the British in 1947 at the behest
of Hindu leaders M.K. Gandhi, J.L.
Nehru etc. and a Muslim leader
Muhammad Ali Jinnah and became
a separate country - Islamic Pakistan.
The Panjab province, which is the
homeland of the Sikh's, was cut into
two, one half going to Pakistan and
the other half to THIS (Theocratic
Hindu Indian State). At that period
the Sikh's suffered the worst ethnic
cleansing known to history. The bor-
der that divides the two Panjab's is
known as the Radcliffe Line and on
our side of the border THIS (Theo-
cratic Hindu Indian State) has con-
structed a nine foot tall barbed wire
fencing much like the infamous
Berlin Wall which runs 540 kms on
this Line. The para-military force
BSF guard this fence twenty-four
hours of the day shooting to death,
no questions asked if a person is
found wandering along the fence. To
buttress the BSF, THIS's (Theocratic
Hindu Indian State's) Army forms
the second line of defence,
with the Panjab Police rein-
forcing the vigilance on this
hateful division of the two
Panjab's. To spy on the border
lest the BSF, Army and Pan-
jab Police connive with in-
truders from Pakistan THIS's
(Theocratic Hindu Indian
State's) ace intelligence agen-
cies RAW and IB keep a
hawks eye along with the
Panjab CID over the fence
and the activities of the forces
deployed on this fence lest
they connive with the intrud-
ers. THIS's (Theocratic Hindu
Indian State's) Air Force car-
ries out surveillance sorties
and above it are the satellites
systems bought from Israel
that can pick up a rat's image
that may cross this impreg-
nable border.
It is alleged by THIS
(Theocratic Hindu Indian
State) that Pakistan and Afghanistan
send in RDX, arms and munitions,
heroin, opium and smack. How this
is possible without the connivance of
THIS's (Theocratic Hindu Indian
State's) BSF, Army, IB, RAW and
Panjab's CID, only the Union gov-
ernment and the state government of
Panjab can tell us. What is the re-
sponsibility and accountability of the
Union government and the state gov-
ernment in not allowing such goods
into the Panjab through this barbed
wire fencing, is never questioned by
the Hindu press or its media or the
Opposition in Parliament or the State
Assembly? Yet the Sikh's are blamed
by the Hindu state, its press and
media for having connived with Pak-
istan in bringing in these contra-
bands? What good would it do to the
(Cont..to page no 8)
Simranjit Singh MannPresident SaromaniAkali Dal (Amritsar)
March 24, 2011 03 Courageous Journalism
India is in violation of Geneva Convention in their treatment of the citizens of occupied KashmirHabib Yousafzai
At the time of the fight for
freedom of India, the reverse was
true, the Sikhs, Kashmiris, Muslims,
Dalits, Christians, non-Hindus and
Hindus who were fighting for the lib-
eration of India from British occupa-
tion were considered to be fighting
for a just cause. After winning inde-
pendence from British rule, soon
after they began to feel that they have
been trapped in another kind of oc-
cupation. The Indian National con-
gress leadership failed to fulfill their
promises made with all minorities in
order to win their support before in-
dependence. Now, these nations are
fighting for their freedom, how can
one call them terrorists? This was
the responsibility of the occupying
Indian government to provide the se-
curity of life to the oppressed. Since
1947, India has occupied Kashmir;
atrocities have been committed
against innocent Kashmiris, Pundits
and Sikhs. It was their responsibility
because they are the ones who are
controlling the territory.
Chairman of Hurriyat Con-
ference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani
on March 12, 2011 addressing the
session ‘Kashmir - What next’ said
“soon after the partition, Muslims of
Jammu were asked to assemble at a
particular place, according to eyewit-
ness accounts, over five lakhs Mus-
lims were massacred according to a
conspiracy to make Jammu a Muslim
minority region.” He further stressed
that “Even India’s Home Minister (P
Chidambaram) has termed Kashmir
an issue of broken promises. The lin-
gering of the Kashmir dispute has
hampered the development of India
which is the biggest purchaser of
arms. Nearly one lakh people in
Delhi are home-
less and 25 crore
people in India
live below the
poverty line.
Kashmiris want
freedom from
India's forcible oc-
cupation. It is high
time for India to
fulfill its broken
promises and give
right to self-deter-
mination under the
supervision of UN
to Kashmiris. This
is the only amica-
ble and viable so-
lution to resolve
the dispute”, he
said. India has
posted over
700,000 armed
soldiers in the oc-
cupied territory
but has failed to
suppress the free-
dom movement
because the people
despise them. The
Indian govern-
ment was commit-
ting atrocities and
is still committing
them at the present
time just like an
occupied force. In their tenure, the
following people were abducted by
the forces and killed, H. N. Wanchoo,
Dr. Abdul Ahad Guru, Dr. Farooq
Ashai and noted human rights ac-
tivist Jalil Andrabi and Pir Hisam-ud-
Din. There are so many other names
that can be added to this list that were
abducted and killed by Indian forces.
(Cont.. to page no 7)
Highlights
Around 20,000 persons detained in two decades
under PSA
PSA used as revolving door to keep people
behind bars
Hundreds of people held each year on spurious
grounds
Detainees exposed to high degrees of torture,
ill treatment
PSA is arbitrary and abusive, undermines rule of law
PSA provides immunity from prosecution of
officials operating under it
322 persons detained under PSA from January to
September 201
JK Govt must repeal PSA, amend Juvenile Act
Screening Committees are ineffective executive
bodies
State disrespecting courts, DCs are rubber stamps
Security agencies resorting to wanton arrests to meet
targets
GOI must allow UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detentions to visit Valley
GOI should facilitate extradition of Major
Avtar Singh
Who cares if the liberals and NDPare not happy with this Conservativebudget? Is this Liberal or an NDPbugged? Obviously it is a verymuch Conservative budget. If so;then let Conservatives put their heartand soul in it. The tragedy of any mi-nority government always getsstranded on mouse s` head when itcomes to its policy balancing and itsapplication. Budget of a governingparty in such a punch gets alwayssour. If the anchoring rests with thesupport of the op-position that doesnot mean it is aninfiltration of the opposition. Oppo-sition in the Parliament is always afailed party that lost its mendate ofthe people I believe it is a failedparty that tells you how to fail. Theopposition joined Conservatives tokeep the government running as theyfailed themselves to keep their ownmajority.$278.7 is allocated to be spent thisyear 2011. Out of this; $33 billiongoes for old debt payment. 400 mil-lion to be spent on efficient EcoEn-ergy Retrofit home program for ayear; is prefabricated program whichhas its roots in NDP policy mat-ters.Gauranteed Income supplementraise of the seniors of $600 and for
couplet $840 is in the offings. Newfamily Caregiver Tax Credit willgive $300 for the care giver. An im-itative to the rural area health work-ers of $40,000 loan reduction for thedoctors and $20,000 for the nurses isgood initiative for rural health im-provement.Keeping in view the immigrant qual-ified doctors, nurses, all medical re-lated staff, engineers, accountantswho re foreign trained their qualifi-cation will be recognized and will
get equalopportuni-ties to be
treated. Moreover if in certain casesthey need to get their qualificationupgraded all expenses will be borneby the Government. These are someof the incentives given to makeCanada productive in labor force.Of course; their are lots of NDP is-sues on budget yet to woo Jack Lay-ton to the yes vote lots of his policymatters have been incorporated inthe budget; yet he says it is notenough. Nor does it make liberals abit happy to keep the government inthe saddle. The mute point is; whatis going to be the next step forwardfor the opposition after dislodgingConservatives. Obviously election inin summer. Leaving aside the NDP
Courageous Journalism04 March 24, 2011
Dr. Solomon Naz - 416-661-7272+3
Budget the other side of the Coin“Opposition is always a failed party that tells you how to fail”
Summons served to Congress (I)New York- Congress (I) has been“SERVED” with the “SUMMONS”issued on March 1, 2011 by U.S. Dis-trict Court for the Southern Districtof New York for conspiring, aiding,abetting and carrying out organizedattacks on Sikh population of Indiain November 1984.
The service of summons onCongress (I) starts the 21 deadline forCongress (I) to respond to the classaction law suit filed (SFJ v. Congress(I) SDNY (10 CV 2940)) under AlienTort Claims Act (ATCA) and TortureVictim Protection Act (TVPA). Thecase against Congress (I) has beenfiled by “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ) a
US based human rights group alongwith several Sikh individuals fromdifferent states and cities of Indiawho witnessed and survived attacksin November 1984.
According to attorney Gur-patwant Singh Pannun, legal advisorto “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ), “if theCongress party did not respond to thesummons of the US Federal Court byApril 1, 2011, SFJ will ask the courtto enter a default against Congress(I)”. The default judgment againstCongress (I) will give the victims ofNovember 1984 an opportunity toseek compensatory and punitivedamages from Congress (I) for theparty’s role in genocidal attack onSikhs during November 1984.
The default judgment againstCongress (I) will pave the way forfiling criminal complaints againstCongress (I) leadership under vari-ous int`l laws for violation of humanrights and committing Genocide ofSikhs in November 1984. In US,criminal prosecution of Congress (I)leadership will be sought under the“Human Rights Enforcement Act of2009” which specifically gives juris-diction to the US Courts to prosecuteforeign nationals who are suspectedof committing crimes against human-ity.
As per the Government ofIndia’s record a total of 3296 Sikhswere killed during November 1984throughout India. However, out of35,535 claims for deaths and injuriesreceived throughout India, more than20,000 claims were as many as 14states of India.
1984 Sikh Genocide Case
who will not be in a position to forma government in next years to come;liberals are in a bad shape under theleadership of Ignatiuf. They are not ina position to win enough seats to forma government. If this is the positionafter next election, will there be another minority government again!Clearly it shows that both major Par-ties who talk about the care and con-cern of the Canadians; will send downthe drain millions of dollars of thetaxpayer for this dirty game of elec-tioneering. Who stands for the gov-ernment and for the people is anobvious question for each one of theus. For the opposition; of course theyare not happy with this budget, buthow much enough is enough is verybody’s` guess. The only thing that wecan say at this point is; If the Conser-vative government fall this FRIDAYmark your calendar date for the firstweek of May 2011 for election.
05 March 24, 2011 Courageous Journalism
by Dr. Amarjeet SinghAccording to an Amnesty Interna-
tional press statement, released day
before yesterday (on March 21,
2011), the Indian occupation author-
ities in the state of Jammu and Kash-
mir are holding hundreds of
Kashmiris each year, without charge
or trial, in order to ‘keep them out of
circulation’. (>h t t p : / / w w w . a m
n e s t y u s a . o r g /
d o c u m e n t . p h p ? i d = E N G -
PRE201103212242& lang=e ) This
is a repeat of a draconian Neo-Nazi
crime-against-humanity India’s
morally repugnant rulers have con-
tinued to practice for decades, to per-
petuate their corrupt rule in Indian
occupied Sikh-majority Punjab and
in the unhappy Christian-majority
areas of Eastern India – both areas
wanting freedom from the morally
repugnant Brahmin/Bania dominated
Indian rule which replaced the
British Colonial rule in August 1947.
The Amnesty International Press
statement documents how the Public
Safety Act (PSA) is used to secure
the long-term detention of individu-
als against whom there is insufficient
evidence for a trial.
Estimates of the number de-
tained in Indian Occupied Kashmir
under the Public Safety Act (PSA)
‘over the past two decades range
from 8,000- 20,000, with 322 report-
edly held from January to September
2010 alone’. The Amnesty Interna-
tional report, quoting Sam Zarifi,
Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific
Director, has accused the Indian oc-
cupation authorities, in disputed
Jammu and Kashmir, of ‘using PSA
detentions as a revolving door’ to
keep people they can’t or won’t con-
vict, through proper legal channels,
locked up and out of the way. Hun-
dreds of people are being held each
year on spurious grounds, with many
exposed to higher risk of torture and
other forms of ill-treatment. De-
tainees include political leaders and
activists, suspected members or sup-
porters of armed opposition groups,
lawyers, journalists and protesters,
including children and women.
Often, they are initially picked up for
‘unofficial’ interrogation, during
which time they have no access to a
lawyer or their
families.
Over the past decade there has been
a marked decrease in the overall
numbers of members of armed
groups operating in Jammu and
Kashmir but, in the last five years,
there has been a resurgence of street
protests. Quoting Sam Zarifi,
Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific
Director, the Amnesty International
Press Release reports that, “Despite
this apparent shift in the nature of the
unrest, Jammu and Kashmir authori-
ties continue to rely on the draconian
Public Safety Act rather than at-
tempting to charge and try those sus-
pected of committing criminal acts.
The Public Safety Act undermines
the rule of law and reinforces deeply
held perceptions that police and se-
curity forces are above the law.
Amnesty International research
shows how the implementation of the
PSA is often arbitrary and abusive,
with many of those being held hav-
ing committed no recognizably crim-
inal acts.
Despite the fact that the In-
dian Supreme Court has described
the Public Safety Act and Public ad-
ministrative detention, as a ‘lawless
law’, those held under the PSA can
face up to two years in detention. But
the Jammu and Kashmir authorities
consistently thwart High Court or-
ders for the release of improperly de-
tained individuals by issuing
successive detention orders. Many
detainees are thus trapped in a cycle
of detention and remain, in the words
of one high-ranking Jammu and
Kashmir official, ‘out of circulation’.
To make matters worst the Public
Safety Act provides immunity from
prosecution for officials operating
under it’s ‘umbrella’.
Says Sam Zarifi that, “those
being held have no access to legal
representation and cannot challenge
their detention in any meaningful
way. Once released, they cannot seek
any redress or compensation for the
wrongful detention they have en-
dured and virtually never receive jus-
tice for the torture and ill-treatment.”
Amnesty International ac-
knowledges the right of Indian occu-
pation authorities to defend and
protect the population from violence,
but, this must be done while respect-
ing the human rights of all concerned
and abiding by international law.
Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific
Director Sam Zarifi is quoted in the
Amnesty International Press Release
as saying that, “the use of adminis-
trative detention does not conform to
international human rights legal ob-
ligations and agreements that the In-
dian government is a party to. The
Indian government must ensure that
Jammu and Kashmir authorities re-
peal the draconian Public Safety Act
and end the odious system of admin-
istration detention once and for all.”
Amnesty International, according to
the Press Statement has called on the
Government of Jammu and
Kashmir to:
• Repeal the PSA (>
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/in
fo/ASA20/ 001/2011/en <) Public
Safety Act and end the system of ad-
ministrative detention, releasing all
detainees or charging those suspected
of committing criminal acts with rec-
ognized offences and trying them
fairly in a court of law
• End illegal detentions and
introduce safeguards ensuring those
detained are charged promptly, have
access to relatives, legal council and
medical examinations and are held in
recognized detention facilities pend-
ing trial
Amnesty International also
called on the Government of Jammu
and Kashmir and the Indian Govern-
ment to:
• Carry out an independent,
impartial and comprehensive inves-
tigation into allegations of abuses
against detainees and their families,
including allegations of torture and
other ill-treatment, denial of visits
and medical care, making its findings
public and holding those responsible
to account.
• Invite and support visits of
UN officials, including the UN’s
Special Rapporteur on Torture and
the Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention.
In an amazing coincidence, if
one was to believe the Chandigrah-
based English language newspaper
report, by its Srinagar correspondent
Tejinder Singh Sodhi, the United
States Ambassador to India, Timothy
J Roemer, during a two-days visit to
Indian occupied Srinagar (>
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/2
0110319/j&k.htm#1 <) on 18 March,
2011, has, in a virtual snub to sepa-
ratists in the state, said that, “he met
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah only,
as he was the elected representative
of the people”.
The U.S. Ambassador is re-
ported to have retorted, (when asked
whether he would meet separatist
leaders in Kashmir also) that, “This
is my second visit to Jammu
and Kashmir....
The purpose of the visit is
that he (Chief Minister) is the elected
leader.
The Chief Minister is the per-
son who represents the people in
Jammu and Kashmir.”
‘Kashmiri Quizling’ Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah some
elected leader and some representa-
tive of the people of Kashmir !
Amnesty International calls for repeal of The dra-conian Public Safety Act in Indian Occupied Kashmir
06 March 24, 2011 Courageous Journalism
Opposition will support Liberal non-confidence motion
Liberal Party will move non-confidence motionNational and Local News
Canadian jet fighters bombLibyan supply depot
Canadian CF-18 Hornets flew into action Tuesday night,shelling a Libyan ammunition depot during the military'sfirst bombing missions in the country.
Four of the fighter-jets, supported by two air-to-air refueling aircraft, conducted two separate bombingruns last night and this morning, the air force confirmedWednesday. The first overnight attack took placeovernight near Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, locatedeast of Tripoli. Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, the deputy chiefof air staff, told an Ottawa briefing that four laser-guidedbombs were dropped on the depot, but no information isavailable on the second attack or any damage inflicted.
These attacks, during the third day of Canadianmissions, were the first by Canadian aircraft in the UN-sponsored campaign to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.
On Tuesday, two Canadian fighter jets took partin a mission but returned to base without attacking theirtarget because the risk of "collateral damage was toogreat." Lawson said the risk in that mission was not re-lated to any threat to the CF-18s, but rather potential dam-age to civilians or important infrastructure such ashospitals, on the ground. He added that the decision wasin compliance with the rules of engagement that NATOforces have been given, and proves "the system works."
Canada working alongside their counterparts fromFrance, the U.K. and U.S., has deployed a total of six CF-18s and the two CC-150 air-to-air refueling planes to theLibya mission, as well as approximately 140 supportingforces personnel from CFB Bagotville in Quebec.
Ottawa has also sent 25 additional personnel toNaples, Italy, to help co-ordinate the mission -- bringingCanada's total military contribution to more than 400 people.
OTTAWA – With the Harper govern-ment facing a contempt vote in Par-liament, Liberal Leader MichaelIgnatieff gave notice today that hewill be moving a non-confidencemotion against the government.
“Liberals can no longer sup-port a government that misleadsCanadians, breaks the rules andweakens our democracy,” said Mr.Ignatieff. “The Conservative govern-ment has misled the House and allCanadians by hiding the details oftheir core spending priorities fromParliament – and it means we can’t
trust their budget numbers.”The Liberal motion being
placed on the Order Paper today fora vote in the House on Friday states:
That the House agrees withthe finding of the Standing Commit-tee on Procedure and House Affairsthat the Government is in contemptof Parliament, which is unprece-dented in Canadian Parliamentaryhistory, and consequently, the Househas lost confidence in the Government. “Stephen Harper mustbe held accountable for a pattern ofabuse of power, attacks on democ-
racy, and contempt for Parliamentand the Canadian people,” said Mr.Ignatieff. Mr. Harper’s inner-circlefaces charges, with potential jailtime, for breaking election laws, aswell as two RCMP investigations forinfluence peddling and withholdinginformation. Mr. Harper also shutdown Parliament twice, supported a$500,000 gag order for the formerIntegrity Commissioner, and de-fended a Minister who forged docu-ments and misled Parliament.
“The Conservative budgethas no credibility, since they con-
tinue to hide the costs of their biggestspending priorities. How can anyprogressive MP support a govern-ment that ignores Canadian familiesand instead ‘stays the course’ on $6billion in tax breaks for large corpo-rations, a $30-billion untenderedstealth fighter deal and $13 billionfor U.S.-style mega-prisons?
“The Liberal Party will standup to Stephen Harper and tell himthat he doesn’t make the rules, Cana-dians do, and it’s not the ‘HarperGovernment’ it’s the Government ofCanada,” concluded Mr. Ignatieff.
The New Democrat and Bloc Quebe-cois leaders said Wednesday theywould support a Liberal non-confi-dence motion to bring down the gov-ernment, if it were put to a vote.
One day earlier all three lead-
ers signalled their intention to rejectthe federal budget after it was un-veiled by Finance Minister Jim Fla-herty. Liberal Leader MichaelIgnatieff said he is ready to introducea motion of non-confidence against
the government on Wednesday and todebate it on Friday.
He cited accusations of con-tempt of Parliament, election fraudand influence peddling against theConservatives. "We have a responsi-
bility to say quite clearly that thisgovernment has lost the confidence ofthe House of Commons," Ignatiefftold reporters on Wednesday. "Thisgovernment has lost the confidence of Canadians."
Dhalla Discussed BudgetBrampton/Sp Bureau: As the weather inOttawa changed from politically workingtogether to working against, the members ofall parties started their outreach in full gear.That was exactly what Dr. Ruby Dhalla wasdoing when she hosted a virtual townhallmeeting with residents of Brampton-Spring-
dale to discuss the recent parliamentary budgetput forth in the House of Commons.
Using the latest technology, thousandsof constituents were connected by phone andhad the opportunity to discuss the budget,share their thoughts and ask questions aboutthe budget. In addition many constituents dis-cussed their views on the issues of jobs, edu-cation, and healthcare. Media was notinformed of the meeting.
“The virtual town hall was a greatopportunity to connect with residents on issuesthey are concerned about. Many of the partic-ipants expressed their frustration with thepriorities of the Conservative government anddisappointment at the fact that the budget didnot provide support for seniors and families,”
said Dhalla.Dr. Dhalla will not be
supporting the Conserva-tive budget as it does noth-ing to strengthen publicpensions, ignores childcare and early learning forchildren and does nothingto invest in our healthcaresystem.
“No progressive MPwho was elected to fightfor Canadian families cansupport a budget which ig-nores the needs of hard-working families. The
budget is an unfocused document which hasfailed to address long term challenges like thegrowing deficit of $56 billion dollars. My pri-ority is to fight for Brampton families andtheir needs,” said Dr. Dhalla.
On Wednesday night Dr. Dhalla tookpart in a panel discussion during Power Playwhere she criticized Conservative for catego-rized Brampton-Springdale as a ethnic riding.She said they all Canadians.
Courageous Journalism March 24, 2011 07
Amnesty slams ‘arbitrary’ arrestskeep people they cannot or won’t
convict through proper legal channels
locked up and out of circulation. We
have estimated the number of people
detained under PSA over the past two
decade ranges from 8000 to 20,000
with 322 reportedly held from Janu-
ary to Sep¬tember 2010 alone,”
Amnesty Interna¬tional South Asia
member, Bikramjeet Batra told re-
porters while releasing here the 70
page report, ‘Lawless Law, Deten-
tions under the Jammu and Kash¬mir
Public Safety Act’
He was flanked by Ramesh
Gopalakrishnan and South Asia Di-
rector Amnesty International Madhu
Malhotra. The AI team said they met
the Home Secretary GK Pillai and
impressed upon him to release the
PSA detainees in Kashmir. “He (Pil-
lai) told us that Home Ministry had
instructed the State Government to re-
lease the detainees booked under
PSA. However, he told us that the
State Government has its own set of
law and order problems. So the onus
to release the detainees solely lies
with the State Government” Batra
said. Incidentally, the PSA allows the
police to detain a person up to two
years without charge or trial if he or
she is deemed a “threat” to the state.
The report documents how the PSA is
used to secure the long term detention
of individuals against whom there is
insufficient evidence for a trial. It also
reveals how the law “violates India’s
international human rights obliga-
tions”. Besides, the report also pro-
vides evidence of the ways in which
administrative detention under the
PSA “con¬tinues to be used in the
state to detain individuals for years at
a time, without trial, depriving them
of human rights protections otherwise
applicable in Indian law”.
The report is based on a re-
search conducted by an Amnesty In-
ternational team during a visit to
Srinagar in May 2010 and subsequent
analysis of government and legal doc-
uments relating to over 600 individu-
als detained under
the PSA between
2003 and 2010.
“Hundreds
of people are being
held each year on
spurious ground
with many ex-
posed to higher
risks of torture and
other forms of ill
treatment,” Batra
said. The report
shows that de-
tainees under PSA
include political
leaders, activists,
suspected mem-
bers or supporters
of armed opposition groups, lawyers,
journalists and protesters, including
children. It read that often they are
picked for ‘unofficial’ interrogation,
during which they have no access to
a lawyer or their families.
The team said the cases stud-
ied by the Amnesty International in-
dicate the authorities in JK have used
the PSA to create a parallel or infor-
mal criminal justice system.
“The cases studied by us indi-
cate that the authorities in J&K have
used the PSA to create a parallel or in-
formal criminal justice system—by-
passing the regular criminal justice
system to secure the long-term deten-
tion without trial of individuals de-
priving them of human rights
pro¬tection otherwise applicable in
Indian law.” The Amnesty teams also
said that the PSA was even slapped
against the street protesters.
Despite an apparent shift in
the nature of unrest, Jammu and
Kashmir authorities continue to rely
on the PSA rather than attempting to
charge and try those suspected of
committing criminal acts,” said Batra.
“The PSA undermines the rule of law
and reinforces deeply held percep-
tions that police and security forces
are above the law.
--------------
India is in violation of Geneva Convention in theirtreatment of the citizens of occupied Kashmir
In the16th session of the UN: human rights council,
room xxii briefing on human rights of deprived minori-
ties, 9th march, 2011, a 17 year old Aneesa Nabi ap-
pealed to the United Nations Security Council to locate
her abducted father. She addressed a seminar at Palais
de Nations describing the gory details of how Indian
soldiers killed her mother and severely injured her tod-
dler younger brother. Diplomats pledged to contact the
Indian government to help locate her father if alive. I
would like to quote the Hon. Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, who said in the House of Representatives
of the United States, "As far as the Kashmiris, Sikhs,
Muslims and other non-Hindu minorities are con-
cerned, India is a Nazi Germany to them." The fact of
the matter is the Indian government has failed to win
the hearts and minds of the Kashmiri nation.
As a matter of fact, the India Government is in
violation of the Geneva Convention because they have
failed to perform their duties as an occupant.The inter-
national agreement formulated in 1864 at Geneva, es-
tablishing a code treatment of the sick or wounded,
prisoners and security of life and safety of the op-
pressed nation. There are now four Geneva Conven-
tions, which were drawn up in 1949. And all of them
have now been accepted by virtually every state includ-
ing India.
08 March 24, 2011 Courageous Journalism
The martyrdom of Sohan Singh in Police custodySikh nation we are never
told? Do we want our
children and our young to be-
come drug addicts? It is only
a colonial power that intro-
duces drugs amongst its en-
slaved populace so that it can
never awaken from its
colonised status to freedom.
The Sikh's enjoy the status of
an enslaved people
since 1947.
As I have said earlier the
press and media especially
The Tribune had created a
hysteria about Sohan Singh's
arrest on 7th March 2011
about his association with
Pakistan. We knew then that
the Hindu state was preparing
the ground for the elimination
of Sohan Singh. In fact Sohan
Singh had been arrested from
his home in village Varpal on
3rd March 2011 and was kept
in illegal custody of the State
Special Operation Cell
(SSOC) Amritsar which func-
tioned under the stewardship
of Assistant Inspector Gen-
eral of Police S. Manwinder
Singh. Sohan Singh was bru-
tally tortured during his ille-
gal custody in this
interrogation centre where
hardly anyone comes out
alive or without injuries that
last a lifetime through inhu-
man torture. On 7th March
2011 Sohan Singh was shown
as legally arrested and the Ju-
dicial Magistrate without
having sent Sohan Singh for
a medical examination re-
manded him to this brutal
State Special Operation Cell
(SSOC) custody on a nine
day police remand. Finally S.
Manwinder Singh, known for
inflicting unbearable torture
had got his prey. Thereafter, I
was informed by his family
that a hot iron (the one used
for ironing clothes) was used
on his arms and after his
death his family saw these
marks on his arms. He had a
wound on his neck. The steel
rod that was inserted into his
left leg by the orthopedic sur-
geon had come out and S.
Manwinder Singh claimed
that Sohan Singh had hung
himself from a ceiling fan in
his cell. On 11th March 2011
Sohan Singh's wife Bhupin-
der Kaur along with the
Sarpanch (village elected
headman) was allowed to see
and meet Sohan Singh. Bibi
Bhupinder Kaur informed me
that Sohan Singh could not
stand up, as he had been bru-
tally tortured. It confounds
me how a person who could
not even stand up to meet his
wife and his village Sarpanch
could hang himself from a
ceiling fan which was hung
from a height of eight foot
high ceiling of his cell? There
was no stool or a chair in his
cell on which he could have
stood to put a noose around
his neck and hang the ends of
the noose to the ceiling fan.
Dangerous under trial prison-
ers of the Police when put in
a cell are guarded day and
night by a sentry at the cells
iron gate. Why didn't the sen-
try on guard duty see the
preparations of Sohan Singh
when he was preparing to
hang himself? Obviously
these are all cock and bull
stories put out by Mr. Man-
winder Singh AIG and his no-
torious State Special
Operation Cell (SSOC) to
save their skins after murder-
ing this innocent Sikh while
in police and their custody.
Between 7th March 2011
and before the custodial mur-
der of Sohan Singh on 14th
March 2011, Bibi Bhupinder
Kaur, his wife informed me
that she had received a call
from Inspector Nirmal Singh
of State Special Operation
Cell (SSOC) on her cell
phone threatening her that
she should not engage a
lawyer. However, Article 22
of THIS's (Theocratic Hindu
Indian State's) Constitution
declares that no person who
is arrested shall be detained in
custody without being in-
formed of the grounds of
such arrest and he shall not be
denied the right to consult
and defend himself by a legal
practitioner of his choice.
And that she should not tell
anybody about her husband's
police custody or seek any-
one's help. He further told
her, "asi aap hi bhugta de-
vange," which in the Panjabi
colloquial language means
that they (the Police) will dis-
pose (eliminate) him off. All
these acts of Inspector Nirmal
Singh are against the Consti-
tution of THIS (Theocratic
Hindu Indian State) and
the law.
When I was sitting with
Sohan Singh's family, his
brother in law (sister's hus-
band) S. Harbans Singh
Sandhu walked in, coming
from Amritsar where he re-
sides in Partap Nagar. He told
me that in May 2010 the Po-
lice of Amritsar had raided
the house of Sohan Singh in
Swiss city of Amritsar which
was nearing completion but
had all the kitchen utensils, a
frigidaire and other house-
hold goods, all of which were
taken away and no re-
spectable witness of the local-
ity was called, which is
incumbent on the police as
per law. No list of the seized
household goods was ever
made. In a nutshell this was
an illegal search. Then S.
Harbans Singh
Sandhu told me
that his house in
Partap Nagar
Amritsar was
also raided and
searched by the
Amritsar police
in the last week
of May of 2010.
Again no re-
spectable wit-
ness of the
locality was
called or associ-
ated with the
search. This too
an illegality of
the police.
From all
that I have seen
and enquired I
can only con-
clude that
Sohan Singh
HAD IT COM-
ING. It was pre-
planned that the
dog must be
given a bad
name and
hanged. Over a
million Sikh's
since 1982 have
met such a fate.
THIS (Theo-
cratic Hindu Indian State) has
committed the genocide of
the Sikh race with impunity.
No Sikh leader has cried out
against this barbaric torturous
and brutal death of Sohan
Singh in police custody. Why
should they? Did Norway's
imposed ruler by Nazi Ger-
many Vidukin Quisling or the
Vichy regime's head in
France Marshall Patean ever
complain against the rail
wagon loads of prisoners they
sent into the Nazi death
camps? Amongst the Sikh's
we have our Quislings that is
S. Parkash Singh Badal, Cap-
tain Amrinder Singh, S. Surjit
Singh Barnala, Ms. Rajinder
Kaur Bhattal, S. Sukhbir
Singh Badal, S. Avtar Singh
Makker, S. Bikramjit Singh
Majithia etc. all collaborators
of the Hindu state that don't
mind extra judicial killings of
the Sikh's. Rather they wel-
come them, lest some Sikh
may challenge their ascen-
dancy to political power in
THIS (Theocratic Hindu In-
dian State). They are our
Quisling's, Patean's and Ju-
danrat's.
Having read into the Sikh
psyche over a long period of
time, I am of the opinion that
the extra judicial death of
Sohan Singh may prove to be
the last straw on the camel's
back as the torturous death
caused by Deputy Superin-
tendent of Police Giani Gur-
bachan Singh of a Sikh
patriot Kulwant Singh
Nagoke was in the 1980's
after which Sikh's began to
hit back at the state and
formed a resistance move-
ment.
If the Hindu state
handles this case adroitly and
wisely, turbulence in the Pan-
jab and the Sikh mind may be
halted for the time being but
there is no telling when the
volcano in Sikh may begin
to erupt.
March 24, 2011 09 Courageous Journalism
OTTAWA – Prime Minis-
ter Stephen Harper today
tabled in Parliament the
Eighteenth Annual Re-
port to the Prime Minister
on the Public Service of
Canada from the Clerk of
the Privy Council, Secre-
tary to the Cabinet and
Head of the Public Serv-
ice, Wayne G.
Wouters.“We are com-
mitted to maintaining a
high-performing Public
Service that meets the
needs of Canadians and
promotes their interests at
home and abroad,” said
Prime Minister Harper.
“This report shows solid
progress towards ensur-
ing our Government im-
proves its performance,
and has the people, pro-
grams and resources to
address current and fu-
ture needs.” The Clerk’s
report highlights the ac-
complishments of the
Public Service over the
past year including its im-
plementation of our Gov-
ernment’s Economic
Action Plan, support for
greater security and de-
velopment in Afghanistan
and support for the suc-
cessful G-8 and G-20
summits. The report re-
asserts the Clerk’s com-
mitment to public service
renewal and outlines a
number of key priorities
for 2011 including engag-
ing employees in the ex-
cellence agenda, and
renewing the workplace
and workforce.
PM tables the Eighteenth AnnualReport to the Prime Minister on
the Public Service of Canada
Minister Kenney Issues Statement Recognizing Pakistan Day OTTAWA, ON-
TARIO--- The
H o n o u r a b l e
Jason Kenney,
Minister of Citi-
zenship, Immi-
gration and
Multiculturalism,
issued the follow-
ing statement rec-
ognizing Pakistan
Day:
"I want to extend
warm wishes to all
Canadians of Pak-
istani descent who
today are celebrating
Pakistan Day.
"Pakistan Day com-
memorates two crucial
events along the road
to Pakistani nation-
hood: the passage of
the Lahore Resolution
in 1940, which led
seven years later to the
formation of a sepa-
rate homeland for the
Muslims of the South
Asian subcontinent,
and the adoption of
the first constitution of
Pakistan in 1956.
"Canada enjoys a
strong relationship
with Pakistan. That re-
lationship is rooted in
the nearly 125,000
Canadians of Pak-
istani heritage living
in Canada. For over a
century, members of
the Pakistani commu-
nity have enriched
Canada with their
skills, their knowl-
edge, and their talent.
And as Pakistan is one
of our top source
countries for perma-
nent residents, Pak-
istani-Canadians will
continue to play an
important role in
building this country
in the 21st century.
"Across the country
today, Canadians of
Pakistani descent will
be celebrating the day
with family and
friends, and the wider
community. I wish
everyone a happy and
festive Pakistan Day.
"And as you cele-
brate, I hope all
Pakistani-Canadi-
ans - and Canadians
who care about Pak-
istan - will also take
a moment to re-
member Shahbaz
Bhatti. Shahbaz
Bhatti was the first
and only Christian
minister in the Pak-
istani government. He
worked tirelessly to
protect religious and
ethnic minorities in
Pakistan. His public
condemnation of his
country's blasphemy
laws cost him his life
when he was slain by
assassins on March
2nd.
"On this Pakistan Day,
I believe it is impor-
tant that we all re-
member the life and
legacy of my friend
Shahbaz Bhatti."
Liberals vow to bring down Harper governmentOTTAWA—The Lib-
erals will move to
bring down the Harper
government on Friday
with a non-confidence
motion that slams the
Conservatives for con-
tempt of Parliament.
“We believe the mo-
ment has come for
Canadians to make a
choice here,” Liberal
leader Michael Ignati-
eff announced in the
Commons foyer on
Wednesday.
“We’ve reached the
end of the road here.”
Ignatieff said the ballot
question in the coming
campaign to boil down
to trust — whether vot-
ers can trust Harper
with the economy or
democracy.
He said he particularly
looks forward to cam-
paigning against the
Conservatives’ $160-
million family-care
plan, which he called a
“knock-off” of the Lib-
erals’ more ambitious
— and expensive —
$1-billion proposal.
It’s possible that the
government could fall
on budget vote before
the Liberals get to
move their motion.
Liberals are putting it
forward nonetheless,
following on a
Speaker’s ruling and
committee hearings
earlier this month into
the government’s treat-
ment of
Parliament.The non-
confidence motion
states: “That the House
agrees with the finding
of the Standing Com-
mittee on Procedure
and House Affairs that
the Government is in
contempt of Parlia-
ment, which is un-
precedented in
Canadian Parliamen-
tary history, and conse-
quently, the House has
lost confidence in the
Government.”
The Liberal leader said
it is “hilarious” that
Harper has portrayed
an election as danger-
ous or destabilizing,
given his own handling
of democratic ques-
tions in his five years
in power.
10 March 24, 2011 Courageous Journalism
When the Conservative
Government wants to stoke
an issue without taking
direct responsibility they
often resort to Private Members Bills.
Items that for one reason or another
are deemed too explosive or sensitive
to be pushed as official policy are
given to backbench MPs to push as
their own ideas but with the talking
points and media machinery provided
by the PMO. This gives the Govern-
ment just the right amount of distance
to at once embrace or reject the idea
based on how it’s received. They did
this with the long-gun registry and
they’re doing it with Bill C-623
which seeks to require voters to show
their face before being allowed to
vote. The law is targeted primarily at
Muslim women who wear face
coverings as part of their religion.
Let me start off by calling out
this bill for what it is: a shameless,
divisive piece of legislation that aims
to pit one group of Canadians against
another for political gain. The Con-
servatives first tried to pass this as a
Government Bill in the form of Bill
C-6 which was introduced prior to
the 2008 election and left to die when
Harper ordered the House dissolved.
Feeling the backlash from that debate
the Conservatives did nothing about
the issue for nearly 3 years before de-
ciding that a Private Members Bill
was the best way to leverage the bill’s
divisive power without burning
themselves again.
The reason for its return? For the
past few years the Province of Que-
bec has been gripped by an unpleas-
ant debate over the idea of
“reasonable accommodation”…the
underlying goal being to determine
the limits of social tolerance for other
people’s religious and cultural be-
liefs. This debate is also happening
in other parts of the country but it is
Quebec where it has achieved unpar-
alleled prominence and media atten-
tion. Conservatives of course are
constantly seeking to shore up their
support in the province, hence the
bill.
Bill C-623 is designed to fan the
flames of the reasonable accommo-
dation debate while targeting a spe-
cific group for the sole purpose of
making political hay. Never mind the
fact that using a photo ID to identify
oneself at the polls is only one of 3
options available to citizens who
come out to vote. For example you
can bring a hydro bill and library card
both with no photo and be allowed to
vote. How does seeing someone’s
face help to confirm their identity
when the only identification has no
pictures? Are we supposed to assume
that clever poll clerks will challenge
perspective voters by saying “you
can’t possibly be a Jasmine you look
more like a Mary,” of course not.
Given that it creates a special require-
ment for one group of people the bill
is unfair, impractical and frankly un-
necessary.
This bill seeks to solve a problem
that doesn’t exist; namely hordes of
electoral fraudsters dressing up in
burqas to game the system. Accord-
ing to Elections Canada out of the 14
million ballots cast in 2008, not one
person voted with a face covering. If
fraud were actually a concern then
the Conservatives would have looked
at tightening rules around mail-in
ballots where no identifica-
tion at all is required. Bet-
ter yet the Conservative
Party could also come
clean about allegations that were se-
rious enough for Elections Canada to
charge four party officials including
two Conservative Senators with elec-
toral fraud. Those are real docu-
mented charges as opposed to
imaginary schemes.
This is the worst kind of politics. In
trying to appeal to ignorance and fear
the Conservatives have betrayed the
trust given to them by Canadians.
We are not a country that seeks to
promote division or to vilify a certain
group, Canada is a place where all are
welcome and the rules apply evenly.
Lawmakers have a duty to respect
our constitutional democracy and
only put forward laws that are consis-
tent with the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
If C-623 is indeed a true private
members bill then I call on the Con-
servatives to denounce it immedi-
ately. Anything less serves as an
endorsement of these tactics which
would be a travesty not just for Mus-
lim women but indeed all Canadians.
Uncovering the Face of Fear
March 24, 2011 11 Courageous Journalism
1984 Riots: Life Term to a Man for Murdering FourA man was sentenced
today to life imprison-
ment for burning alive
four persons in
Trilokpuri area of East
Delhi during the 1984
anti-Sikh riots which
had broken out here fol-
lowing the assassination
of the then Prime Minis-
ter Indira Gandhi.
Additional Sessions
Judge P S Teji also im-
posed a fine of Rs
30,000 on convict Ma-
hesh saying the prose-
cution has established
that he was present in
the mob which had set
the house on fire result-
ing in four deaths on
November 3, 1984.
"The prosecution has
successfully established
on record beyond rea-
sonable doubt that the
accused was a member
of the unlawful assem-
bly at the time of com-
mission of the offence
and entered into the
house."
"Prosecution has also
successfully established
that after entering into
the house, being a mem-
ber of the unlawful as-
sembly, accused
Mahesh committed the
murder of the four per-
sons," the court said.
Mahesh was in the mob
which had entered com-
plainant Vidya Kaur's
house in block number-
13 at Trilokpuri on No-
vember 3, 1984, and
burnt alive her husband
Jaswant Singh, his
nephew Anokha Singh,
his friend Satnam Singh
and a neighbour Bhajan
Singh.The court relied
on testimonies of Vidya,
her two sons Surjeet
Singh and Kuldeep
Singh who had also wit-
nessed the killings.
"The presence of the
eye witnesses has not
been questioned by the
defence. Rather, the
case of the defence was
that Vidya became un-
conscious and was not
in a position to identify
whereas this fact has
been categorically de-
nied by Vidya."
"As a result, the prose-
cution has successfully
established the presence
of eye witnesses at the
spot of the incident," the
court noted.
Mahesh had contended
that he used to visit the
house of the com-
plainant to take liquor.
He said he was falsely
implicated in the case as
some altercations had
taken place between
him and Vidya's hus-
band.
The court, however, re-
jected Mahesh's con-
tention saying his pleas
were "contradictory".
"The defence taken by
the accused has been
false and contradictory
to his various other
pleas, particularly when
the circumstances of
presence of the accused
at the spot, presence of
eye witnesses at the spot
of riots and murder of
the deceased have been
established by the pros-
ecution by leading evi-
dence before the court,"
the ASJ said.
Mahesh was convicted
in the case for the sec-
ond time as the Delhi
High Court, on an ap-
peal by him against his
conviction earlier, had
remanded the matter
back to the trial court
with a direction to hear
it afresh.Mahesh was
convicted and sentenced
to life term earlier in
January 1997 in the case
along with one Balesh-
war who died later. Two
other accused Mange
Ram and Amir Khan
were acquitted during
the trial.
The First Information
Report in the case had
been registered on Jus-
tice Ranganath Mishra
Commission's recom-
mendations.
Following her failure in
getting registered the
case of her husband's
killing, Vidya had ap-
proached the Commis-
sion, and had told it in
affidavit that her hus-
band, who was working
with the DESU, and
others were attacked by
a mob of around 1,000
on the morning of No-
vember 3, 1984.
The mob had looted her
belongings and set her
house ablaze in which
four persons were burnt
alive, she had said in the
affidavit.
The eye witnesses had
deposed that Mahesh
had a knife in his hand.
Considering the deposi-
tion by eye witnesses as
"natural, reliable and
trustworthy", the court
convicted Mahesh say-
ing that "from the testi-
mony of the
complainant and other
eye witnesses, the pros-
ecution has successfully
established that Mahesh
actively participated in
riots on the day of the
incident."
Cont...from pg 1
The comments in question are:
“If they want Khalistan (inde-pendent Sikh Homeland), they won’tget it in India, they should buy land inAlberta and establish it there. Thenthey say I was joking, No I am notjoking!”
“Sikh extremism is on the risein Canada. Now they have trainedthe second and third generation. Theyare much more sophisticated, they aremuch more dangerous?”
In his speech, available on
You Tube, he talks about the unity of
India how his forefathers fought for it
and how he is willing to go to jail or
sacrifice his life for the unity of India,
yet suggesting to buy land and estab-
lish an independent Sikh Homeland
on Canadian soil.
One would ask the question
aren't these divisive comments con-
tradictory for the people of Canada.
Mr Ujjal's comments have been the
cause of serious concern and unrest
here at home in Canada.
This crusader of diplomacy is
calling all second and third genera-
tions of Sikh youth "extremists" , one
must ask him were Terry Fox, Pierre
Elliot Trudeau or the inventor of in-
sulin Frederick Banting all great
Canadians who fought for what they
believed in, while being protected by
the Canadian way of life, extremists.
Give me a break.
Perhaps Mr. Dosanjh also un-
derstands that his political career is at
a stalemate and he is relentlessly try-
ing to discredit hardworking Sikh in
Canada. NDP and Conservative de-
clined to comment.
According to sources close to
Sikh Working Group, on Saturday,
the group will seek public opinion to
pressure the Liberal party of Canada
to either take responsibility of what
being said is disturbing and defama-
tory or the group will lobby exten-
sively throughout Canada to bring
Liberals to realize their wrong doing.
With the smell of an Election
one must wonder, why is Mr. Ignatief
not intervening and correcting this
gross mismanagement and borderline
criminal act by one of his subordi-
nates.
Meeting is on Saturday 12 noonat Chandni Gateway in Brampton.
12 March 24, 2011 Courageous Journalism
Japan says no cut in Pakistan aid or trade despite disasterJapan will increase ties, cooperation and investment
Islamabad: Japan on Saturday said it
will continue to play role in develop-
ment of Pakistan and there will be no
cut in aid despite deadly earthquake and
tsunami.
Pakistan will not face any reduction in
developmental assistance and projects
funded by Japan will not be dropped or
rescheduled, said Kaoru Magosaki,
Head of Economic and Development
Section, Embassy of Japan.
The diplomat said that they will in-
crease ties and cooperation with Pak-
istan. Many companies will like to
invest here of security situation is little
improved, he underlined.Kaoru
Magosaki said this while talking to a delegation led
by Chairman FPCCI, Capital Office, Hameed
Akhtar Chadda, Chairman Media Malik Sohail,
and SVP Pharmaceuticals Tariq Mehmood who
visited embassy to express sympathetic grief over
disaster and loses in Japan.
He said that disasters will not stop us from support-
ing a friendly country like Pakistan.
Earlier, Chadda and Sohail said that Japan ii
world's third-largest economy and the fifth largest
donor of development aid. It has played significant
role in Pakistan's economic development.The situ-
ation in Japan has triggered fears in domestic mar-
ket as it is a great trading partner and supplier of
quality goods. Many critical sectors rely on Japan,
they added.Malik Sohail also expressed fear of an
expected drop in demand, exports and remittances
and its impact on local environment.
"Japan should take steps to balance trade and ac-
celerate transfer of technology to Pakistan and ease
visa related issues," he demanded.
He called upon business government and busi-
ness community to reach out to help the people
of Japan as they have always helped us in
need.
The FPCCI delegation also offered condo-
lences. “We share in the sorrow and grief of
the people of Japan and will try our level best
to help them. Japanese have the will and abil-
ity to overcome loses and emerge stronger,"
they wrote in the condolence book at the em-
bassy on the behalf of VP CACCI Tariq Say-
eed, VP Saarc CCI Iftikhar Ali Malik and
President FPCCI Senator Ghulam Ali.
The delegation lauded Japanese support in
construction of Kohat Tunnel, training insti-
tutes, flood warning system and rehabilitation of
Taunsa Barrage, improvement of health, education,
environment, irrigation, agricultural and industrial
development, disaster risk management, energy,
transportation and sanitation.Pakistan's main ex-
ports include textile yarn, woven fabrics, leather
and leather goods, sport goods, fish and fish prod-
ucts etc while it imports road vehicles, boilers, ma-
chinery, equipment, iron, steel, telecommunication,
organic chemicals, auto parts, vehicles etc.
Toronto, ON - “desiFEST” continues
making history, producing the first
ever South Asian showcase in associ-
ation with JunoFest. The South Asian
showcase takes place March 25th at
the Courthouse lounge in Toronto,
and is presented by Luv to Bhang.
Featured Canadian artists include rap
artist Blitzkrieg (a two time Asian
Music Award nominee and title
holder of 4 top ten singles on the BBC
Asian Network) ; R&B singer Deesha
(2007 JUNO Nominee for R&B/Soul
Recording of the Year with her debut album “Life Less Ordi-
nary”) ; and Pakistani folk
artist Ef-Khan. UK bhangra
superstars Juggy D and H-
Dhami, frequent collabora-
tors and tour mates with a
variety of South Asian
Canadian artists, will also
be joining Blitzkrieg, Dee-
sha and Ef-Khan.
“The JUNO’s celebrate the
best in Canadian music and
for desiFEST to be part-
nered with JunoFest for this
South Asian showcase is an
incredible step forward,”
says Sathish Bala, CEO and
Founder, desiFEST. “This
showcase is part of our de-
siFEST Concert Series,
aimed at showcasing the
growing talented musicians
within the South Asian com-
munity, and we hope to con-
tinue this new relationship with
JunoFest for many years to come.”
desiFEST Concert Series embodies a
musical fusion ranging from tradi-
tional eastern, modern western and
regionally inspired music. Bringing
alive the magic of live performances,
desiFEST prides itself on providing a
musical platform, which bridges bar-
riers, celebrates diversity, encourages
unity and instils a sense of Canadian
pride.
For more information visit
www.desifest.ca
March 24, 2011 13 Courageous Journalism
“desiFEST” SouthAsian Canadian Con-
cert Showcase in asso-ciation with JunoFest
WHAT: desiFEST concert series in
association with JunoFest
W H E R E : C O U R T H O U S E ,
Toronto, Ontario
WHEN: MARCH 25, 2011 (Doors
open @ 10 PM, Tickets $20)
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Raoul Juneja,
Lyrical Knockout Entertainment
416-988-5363
Though Dabangg di-
rector Abhinav Kashyap has
stated that actor Shah Rukh
Khan is not the reason he left
his launch pad, sources claim
otherwise. The director is ap-
parently spending most of his
time networking with King
Khan for his forthcoming film.
It is learned that the film-maker
is keen to launch a film with
Shah Rukh at exactly the same
time that he was slated to direct
the Dabangg sequel. Abhinav
apparently moved out of Da-
bangg with his team of assis-
tant directors. One of them,
Himanshu Mehra, is the co-
producer of his forthcoming
film.
"Abhinav had kept the Khan
brothers — Arbaaz and Salman
— in the dark about his plans
for his own film. He didn't
want to shoot the film at the al-
lotted dates. It then came to
light that he was having meet-
ings with Shah Rukh for an ac-
tion thriller. His friend Sunil
Vohra brought in a corporate
giant as the producer, and has
already had at least three meet-
ings to get Shah Rukh on
board. The actor's yet to fi-
nalise the project, and Abhinav
is eagerly waiting for the final
nod," informs a source,
adding that the film is tenta-
tively titled Project 18. How-
ever, an official from the
production house confirms that
the film is on even though Shah
Rukh has not signed on the dot-
ted line.
When contacted, Arbaaz said,
"The official reason that Abhi-
nav gave me was that the film
is being done too soon. But I
have to go ahead as soon as I
get the dates from Salman. I've
heard of talks of him having re-
ceived an SMS from us that
prompted him to break off, on
the contrary I was the one who
got the SMS of him not doing
the film."
But what of the fact that he
ditched Salman's film for
SRK? "Whether he ditched the
film for someone else's film is
a question that he can answer
best. For me, Abhinav is a
closed chapter! It's a good
thing that we had our differ-
ences now, and not when the
film was being made," says Ar-
baaz, who'll be making his di-
rectorial debut with the
D a b a n g g
sequel.
March 24, 2011 15 Courageous Journalism
Actor Preity Zinta is back in
the limelight and this time it is not for
her philanthropic work or for her
films, but for the constant buzz in her
love-life. She was recently spotted
with a phirang twice the same fort-
night leading to fresh speculations on
the new man (she was earlier linked
to cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Brett Lee,
hotelier Vikram Chatwal) in her life.
When asked, Priety says that
the speculative reports had her in
splits. In her characteristic outspoken
way, she says, "Am I not allowed to
go to a party with friends anymore
without being linked to someone? It's
absolutely ridiculous! Just because I
am single, people have been speculat-
ing and linking me with men I get
seen with. I am single, and I am to-
tally loving it."
So what about the phirang
man she was seen with at a recent
party? "Both men she was seen with
are friends and producers. She at-
tended an event with the French pro-
ducer in the morning along with
another friend, but no one seems to
notice that. Preity is in her element
and focusing on her career," a close
friend comes to the actor's defence.
After a two-year self-imposed
break, the actor is gearing up to get
back to films. And she finds it amus-
ing that her doing films is being
called a 'comeback'. "Was I ever gone,
for people to say that I am making a
comeback?" asks Preity adding, "I am
very much around. I just got busy
with my cricket team and went
abroad for a short business adminis-
tration course. I have not been seen in
films as I didn't
have the time to
sign any. Now,
you will see a lot
more of me. I have
been busy with my
reality show and am
kicked about it. I
have also been going
through a couple of
scripts so some excit-
ing announcements are
around the corner."
lovin' it!'
ONE KHAN FOR ANOTHER
'Single and…is actor Preity Zinta's new slo-gan. So, who was the mystery phi-
rang she was spotted with at arecent party?
The drama around the Dabangg sequel con-tinues... Buzz has it that film-maker Abhi-nav Kashyap is trying to get actor ShahRukh Khan for his next action thriller