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About 25,000 Sikhs from across the UK attended a rally in Trafalgar Square to mark an attack on their holiest shrine in India, organisers have said.
Earlier Sikhs marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square to commemorate the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, north India.
Indian armed forces stormed the holiest Sikh shrine 27 years ago to flush out militants from the temple premises.
Sikh leaders called for the right to self-determination at the rally.
The Sikh Federation UK, which organised the event, said people travelled to London in coaches to attend the Freedom Rally at Trafalgar Square.
Delegations also came from Europe for the event.
Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes spoke at the rally alongside leaders and prominent personalities from the Sikh community in the UK, Europe and India.
The 1984 attack on the temple complex - Operation Bluestar - had been personally approved by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to flush out militants who wanted an independent homeland of Khalistan.
There has never been agreement on the numbers killed, but Sikhs say thousands were massacred by Indian troops, many of them innocent bystanders.
Mrs Gandhi was assassinated four months later by her Sikh bodyguards. Following her death anti-Sikh rioting erupted in India which left about 3,000 Sikhs dead.
Events are also being held in Vancouver in Canada and in California to mark the 27th anniversary of the attack.
BC Sikhs Organize Vigils To Remember 1984 Massacres Of Sikhs
India refuses to ratify the Convention Against Torture and refuses to cooperate with international human rights groups, observes Virpal Singh, one of the event organizers. It is important for us as Canadians to speak up against the human rights abuses in India, and not allow the Indian government to quietly sweep such state-sanctioned atrocities under the carpet.
VANCOUVER Sikh youth from around BC are organizing events this week to commemorate the 27th anniversary of one of the most painful chapters in recent Sikh history the attack by the Indian Army on the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) Complex in June 1984. These events will not only honour the thousands of Sikhs who lost their lives during the attack, but will also highlight the struggles for justice that continues 27 years later.
In June 1984, and then in the November 1984 pogroms in New Delhi, Sikhs were murdered, tortured, raped, beaten, and burned alive, notes one of the event organizers. Many have heard the rhetoric, but they dont really know the history, and they dont know why those events are still relevant today or about the continuing struggle for justice.
The vigil will highlight the trauma of1984 experienced by the Sikhs and the government of Indias attempts to silence the memory of the horrifying acts that took place. The speakers at the events taking place this week will also discuss the ongoing impunity for those responsible for human rights abuses against the Sikhs and other minorities in the worlds largest democracy.
India refuses to ratify the Convention Against Torture and refuses to cooperate with international human rights groups, observes Virpal Singh, one of the event organizers. It is important for us as Canadians to speak up against the human rights abuses in India, and not allow the Indian government to quietly sweep such state-sanctioned atrocities under the carpet.
A number of prominent academics and human rights advocates will be speaking at the vigil and related events throughout the week. Elizabeth Johnson, of Grace Rwanda, was born in Rwanda and lived through the genocide in 1994. Her work includes developing public support for Grace Rwanda projects and speaking to groups across Canada to raise awareness about the Rwandan genocide.
Preeti Verma is currently the National Director of HRLN of India, a nationwide collective of lawyers and social activists that use the law as an instrument of social change, and provide access to justice for marginalized communities. She organized the Peoples Tribunal on the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and was also involved in organizing the international conference: Religion, International Human Rights and World Community: Prospects for New Approaches.
Don Wright is the Regional Development Coordinator, BC/Yukon, of Amnesty International. It is an independent and democratically-run organization. It is a global movement of over 3 million people committed to defending those who are denied justice and freedom.
BBC News - Sikhs rally in London over 1984 India temple attack
BC Sikhs Organize Vigils To Remember 1984 Massacres Of Sikhs | Link Newspaper
Earlier Sikhs marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square to commemorate the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, north India.
Indian armed forces stormed the holiest Sikh shrine 27 years ago to flush out militants from the temple premises.
Sikh leaders called for the right to self-determination at the rally.
The Sikh Federation UK, which organised the event, said people travelled to London in coaches to attend the Freedom Rally at Trafalgar Square.
Delegations also came from Europe for the event.
Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes spoke at the rally alongside leaders and prominent personalities from the Sikh community in the UK, Europe and India.
The 1984 attack on the temple complex - Operation Bluestar - had been personally approved by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to flush out militants who wanted an independent homeland of Khalistan.
There has never been agreement on the numbers killed, but Sikhs say thousands were massacred by Indian troops, many of them innocent bystanders.
Mrs Gandhi was assassinated four months later by her Sikh bodyguards. Following her death anti-Sikh rioting erupted in India which left about 3,000 Sikhs dead.
Events are also being held in Vancouver in Canada and in California to mark the 27th anniversary of the attack.
BC Sikhs Organize Vigils To Remember 1984 Massacres Of Sikhs
India refuses to ratify the Convention Against Torture and refuses to cooperate with international human rights groups, observes Virpal Singh, one of the event organizers. It is important for us as Canadians to speak up against the human rights abuses in India, and not allow the Indian government to quietly sweep such state-sanctioned atrocities under the carpet.
VANCOUVER Sikh youth from around BC are organizing events this week to commemorate the 27th anniversary of one of the most painful chapters in recent Sikh history the attack by the Indian Army on the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) Complex in June 1984. These events will not only honour the thousands of Sikhs who lost their lives during the attack, but will also highlight the struggles for justice that continues 27 years later.
In June 1984, and then in the November 1984 pogroms in New Delhi, Sikhs were murdered, tortured, raped, beaten, and burned alive, notes one of the event organizers. Many have heard the rhetoric, but they dont really know the history, and they dont know why those events are still relevant today or about the continuing struggle for justice.
The vigil will highlight the trauma of1984 experienced by the Sikhs and the government of Indias attempts to silence the memory of the horrifying acts that took place. The speakers at the events taking place this week will also discuss the ongoing impunity for those responsible for human rights abuses against the Sikhs and other minorities in the worlds largest democracy.
India refuses to ratify the Convention Against Torture and refuses to cooperate with international human rights groups, observes Virpal Singh, one of the event organizers. It is important for us as Canadians to speak up against the human rights abuses in India, and not allow the Indian government to quietly sweep such state-sanctioned atrocities under the carpet.
A number of prominent academics and human rights advocates will be speaking at the vigil and related events throughout the week. Elizabeth Johnson, of Grace Rwanda, was born in Rwanda and lived through the genocide in 1994. Her work includes developing public support for Grace Rwanda projects and speaking to groups across Canada to raise awareness about the Rwandan genocide.
Preeti Verma is currently the National Director of HRLN of India, a nationwide collective of lawyers and social activists that use the law as an instrument of social change, and provide access to justice for marginalized communities. She organized the Peoples Tribunal on the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and was also involved in organizing the international conference: Religion, International Human Rights and World Community: Prospects for New Approaches.
Don Wright is the Regional Development Coordinator, BC/Yukon, of Amnesty International. It is an independent and democratically-run organization. It is a global movement of over 3 million people committed to defending those who are denied justice and freedom.
BBC News - Sikhs rally in London over 1984 India temple attack
BC Sikhs Organize Vigils To Remember 1984 Massacres Of Sikhs | Link Newspaper
