WSO asks Quebec Soccer Federation to review ruling on hijabs

WSO asks Quebec Soccer Federation to review ruling on hijabs

Human rights group asks Quebec Soccer Federation to review ruling on hijabs

Ottawa (June 21, 2011) --  The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is asking the Quebec Soccer Federation to review its decision to restrict players in community leagues from wearing the hijab and other religious headgear including turbans.

“Telling young people they cannot play soccer with their peers because they choose to practise their religion creates an atmosphere of intolerance and inequity.  Hijabs and turbans are worn and accepted in youth soccer leagues in every Canadian province and it has never been an issue elsewhere,” said Gian Singh Sandhu, the WSO’s policy advisor.

No other Canadian soccer league excludes players who wear articles of faith.

In a letter sent today the human rights groups reminded the Soccer Federation that both provincial and federal human rights laws protect freedom of religion. Embracing diversity is a well-established aspect of Canadian society.   

The WSO’s letter was prompted by reports that a Lac St. Louis referee Sarah Benkirane, 15, was told she could no longer referee games because she wears the hijab. The community soccer league has chosen to adopt rules established by the Zurich-based Federation Internationale de Football Association, which produces the $3.2 billion FIFAWorld Cup every four years.

In another case, the Lac St. Louis league also excluded Sagerpreet Singh, 14, from playing because the Sikh boy wears a turban, which they argue gives him an “unfair competitive advantage on headers.” It is unclear what the official means, as turbans do not cover a player’s forehead, which is the part of the head used in “head butts.”

The WSO is concerned about Canadian children being ruled by a body known for bigotry and bribes. On June 21 the New York Times reported that, “Step by step, FIFA is losing all credibility as the governing body of world soccer” due to the many corruption scandals surrounding the soccer organization. 

At the elite international level of sport, the Iranian women’s soccer team was disqualified from Olympic competition because the International Olympic Committee opted to harmonize their rules with FIFA, a decision that is still being challenged.

“FIFA is a self-serving body that represents the opposite of what we want our children to learn from sport. We don’t think most Canadians would appreciate an organization like FIFA setting standards for how their children should behave, which is why our laws specifically oppose the sort of rules FIFA embraces,”  Sandhu says.

WSO President Prem Singh Vinning echoed Mr. Sandhu’s view of the young players right to practice their faith.

“Accommodation of a religious headgear should be a non-issue in Canada.  It doesn’t pose any hardship on the rest of the community.  Soccer leagues and other sports are a way to build bridges and community.  Forbidding these young people from participating because of their religious headgear goes against the spirit of sportsmanship.”  

The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights for all individuals, irrespective of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and social and economic status.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Gian Singh Sandhu
Senior Policy Advisor
604-341-2755
gianssandhu@gmail.com

or

Balpreet Singh

Legal Counsel

416-904-9110

balpreetsingh@worldsikh.org

Sikh's in India

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Parmjit Singh Sekhon (Dakha)

Advisor – Council of Khalistan

Member - Punjabi Sahit Sabha

President – Dal Khalsa Alliance

Member – Bhai Ghanaiya Society

President – International Sikh Sabhiachar Society

510-774-5909

president@dalkhalsaalliance.org

Come clean on AFSPA: Apex Court to Centre

Come clean on AFSPA: Apex Court to Centre

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, June 16: Irked by the Centre’s diametrically diverse views on Army and paramilitary forces’ immunity from criminal prosecution in fake encounter killings, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the government to spell out its position on the controversial Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) and other laws.


“You cannot say that an Army man can enter any home commit a rape and say he enjoys immunity as it has been done in discharge of official duties,” the apex court remarked. The apex court made the remarks after senior counsel Ashok Bhan, appearing for the Centre, voiced divergent views on two separate encounter killings involving military personnel in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam.“How can you adopt diametrically different views?” the Bench said, to which Bhan admitted it was “compulsions of his professional duties.”In the aftermath of 2000 Chattisinghpora massacre in Jammu and Kashmir, when five youth were killed in an alleged fake encounter by Rashtriya Rifles personnel at Pathribal in Anantnag, Bhan sought prosecution of the armymen whereas in a similar alleged fake encounter by CRPF men in Assam, the counsel said they enjoyed immunity.


He urged the court to de-link the two issues and deal with them separately.However, the Bench said since “the issue involved vital questions of law relating to public”, the matter would be taken up for a detailed hearing immediately after vacation. The court asked the government to clearly spell out its stand on two issues: whether army and paramilitary personnel enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for any penal offence committed in discharge of their official duties including fake encounters and rapes vis-a-vis AFSPA, Section 197 CrPC and Section 17 of the CRPF Act.Should the investigating agency like CBI conduct a preliminary inquiry into such killings before registering an FIR against accused army and paramilitary personnel.

BACKGROUND


On the evening of 20 March 2000, unidentified gunmen entered Chattisinghpora village in Anantnag district killing 35 members of Sikh community there.Five days after the Chattisinghpora massacre army and Special Operations Group (SOG) of police killed five men at Pathribal, claiming that the victims were “foreign militants” responsible for the massacre of Sikhs. The bodies were buried separately without any post-mortem examination.Local observers and political activists doubted the government’s official reports, pointing out that if there had been a gunfight, some of troops would have sustained injuries - but none were injured. Over the following days, locals began to protest, claiming that the slain men were ordinary civilians who had been killed in a fake encounter.According to them, up to 17 men had been detained by the police and “disappeared” between March 21 and 24. On March 30, local authorities in Islamabad relented to the growing public pressure and agreed to exhume the bodies and conduct an investigation into the deaths.With no action being taken with regard to the promised investigation into the Pathribal deaths, the local population grew increasingly restless. On 3 April 2000, an estimated 4000 to 5000 protesters started marching to the Islamabad town, where they intended to present a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner demanding exhumation of bodies. When they reached Brakpora village, 3 KMs from Islamabad, the paramilitary CRPF men posted in a nearby camp and SOG personnel opened fire on the protesters killing seven and injuring at least 15 more, of whom two later succumbed to injuries.


On 5 April 2000, then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah ordered exhumation of bodies from Pathribal killings, which began the next day. DNA samples were collected from the five bodies as well as 15 relatives of the missing young men, and were submitted to forensic laboratories in Kolkata and Hyderabad. However, in March 2002 it was discovered that the DNA samples allegedly taken from the bodies of the Pathribal victims (all of whom were men) had been tampered with, when, according to a report from the Times of India, lab workers found that samples had in fact been collected from females. Fresh samples were collected in April 2002, which, upon testing, conclusively proved that the victims were innocent local civilians, and not foreign militants as government had been claiming for the past two years.


Meanwhile, the government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah ordered a judicial enquiry into Pathribal fake encounter case and Brakpora firing under Justice S R Pandian. What happened to the enquiry isn’t known till date.Later on, the Pathribal case was handed over to the CBI. In 2006, CBI found five army personnel guilty. The case is pending disposal in the Supreme Court.

A letter to the Prime Minister of Canada

A letter to the Prime Minister of Canada

to invite his immediate attention

The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper

The Prime Minister of Canada

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,

K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister,

On behalf of the Kashmir Diaspora Alliance, we would like to draw attention to grave humanitarian crisis in Internationally Disputed Area of the Indian occupied Kashmir (IDAJK). The Kashmir question remains one of the oldest, unresolved international problems in the world on the agenda of United Nations. Kashmir today a nuclear flash point and a root cause of poverty and wars in South Asia originated when India  on October 27, 1947 forcefully captured and occupied Kashmir and denied the promised right to Self-Determination as per basic principle of subcontinent division and several United Nations Security Council resolutions. This action divided its land and people by a cruel line of control like the Berlin wall consequently creating a great human crisis in this region and the biggest military occupation on the planet. With the passage of time, instead of finding out the will and aspiration of Kashmiri people through a plebiscite, India kept on cementing its illegal occupation through fraudulent accession and military suppression which changed this paradise on earth into a bleeding vale today usually referred to as the land of atrocities, brutalities and suffering around the world.

The atrocities committed by more than 700,000 Indian soldiers in a small area, virtually devoid of human rights, against the Kashmiri citizens cannot be forgotten. The Indian regime and its armed forces have killed more than 192,802 citizens, made 215,994 arrests, 110,117 individuals have disappeared, 115,782 homes demolished, leaving 122,792 widows and 207,335 orphans. Indian forces have been committing crimes such as rape, torture, and gross human rights violations of the innocent Kashmiris. These cruelties have been documented by international human rights organizations such as United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Educational Development, International Tribunal on Kashmir and many others.  The sad fact behind all of this is that nobody is there to listen to the agony of the Kashmiri people, despite India allegedly claiming to be a democracy, since last 64 years.

Instead of stopping the activities of its armed personnel, the Indian administration has entrenched itself into the lives of the Kashmiris.  Brutality of the army is disguised as defense of the Nation. What nation? The occupying Indian army lives with the dictum that power flows through the barrel of the gun. Since June 11, 2010, one hundred and seventeen civilians (mostly school attending teenagers) have been killed in police and CRPF actions, more than 3,000 people left injured, many of them seriously, and thousands were put behind bars. The shocking discovery of unmarked and unnamed graves in the IDAJK puts serious question marks about the safety of the disappeared or most likely killed youths.  Even the European Union Parliament unanimously passed a resolution in its session in Strasbourg on July 10, 2008 asking India to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the discovery of these graves. This demand is yet to be fulfilled.

We welcome the European Parliament resolution linking the Kashmir issue with signings of Free Trade Agreement with India. This is a positive development as far as the Kashmir issue is concerned. We have been seeking their facilitation for resolving this dispute. The paragraph-33 of the resolution passed by the European Parliament (EP) on May 11, 2011 over the FTA between India and European Union states showed its concerns on the human rights violations in occupied Kashmir. Prime Minister David Cameron admits that, “Britain is responsible for many of the world’s historic problems, including the conflict in Kashmir between India and Pakistan.” Similarly, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on October 29, 2010 has said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir, after so many years of suffering, deserve full respect for their legitimate right to Self-Determination.

As per Greater Kashmir dated June 16, 2011, a renowned Kashmiri newspaper under caption stated “Come clean on AFSPA: Apex Court to Centre.”  The Indian court asked the government to clearly spell out its stand: whether army and paramilitary personnel enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for any penal offence committed in discharge of their official duties including fake encounters and rapes vis-a-vis AFSPA, Section 197 CRPC and Section 17 of the CRPF Act. The Honourable Sir, how long will the Indian army be allowed to enter any home, commit a rape and say they enjoy immunity as it has been done in discharge of official duties.  To suppress the voice of Kashmiris, India has introduced special power acts such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Public Safety Act and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act in occupied Kashmir which gives immunity to the armed personnel and paramilitary forces to take any action without being held responsible.  

Based on the same analogy, in view of Canada’s ratification of the human rights treaties we urge that our government should follow course. Canada has been a consistently strong voice for the protection of human rights and the advancement of democratic values around the world. Canada is a party to seven major international human rights conventions, as well as many others, and encourages all countries which have not made these commitments to do so. We as Canadians expect that our government be a champion in the field of human rights by reflecting and promoting Canadian values. Canadians recognize that their interests are best served by a stable, rules-based international system. The UN charter and customary international law imposes on all countries the responsibility to promote and protect human rights. This is not merely a question of values, but a mutual obligation of all members of the international community, as well as an obligation of a state towards its citizens. But the records show that India has not only failed but is also in severe violation of human rights in occupied Kashmir. Our government should not give preference to business with India over moral and ethical values. It should also link any business dealings with India with the condition of immediate withdrawal of military and paramilitary forces from cities within Kashmir, as it has constructed bunkers, checkpoints, and barricades in residential areas creating a province wide jail. What a paradox it is that in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the juvenile age is16 years whereas the rest of the states in India has a juvenile age 18 years and under. 

We therefore solicit that no businesses with India till it resolves humanitarian crisis in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and takes the following measures:

1. To implement the United Nations Security Council resolutions on the right to self-determination; 

2. To uphold the European Parliaments resolution on mass graves in Kashmir;

3. To withdraw the occupational forces from the IDAJK;

4. To put an end to the consistent gross human rights violations through practices such as arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and summary or arbitrary execution, etc.;

5. To respect international human rights norms and treaties which India is a signatory including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

6. To undertake an independent and impartial investigation in all killings including of the ones noted above, custodial deaths, disappearances, fake encounters, rapes, etc. under international law and international auspices;

7. To allow access to major human rights NGOs and humanitarian organizations in IDAJK

8. To stop torture of the relatives of the Canadian Kashmiris and others in the IDAJK due to their protest and free speech about Kashmir problems here in Canada;

9. Draconian Laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Public Safety Act and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act which violate human rights must be withdrawn immediately.

We look forward to your active role in the resolution of this humanitarian crisis in the IDAJK.

Kind regards,

Habib Yousafzai

Spokesperson

Kashmir Diaspora Alliance

Parmjit (Dakha) & Dr.Amarjit Singh

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Parmjit Singh Sekhon (Dakha)

Advisor – Council of Khalistan

Member - Punjabi Sahit Sabha

President – Dal Khalsa Alliance

Member – Bhai Ghanaiya Society

President – International Sikh Sabhiachar Society

510-774-5909

president@dalkhalsaalliance.org

Undemocratic and unrepresentative Elections in Azad Jammu Kashmir

Undemocratic and unrepresentative Elections

in Azad Jammu Kashmir-AJK-

(Pakistan Administered part of Jammu Kashmir)

on 26 June 2011.

A brief background:

For almost sixty four years people of the forcibly divided state of Jammu and Kashmir, commonly referred to as Kashmir), have struggled to obtain their fundamental right for a free and democratic vote! Kashmiris since 1947 have seized upon every available opportunity to resist the status quo, and they have campaigned for reunification and a sovereign status for their homeland which remains forcibly divided between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir state comprises of a number of regions; however at present it comprises of three regions – namely the Indian occupied part of Kashmir, the AJK region controlled by Pakistan and the region of Gilgit Baltistan, unilaterally declared as a province of Pakistan by the current Pakistani government since it came to power in 2008.

In Indian occupied part of the state the assembly elections take place within the Indian constitution. This process disenfranchises those political opinion which does not recognize Kashmir as part of India, hence the popular movement for self determination since 1988, which is being violently suppressed by Indian forces resulting in the deaths of around one hundred thousand Kashmiri civilians.

In Gilgit Baltistan region, recently declared as a province of Pakistan, only the Pakistani political parties are allowed to contest the assembly election, while the governor is appointed by Islamabad as representative of the Pakistani state.

Assembly Elections in Azad Jammu Kashmir-AJK 2011

Azad Jammu Kashmir-AJK- assembly elections- which purport to be a democratic expression of not only 3 million residents of AJK , but also elect members for constituencies that since 1947 are within the Indian occupied part of the state- take place under the 1974 Act.

The 1974 Act or The Azad Jammu Kashmir Interim Constitution Act 1974 was given to AJK by the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1974.

The 1974 Act requires a candidate wishing to contest elections for the AJK assembly to swear an oath of allegiance to the “cause of accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan”, (S) 21 (6) and (S) 23 (1) - The 1974 Act.

This requirement of the 1974 Interim AJK Act is a clear contradiction and contravention of the basic political, inherent and inalienable right of the people of Kashmir for an unfettered choice to have a democratic and representative government.

While the struggle for reunification and self determination in relation to the entire forcibly divided state of Kashmir continues, we demand that the undemocratic 1974 Interim Act imposed on people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is rescinded and replaced with a transparent and democratic constitution that fully accommodates, along with the cause of accession of Kashmir to either Pakistan or India, to enfranchisement of political forces that advocate the cause of an independent and sovereign status for a reunified state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Otherwise the elections process in AJK, schedule to take place on 26 June 2011 will once again be sham election process and mere futile effort in the name of democracy and the people of the region. Such a sham process will not only further  disenfranchise and alienate the people but will also be a sad betrayal of the immense sacrifices that they and their forefathers have rendered to the cause of freedom and justice in Kashmir and in particular the development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

We therefore seek your support for the democratic rights of all Kashmir people, and in the interim a representative system of governance for the people of AJK- which is fully compatible with internationally recognised democratic norms and principles.

NOTE: This brief note of AJK elections is circulated to Parliamentarians, the press and media, diplomats, political and human rights activists today on 15th June 2011 during a press conference held at the Whittle Room, Broadway House, London.

For further details and clarifications please contact:

Prof. Zafar Khan (Head, JKLF Diplomatic Committee)

Cllr Mahmood Hussain (President, JKLF UK Zone)

Syed Tehseen Gilani (General Secretary, JKLF UK Zone)

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Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)

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Kashmir and Khalistan

To stop Human-Rights violations in

Kashmir and Khalistan foreign occupiers

(Indian troops) must leave: Habib Yousafzai

World Kashmir Diaspora Alliance

Toronto-June 10, 2011

Kashmiris and Sikhs protested at the Metro Toronto Convention Center where Indo-Canada meetings were taking place, against Human-Rights violations such as unlawful detentions, fake encounters, arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings occurring in Khalistan and occupied Kashmir.  In particular in opposition to the unlawful death sentence of Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar by the Indian government. The delegates led by Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur of the Indian government and business community was a two-day mini Parvasi  Bharatiya Divas Canada 2011 convention that began here in Toronto. Professor Bhullar's wife, Navneet Kaur, a Canadian citizen who currently resides with her parents in Surrey, Canada also participated in the protest. 

Bhopinder Singh terming it a politicize decision said that Professor Bhullar was arrested under the now-lapsed Terrorists and Disruptive Activities Act, which has no provisions for appeals to the High Court. Furthermore, he was found guilty solely on the strength of an unsubstantiated confession he made in police custody under alleged torture and the threat of death by using his thumb impression instead of getting his signatures.  Bhopinder Singh further explained that Professor Bhullar appealed the death sentence in December 2001, which was rejected by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court. However, the senior judge of the panel, Justice Shah, in a dissenting decision found that there was no evidence to register a guilty verdict. 

Tarlochan Singh while grieving at the situation explained that in 2003 Professor Bhullar filed a petition for mercy, supported by Amnesty International and the German Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, which Indian President Pratibha Patil denied on May 26, 2011. Amnesty International has reported that the case was highly contentious and this is the first time in India’s Supreme Court history that someone has been sentenced to death based on a split decision. Tarlochan Singh said that Amnesty International perceives the dismissal of Professor Bhullar’s mercy petition a “blow to human rights.”  Professor Bhullar has already spent about 9 years in solitary confinement in a 7x9ft cell; he has developed severe depression, arthritis, hypertension and his health is steadily declining, he confirmed.

Balkar Singh said the death sentence of Professor Bhullar is to deter the Sikh nation from demanding Khalistan. It is basically an attack on the entire Sikh nation as they already did in the case of the attack on the Darbar Sahib in 1984. He also condemned the death sentence of Professor Bhullar while cautioning the nation to stop this and any future judicial murder and that the Sikh Nation should remove the chains of slavery from the Indian Government. He stressed that India’s state terrorism can be stopped only by drawing the boundary of independent state of Khalistan under auspicious of United Nation.

Sardar Sukhminder Singh Hansra while addressing the participants said you should be knowing that the 'Right of Granting Mercy petition' rests with the President of the Indian democracy/democracy. The Mercy Petition of Professor Devinderpal Singh Bhullar has been 'REJECTED' by Madam Pratibha Patil, President/Sadr of the 'Union of Multinations', called India. Do you not see the writing on the wall for Professor Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, a SIKH? Why do you not see the cases of other Sikhs, who have been sent to the 'gallows', following an 'undeclared' war on the Sikh Nation, Punjab,Khalistan in the form of a brutal military "Operation Bluestar" of June, 1984? What lesson do you take when more than 13 Sikh youth were killed at point blank, following the 'Martyrdoms of more than 250,000 innocent Sikhs between 1st and 7th June, 1984? It seems to be 'NONE'. We all are very concerned and shall do everything  about Professor Devinderpal Singh Bhullar but all of you are well aware  about Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana, Bhai Dilawar Singh Babbar, Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara and more than 10,000 Sikhs (male and females) rotting in high security jails of PUNJAB and outside PUNJAB? Do not ever forget as to what the 'Brahmins-Hindus' of the alleged Indian democracy are up to.

Habib Yousafzai Spokesperson (WKDA) strongly condemned saying, “the death sentence of Professor Bhullar will be a judicial murder.” He specifically mentioned that the “Indian government has killed 3.4 million Sikhs in Punjab Khalistan, since India received freedom in August 15, 1947 on a platter from Britain. When Kashmiris and Sikhs were fighting to liberate India from Britain they were heralded as freedom fighters.  Now they are termed terrorists when they no longer want to live as a slave of the Hindus.” He also stated that, “the suffering of the Sikhs and Kashmiris are unimaginable. More than one hundred thousand Kashmiris have been killed in a twenty year freedom struggle, uncountable numbers have been wounded and maimed, mass imprisonment and exile and even the use of rape as a tool of occupation.” And yet he said “the only demand of the occupied people of Kashmir was for the right to vote, the same right the west claims to support in the Arab world for the Libyans, Syrians, and the people of Yemen. All Kashmiris want is what was promised to them by the UN, which is the right of self-determination.” Recalling the promise made by the great Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to abide by this UN resolution. Yousafzai called on what he described as the great India to solve this issue by keeping Pandit Nehru’s promise. He stressed to stop Human-Rights violations in Kashmir and Khalistan and foreign occupiers (Indian troops) must leave.

Farooq Siddiqi Head of the World Kashmir Diaspora Alliance addressing the gathering said that Indians consistent policy of suppressing the voices of minorities and disregard to their aspirations and rights is a dangerous policy that will eventually result in ominous results in the volatile region of South Asia. He showed Solidarity with the Sikh community of Canada.


Mohammad Aslam Rathore Chairman Jammu Region (WKDA) said that improving and expanding people to people dialogue, repealing of “black laws”, ensuring the basic fundamental rights of Kashmiri people, and engaging political as well as the civil society at different levels can really help to bring peace into the region.  The artificial LoC should be eliminated like the Berlin wall because families have been divided. Rathore out rightly denounced the “draconian laws” prevalent in the state. He farther reiterated that the implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir was the best way to settle the Kashmir issue. He said that Kashmiri leadership believes that tripartite talks could lead to a peaceful settlement of the issue.  He also stated Kashmiris want peace but peace with dignity and honor. 

The WKDA stands against the death penalty as a violation of basic human rights and has called on India to establish a moratorium on executions in accordance with the UN’s Commission on Human Rights resolution of 1999.