Worldwide Day Of Protest

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

WORLDWIDE DAY OF PROTEST

17 JANUARY 2006

SIKHS TO CALL FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE RELEASE OF ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN INDIA

A Worldwide Day of Protest is being organised for 17 January 2006. Sikhs in cities around the world from London, to Paris, to Toronto and to New York are aiming on 17 January to show their opposition to the death penalty and call for the release of all Sikh political prisoners held in jails in India.

Candles will be lit in prominent places in cities throughout the world, including in India itself. Sikhs in more than 100 cities are expected to take part in the protest and will be joined by prominent non-Sikhs, such as politicians, human rights and trade union activists.

In the UK the candle light protests will be taking place simultaneously in around twenty towns and cities and are being organised by the Sikh Federation (UK), Khalsa Human Rights, Sikh Secretariat, Young Sikhs (UK), Sikh student groups, Gurdwaras and the Sadh Sangat. The protests are being supported by Amnesty International and other members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

The protest in London will be taking place outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster between 5-7pm. MPs, Lords and members of the public will join Sikhs to light candles celebrating life, freedom and opposition to the death penalty.

The worldwide protests are taking place on 17 January to coincide with the 11th anniversary of one of the most controversial and highest profile death penalty cases in recent Indian history. 11 years earlier on 17 January 1995 Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, a Sikh political activist, was illegally deported from Germany. Davinderpal Singh was handed over to the Indian authorities on the basis that he had nothing to fear on his return to India.

For 11 years Davinderpal Singh has been forced to live with the mistake by the German authorities. He was arrested and put in prison as soon as he landed in Delhi, tortured to obtain a false confession, charged and sentenced to death by hanging for a crime he did not commit.

When Germany deported Davinderpal Singh to a death-penalty prone country it violated the European Convention on Human Rights. After his deportation, the court of appeal in Frankfurt allowed his appeal and said that he should not have been deported as he would face torture, harassment and death in India and were he to re-enter Germany he would be given asylum.

The verdict of the court of appeal in Germany came too late for Davinderpal Singh. However, it has left Germany and the EU with a moral obligation to ensure the threat of the death penalty by India is removed and Davinderpal Singh and other political prisoners that are unnecessarily being held, either without trial or under false charges and without evidence, are released immediately.

Protests in different towns and cities are in the process of being organised. Our aim is to organise candle light vigils in at least 20 towns/cities. We are already aware of vigils being organised in prominent locations in Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Derby, Gravesend, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Slough, Southampton, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

We are also hopeful that Sikhs in the UK will also organise candle light vigils in other locations such as Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle. There is no reason why the candle light vigils should not extend further to other towns and cities, especially where there are Gurdwaras or Sikh students at University.

Gurjeet Singh

National Press Secretary

SIKH FEDERATION (UK)

The first and only Sikh political party in the UK

Tanglewood House, Pine Walk, Chilworth, SO16 7HQ

www.sikhfederation.com

sikhfederationuk@yahoo.co.uk

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

Any chance of a Sticky please!

[Nirvair S Khalsa 2]

The sooner the word spreads for this major event, the better it is for it being a success and thus the better it is for the Panth!!!

Benti ADMIN Jee, it'll be really good if you could make this topic a STICKY as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

[anjaan 2]

BUMPPPPPP

[rKr 0]

Absolutely fantastic, another great initiative in which all SIKHS WORLDWIDE should take part.

Also a time for us to come together and speak out against the Death Penelty - not just in India, but WORLDWIDE

Hopefully will have some towns and cities in the UK confirmed later this week.

Admin Jee.. third benti, please make this event a STICKY. Thank you jee.

[Dukh Sukh 0]

wow!! amazing stuff!! the more we speak up the better!!!!

4th BENTI! PLZ MAKE THIS A STICKY! :lol:

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

wow!! amazing stuff!! the more we speak up the better!!!!

4th BENTI! PLZ MAKE THIS A STICKY!    :lol: 

140176[/snapback]

An online poster showing all the towns/cities where protests are being planned throughout the world will be made available later today.

Admin: The poster is being sent to the Admin team as there appear to be problems uploading it.

Sticky please!

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

wow!! amazing stuff!! the more we speak up the better!!!!

4th BENTI! PLZ MAKE THIS A STICKY!    :lol: 

140176[/snapback]

An online poster showing all the towns/cities where protests are being planned throughout the world will be made available later today.

Admin: The poster is being sent to the Admin team as there appear to be problems uploading it.

Sticky please!

140213[/snapback]

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

For your town/city please email exact location of protest, time of protest, local contact name for further information and his/her telephone number so a 'customised' flyer can be produced and posted on the Internet.

Please email details to Harjinder Singh or Ravinder Kaur on harjinder_2004@hotmail.com or rai_rav@hotmail.com.

Please copy me in jagtarkhalsa@yahoo.com.

LONDON FLYER is shown below:

The candle light protest in LONDON will be taking place outside the Houses of Parliament, opposite St Stephen's entrance between 5-7pm on 17 January 2006. Please invite your local MP to try and join you in your local protest or if they are in Westminster in London to join SIkhs outside and light a candle to show their support.

[veerkhalsa 0]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Request to all, please support this event and ensure that all towns and cities are covered with the vigil. We need to spread the word around much as possible. Another great way for us to come together and speak out against the Death Penelty - not just in India, but WORLDWIDE .

please make this topic Sticky :e:

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

For your town/city please email exact location of protest, time of protest, local contact name for further information and his/her telephone number so a 'customised' flyer can be produced and posted on the Internet.

Please email details to Harjinder Singh or Ravinder Kaur on harjinder_2004@hotmail.com or rai_rav@hotmail.com.

Please copy me in jagtarkhalsa@yahoo.com.

SLOUGH FLYER is shown below:

The candle light protest in SLOUGH will be taking place outside the main entrance for the Queensmere Shopping Centre between 5-7pm on 17 January 2006. Some of you may have seen the recent BBC 2 programme - Make Slough Happy. The vigil will be in exactly the same location as the concluding events for Making Slough Happy.

MPs from Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and surrounding areas should be invited to attend the vigil if possible. Alternatively, ask the MPs to take part in the vigil outside the Houses of Parliament in London.

All MPs should be urged to join Sikhs outside and light a candle to show their support.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

Dear Admin

Can we please have a sticky!

The details of local protests will come thick and fast and many may wish to download local flyers for distribution.

Thanking you in anticipation.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

Dear Admin

Can we please have a sticky!

The details of local protests will come thick and fast and many may wish to download local flyers for distribution.

Thanking you in anticipation.

140447[/snapback]

Dear Admin

THANK YOU

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

LONDON and SLOUGH protests have been confirmed.

It appears things are happening a bit slow in getting permissions from the police/council and confirming exact locations, times and local contacts for protests in different towns and cities in the UK.

In most cases a phone call to the police will be sufficient for an event of this sort.

Birmingham - Several candle light vigils have been successfully organised in the past, but please do not leave it to the last minute

Bradford - There was talk of combining Bradford, Huddersfield and Leeds - but three separate ones will get greater coverage and not require much travel. Also it would be good to exceed the target of 100 towns/cities worldwide.

Bristol - Waiting for an update from local Sikhs

Coventry - Waiting for an update from local Sikhs

Derby - Soon to be announced

Gravesend - Soon to be announced

Huddersfield - See comments above against Bradford

Leeds - See comments above against Bradford

Leicester - Soon to be announced

Manchester - Waiting for an update from local Sikhs

Nottingham- Waiting for an update from local Sikhs

Southampton - Soon to be announced

Walsall - Waiting for an update from local Sikhs

Wolverhampton - Soon to be announced

Looking for volunteers from Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle to take the lead.

There is no reason why the candle light vigils should not extend further to other towns and cities, especially where there are Gurdwaras or Sikh students at University. For example: Barking, Basingstoke, Bedford, Blackburn, Brighton, Cambridge, Chatham, Crawley, Croydon, Darlington, Dartford, Doncaster, Dudley, Erith, Exeter, Gillingham, High Wycombe, Hitchin, Hounslow, Ilford, Ipswich, Kettering, Leamington, Letchworth, Lincoln, Loughborough, Luton, Maidenhead, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Nuneaton, Oxford, Peterborough, Preston, Rugby, Telford, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Swansea, Watford, West Bromwich, Wednesfield, Willenhall, Woolwich etc. Sikhs in each of these towns and cities should try and join one of the local candle light vigils or organise one of their own if this is deemed more appropriate.

Things are also beginning to happen in the USA, Canada and India. The Australians are having to delay things due to race riots. The response from other European countries has been slow. Please start chasing Sikhs in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Norway etc.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa 229]

The standard postcard for distribution on the Worldwide Day of Protest on 17 January 2006 will be avaliable in the UK from Saturday 24 December.

The postcards will be avaliable after the Bhog of Sri Akhand Paath - Saturday 24th December 2005 to mark the First Barsi of Baba Thakur Singh Ji at

Gurdwara Nanaksar

4 Wellington Street,

Pleck,

Walsall,

West Midlands

01922 641040

See the image below of the front of the postcard