Worldwide Day Of Protest

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Details for the Bristol Candle Light Vigil will be out in the next hour.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Details for the Bristol Candle Light Vigil will be out in the next hour.

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Bristol Candle Light Vigil - 17 January 2006

College Green

Bristol

Between 5-7pm

For further information contact Bhai Mohanjit Singh on 07863 352149 or Bhai Javinder Singh on 07775 808603

See flyer below:

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Another USA contact as Bhai Hardayal Singh is currently out of the country:

Dr. Ranjit Singh +1 516 241 6760

Details for the Candle Light Vigil in New York will be released in the next few days.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

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

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 images below of the front and back of the postcard.

The international poster for distribution in the UK (with international contacts) will also be made available.

National posters (on-line and/or hard copy) and local flyers will be produced as arrangements for each Candle Light Vigil are confirmed. The UK National poster for release to Sikh/Panjabi newspapers will be finalised after this weekend. So please finalise your arrangements for your local vigil as soon as possible.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Various people have asked about a standard banner or placards

The Standard Banner is the responsibility for each town/city - the suggested wording is:

'Release Sikh political prisoners and end the death penalty in India'

The suggested wording for the Standard Placard is:

'Light a candle to show the importance of life, freedom and your opposition to the death penalty'

Placards used in earlier protests outside the German Embassy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (January 2003) are shown below (two at a time).  Feel free to use these ideas or any you have of your own.  However, keep it simple:

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A few of the placards and banners in action at the protests outside the German Embassy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office some two years earlier.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

CANDLE LIGHT VIGILS IN MAJOR CITIES IN CANADA - 17 JANUARY 2006

Met up with and spoke to one of the leading Sikh students and Taksali Sewardars - Bhai Jusdev Singh from TORONTO yesterday at the Gurdwara Jot Parkash Sahib.

He is the Vice Chair of the Canadian Organization of Sikh Students. COSS aims to unite Sikh Students Associations at Canadian Universities and Colleges to advocate and extend the love of Sikhi.

Bhai Jusdev Singh suggested it would be possible through their contacts to organise around 10 candle light vigils across all the major Canadian cities. Sikhs from across Canada are urged to contact Bhai Jusdev Singh on +1 416 835 1909.

[balraj singh khalsa]

CANDLE LIGHT VIGILS IN MAJOR CITIES IN CANADA - 17 JANUARY 2006

Met up with and spoke to one of the leading Sikh students and Taksali Sewardars - Bhai Jusdev Singh from TORONTO yesterday at the Gurdwara Jot Parkash Sahib. 

He is the Vice Chair of the Canadian Organization of Sikh Students.  COSS aims to unite Sikh Students Associations at Canadian Universities and Colleges to advocate and extend the love of Sikhi.

Bhai Jusdev Singh suggested it would be possible through their contacts to organise around 10 candle light vigils across all the major Canadian cities.  Sikhs from across Canada are urged to contact Bhai Jusdev Singh on +1 416 835 1909.

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Great news for those of us living in Canada. Bhai Jusdev Singh should be at the Gurdwara Jot Parkash Sahib (135 Sun Pac Blvd, Brampton) this evening for the Bhog of the Akhand Paath to mark the First Barsi Of Baba Thakur Singh Ji and the Kiratn Darbar that will follow. Let's meet him and find out about the plans.

Are there Sikh Sangat members from the USA that could provide an update?

[sukhraj kaur]

Worldwide Day of Protest on 17 January 2006

DO NOT FORGET AND PASS THE WORD AROUND..........  LETS ALL BRING IT TOGETHER....................

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Following the holiday season it would be great to share with Sangat members the details of the various countries/cities that have firmed up on their plans. I for one will be ringing those shown on the International Poster for my country to find out about progress.

[sukhraj kaur]

Let the World Hear Your Voice

Sunday 18th December, 2005

Panthic Weekly Staff Columnist

(KP) - We live in the 21st century where you would expect the whole world to be civilised and living a peaceful way in accordance to democratic principles. One would expect governments to protect their citizens and offer support for the citizen's needs. Furthermore, you would expect that maintaining human rights is a norm of for each and every country.

Wake up dear brothers and sisters! Across the globe there are injustices happening. The media in the West focuses on certain countries and shares the terrible news of murder, violation of human rights and torture with the whole world watching the news on their television screens. However, the media forgot India. The newspapers overlooked the Sikhs being raped, tortured and illegally detained in Indian prisons. The news-broadcasters turned a blind eye to Sikhs facing death sentences in the “largest democracy” in the world, the country which we would have loved to call our “home country.”

Wake up dear brothers and sisters! Not only did the media and western governments turn a blind eye to the innocent Sikh men and women political prisoners languishing in Indian jails, but also people who claimed to be Sikhs turned their backs on those they once considered fellow brothers and sisters.

Those claiming to be Sikhs, living in a comfortable home with their family around them, silenced their ears to the cries of Sikh women being raped in Indian jails, so that they could protect their own security and the safety of their own family. But who will ensure the security and safety of our Sikh women in prisons?

Those claiming to be Sikhs, working in high-flying jobs and driving expensive vehicles, covered their eyes to the physical, mental and sexual abuse inflicted on young Sikh men in Indian jails, so that they could ensure that they could roam the streets freely and not be scared of one day being arrested for standing up for the truth. But who will fight for the right to walk freely and speak the truth without fear of persecution for the young Sikh men in prisons?

Those claiming to be Sikhs, running Gurdwaré Management Committees, attending political events and meeting with influential people as the representative of the Sikh community, blocked their conscience from feeling guilty that while they wine and dine with politicians, leaders and please the media, Sikh women are being raped and tortured in Indian prisons and their husbands are given electric shocks and humiliated with degrading abuse.

Listen with your ears, open your eyes, and hear your conscience! Remind yourself of who you are, and where you came from. You are the son and daughter of Guru Gobind Singh jee, the brother or sister of the four Sahibzaadey (princes) who died till their last breath fighting to uphold truth and justice. Recognise your identity. Don’t rely on others to be the role-model. You become the role model. Serve the Panth, serve humanity and serve the world. Be a Saintly Knight who draws the sword of truth and holds the shield of justice, and fight against oppression, injustice and tyranny.

You can help make a difference by participating in the Worldwide Day of Protest, which 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. Support this event and show solidarity to the cause of justice, which our Guru not only preached but also sacrificed themselves for.

Brothers and sisters recognise your call to the Panth. Hear the cries of the daughters and sons of the Panth, and realise that the Sikh woman or man languishing in the Indian prison could be your brother or sister. The child being illegally detained by power-intoxicated police officers could be your son or daughter. If we cannot help our own people, how will we serve and help humanity? Don’t just say you are the Sikh of the Guru, instead live the message and spread the message like a rose flower spreads its fragrance all over the garden.

Brothers and sisters, may a Sikh spread its fragrance of peace, truth, and justice across the whole world inspiring all to rise to make a better future not just for Sikhs, but for the whole world.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Worldwide Protest Calling For Abolishment Of Death Penalty

Sunday 25th December, 2005

Panthic Weekly News Bureau

London, UK (KP) -The new year will commence with a day of worldwide protest on 17 January 2006. Sikhs in major cities all over the world including London, Paris, Toronto and New York will be raising their voices against the death penalty and call for the release of all Sikh political prisoners held in jails in India.

Candlelight vigils will take place in cities throughout the world including in India. Sikhs and non- Sikhs including influencial politicians, human rights and trade union activists from more than 100 cities worldwide are expected to take part in the protest.

The UK candlelight protests will be taking place simultaneously in twenty towns and cities which 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.

London protests will take place in the heart of the British political circle, that is at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster between 5-7pm. Alongside members of public, MPs and Lords will join Sikhs to light candles celebrating life, freedom and opposition to the death penalty.

On the 17 January 1995 a Sikh political activist, Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar was illegally deported from Germany. The worldwide protest will focus also highlight the 11th anniversary of one of the most controversial and highest profile death penalty cases in recent Indian history. Davinderpal Singh was handed over to the Indian authorities on the assurance that he had nothing to fear on his return to India.

The German authorities unwittingly handed Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar over into the hands of death of the Government of India. 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.

The German authorities grossly violated the European Convention on Human Rights when it deported Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar to a pro death penalty state such as India. After his deportation, the Court of Appeals in Frankfurt heard his appeal and said that he should not have been deported as he would face torture, harassment and death in India and while with his reentry into Germany he would have been given asylum.

The verdict of the Court of Appeals in Germany has come too late for Davinderpal Singh. This has however left Germany and the EU with a moral obligation to ensure that the threat of the death penalty by India is removed and Davinderpal Singh and other political prisoners who are illegally being held, without trial, under false charges or without evidence, are released immediately.

Protest vigils will be taking place throughout the world and major cities of UK and Europe as well as Canada and United States. It is hoped that Sikhs will organise more candlelight vigils in more cities with Gurdwaras and local students and Sikh Associations taking an active lead.