NEW YORK: Hundreds of Sikh-Americans calling for independence for the people of Indian Punjab staged a demonstration near the United Nations (UN) on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of the brutal Indian Army attack on their holiest religious site-the Golden Temple in Amritsar, as plans were announced for a sovereignty referendum within the Sikh diaspora in 2020 to carry forward their goal.
"Sikhs Want Their Independence" was their main slogan as demonstrators waved anti-Indian placards and shouted slogans on a sunny afternoon in Manhattan.
"We want the international community to break its silence on the oppression of Sikhs in India and the denial of their right to self-determination in (Indian) Punjab," said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a civil rights body, which organized the demonstration in which Sikhs from across the country participated.
Organizers said the "Referendum 2020" would ask the Sikh diaspora to express their opinion on a statement that says, "I aspire for the formation of a sovereign and independent country in Indian occupied Punjab, on the basis that Sikhs are the indigenous people of Punjab, have a historical homeland, a separate religion and have the right to self-determination".
Speaking to the crowd, Karen Parker, a prominent human rights lawyer and activist, stated that the right to self-determination is an inalienable right of all the people and that Sikhs clearly qualify for that sacred right.
Stressing the importance of referendum within the Sikh diaspora on the question of sovereignty, Parker said that in this age when the world has transformed into a global village, opinion of the trans-national diaspora was just as important as those living back home.
Pannun, who practices human rights law, stated that the Sikh diaspora referendum will be managed by independent reputable organizations and monitored by international NGOs and human rights activists.
In year 2020, he said, polling will be held in major cities of North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Kenya and the Middle Eastern Counties. The Sikh population abroad is approximately 5 million. Every Sikh living outside India with ancestors from Punjab and who will be 18 years of age in 2020, will be eligible to register and vote in the Sikh referendum, added Pannun.
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