London, UK:
United Sikhs handed the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, a letter on Monday asking him to call on India to abolish the death penalty and to free Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is facing the death penalty.
United Sikhs handed the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, a letter on Monday asking him to call on India to abolish the death penalty and to free Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is facing the death penalty.
“Bhai Balwant Singh has already served 17 years behind bars for his role
in the political assassination of the former Chief Minister of Panjab, who he
held responsible for the torture, kidnap and killing of innocent Sikh youths in
the 90s,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, United Sikhs legal director, in the letter
that was handed to the Prime Minister on Monday during a Vasakhi reception at
his official residence at No. 10 Downing Street, which was attended by more
than 200 UK Sikhs.
United Sikhs brought to the PM’s attention Amnesty International’s
report on human rights violations in Panjab at the following link.
The PM was informed that Sikhs in the UK have signed petitions addressed
to their MPs and MEPs asking them to intervene, to stop the execution of
Balwant Singh Rajoana. UNITED SIKHS also reminded the PM about the continuing
challenges to religious freedom globally, especially in the aftermath of 9/11.
“We congratulate you for declaring that there is a place for religion in
the public place, even though it is a private matter,” Mejindarpal Kaur said to
the Prime Minister whilst handing the letter, after presenting an oil painting
by a volunteer, an artist trained at the renowned Slade School of Art (London)
of a Sikh doing prayers during ishnaan (holy dip) in the Sarovar at Darbar
Sahib, Amritsar. The Prime Minister was also presented a book titled ‘The
Golden Temple of Amritsar, published by a social enterprise company, Kashi
House.
“Since the Vasakhi of 1699, initiated Sikhs are mandated to wear the
five Kakaar (or 5 Ks) (articles of faith) – Kesh (unshorn hair covered by a
turban), Kirpan, Kangga and Kecchaera.
If a nation’s borders define its physical boundary, a Sikh, a member of
a nation without borders, is defined by his/her identity. Any transgression of
this is an attack on his/her being,” Mejindarpal added in the letter that
highlighted, amongst others, the following three issues concerning the wearing
of Kakaar in the UK :
·
Sikh students continue to be denied their right to wear the Kirpan in
many schools even though there is a specific defense in the Offensive Weapons
Act for the wearing of the Kirpan in schools.
·
Sikh prison officers and Sikh lawyers/legal officers on legal visits are
not allowed to wear their Kirpan, even though PSO 4550 permits a Sikh chaplain
to wear a Kirpan. This is despite a recommendation to approve the wearing of
the Kirpan by prison staff following a comprehensive consultation that was
carried out in 2008 by the National Offender Management Service (“NOMS”), an
executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. This recommendation was reversed
by a subsequent director general of NOMS.
·
Sikhs travelling through European airports continue to be humiliated and
harassed by the indiscriminate removal of their turbans ever since the
implementation of EU regulation 185/ 2010, which prohibits the use of hand held
scanners as a primary screening technique in favour of mandatory hand searches.
We thank your government for standing up for Sikhs and conducting an 18 months
trial (ending in mid Aug 2012) to see if security could be achieved by not
applying Reg 185 at 22 UK airports. We request your government to take the lead
in Europe of by recommending that Para 4.1.17 of the reg 185n could be used to
exempt Sikhs from arbitrary removal of their turbans.
Source: UnitedSikhs.org
