From: dawar@gradient.cis.upenn.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Justice Bains - Letter from Norway
Summary: Letter from the Chairman, Norwegian Parliament, Foreign Affairs.
Keywords: Justice Bains, Human Rights, Punjab
Date: 21 Jul 92 05:02:08 GMT

BULLETIN			 Number 24, July 15, 1992.
Committee for the Release of Justice Ajit Singh Bains.

Issued by Dr. Jeffrey Goodman - Canadian Coordinator
	  76 Rusholme Rd., Toronto, Ontario M6J 3H5
	  Tele/Fax Number: (416) 537-8142

FROM THE NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENT

Dear Mr. Goodman,
I am enclosing a copy of the letter written by Chairman of Foreign Affairs
Committee.  This letter has caused a lot of stir in Norway.  This was later
picked up by National Norwegian Television (NRK).  It made a headline on main
news programme on June 15, 1992.  Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee was
interviewed about this for 8 minutes and 40 seconds (out of total 30 minutes
news!).  The programme was watched by 25% of Norwegians.  I have recorded the
programme on video (but it is in Norwegian).  It was one of the harshest
programmes on India that I have ever seen.

Kind regards,
Dr. Devendra Singh.
 ******

H.E. Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao
Office of the Prime Minister
New Delhi, India

Your Excellency,
I am writing to express my grave concern over recent arrest of Justice Ajit
Singh Bains (retd.), Chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization and Lt.
Col. Pratap Singh (retd.), President of the Khalsa Raj Party and author of
Khalistan: the only solution.

Justice Ajit Singh Bains was abducted near his home in Chandigarh at 10:30AM
Friday morning (April 3) by Indian police.  No arrest warrant was produced:
the Justice was not informed of the charges brought against him.  He was
slapped and publicly humiliated by the police.  His house was searched
despite the fact that police had no search warrant.  According to Mr. G.S.
Grewal, senior Advocate (former Advocate General, Punjab) Justice Bains told
him that he was prevented from taking his heart medicine and from bathing.

Justice Bains has worked exclusively on human rights and has travelled not
only within India but also to North America and Europe and is well known for
his work.  Justice Bains came to this country about two years ago and met
several of my colleagues in the Parliament where he informed us about human
rights violations of Sikhs in Punjab.

Indian governments have rejected the entry of Amnesty International for the
last 14 years by stating that India has its own civil liberties groups.  But
is this kind of treatment is given to Chairman of a well recognized Human
Rights Organization, who also happens to be none other than a retired
Justice of your own country's High Court, then it does send a wrong signal
to the rest of the world.  This incident does indeed raise a question in
mind that if this could happen to such an influential person, what would be
the plight of the common man in Punjab.

The manner in which Justice Bains was abducted by police becomes more
pertinent as only a few months back Justice Bains received a death threat
from the Indian police warning him to cease his human rights activities
(Congressional Record, January 3, 1992).

Lt. Col. Pratap Singh was arrested Friday morning (April 3, 1992).  Sources
indicate that the 64 year old retired colonel is being tortured by the
Punjab Police.

Col. Pratap Singh came here last September at the invitation of
International Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) for a conference and
also he met various members of Foreign Affairs Committee, among others,
where he presented the Sikh case.  Having just returned from an extended
stay in the United States where he published the book Khalistan: the only
solution, a brief history of the Sikh freedom struggle, Col. Pratap Singh
was arrested and charged under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act
(TADA).  This, I understand was in response of his formally declaring the
formation of the Khalsa Raj Party on May 15, 1991.  The party's goal is the
formation of a free and independent Khalistan.  Its means were clearly
stated as peaceful, democratic and non-violent.

According to the rules of free, democratic societies, Col. Pratap Singh
broke no law.  Rather, he exercised his democratic right to free speech.
Despite this, Col. Pratap Singh was charged with a host of crimes under the
Indian Penal Code and TADA.

As you are aware, India's TADA laws fall far short of international
standards for the protection of individual civil and human rights.  The
United Nations Human Rights Committee called them "disturbing" and
"completely unacceptable."

Human rights are a global and not a national issue.  Furthermore as Norway
and India are trading partners and India is one of our major Aid-receiving
countries, we strongly feel it to be our moral duty to act on these issues.
As Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Norwegian Parliament, it
disturbs me greatly to see that fundamental rights of these people are
violated.

In view of these facts, Your Excellency, I am compelled to admonish the
Indian government for its violation of human rights.  As individuals who
hold in the highest regard only those governments which respect political,
religious and human rights, I request that the Indian government cease its
blatant discrimination against the Sikhs.

Both Justice Ajit Singh Bains and Lt. Col. Pratap Singh are well respected
people in Sikh community.  Their maltreatment is well known; Amnesty
International has been informed of both cases and at this writing has
already sent out an "Urgent Action" report of the case of Justice Bains. I
request you to release these gentlemen immediately, as their detentions are
unjust.  I also demand that no harm be brought to either of these two
gentlemen.  They have worked for freedom and human rights in a peaceful,
legal manner.

Yours sincerely,
Gunnar Skaug
Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee