24-03-2011, issue

Tel: 905-670-1522, Fax: 416-661-7273 Vol.8 , No. 1069 Thursday, March 24, 2011 11 Chetah, Nanaksahi Calendar 543

A case of Defamation of the Canadian SikhsSukhminder Singh Hansra

The Sikh Working Group has called it's third pub-

lic meeting for Saturday March 26th 2011 to

discuss the ongoing absurd comments by

some caucus members of the Liberal party

of Canada. Though this has been going on

for many years but last year at the Nagar

Kirtan in Surrey BC, an organizer made

some comments on a local radio show that

the organizers have not officially in-

vited Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh, MP and Mr. Dave

Hayer MPP to the parade. The spokesperson

of the event went on to say that though they

can attend the parade, the organizers will

not be responsible for their security.

Publicly removing any liability for their

safety or well being.

In response to this radio statement, objec-

tionable statements were made by Mr. Dosanjh,

provoking the CBC and others to broadcast

negative reporting and the infamous CBC

documentary “Samosa Politics”, for which CBC

is facing law suits in the Ontario Superior Court.

The Sikh Working Group took on the task

of organizing these town hall meetings all over

Canada, meeting with the leaders of the Sikh

community and also inviting Liberal Party

members to these meetings.

The first of such meetings took place in

Brampton in September 2010, where the grit

veteran Hon. Joe Volpe and Liberal chair for

multiculturalism Rob Oliphant, both MP's from

GTA heard from dozens members of the Sikh

community how extremely disturbed the commu-

nity is by these comments made by Mr. Dosanjh

and others.

The second meeting took place in Surrey

BC. both meetings, Brampton and Surrey where

very well attended, drawing huge crowds.

Then, the leader of the Liberal party of

Canada Michael Ignatieff met with the

Sikh Working Group to ease their cam-

paign. According to Manohar Singh Bal,

member of the Sikh Working group, Mr.

Ignatieff acknowledged the problem and

assured them that no member of his cau-

cus will repeat such comments in fu-

ture. A Photo was also taken at the

meeting which was later published by

Punjabi Daily newspaper.

Soon after the meeting, Mr Ujjal

Dosanjh made some very disturbing, very similar,

rather much stronger comments to reiterate his

previous statements. When contacted, his office

replied “ Mr. Dosanjh is not talking about the

Sikhs at all; only about some Khalistanis.

Mr.Dosanjh has no further comments.”

Cont...pg 11

Public meeting!!

Ujjal Dosanjh Michael Ignatieff Rob Oliphant

Courageous Journalism02 March 24, 2011

The martyrdom of Sohan Singh in Police custodyHuman Rights and India!!!

Amnesty slams‘arbitrary’ arrestsGovt Using PSA As Parallel

Criminal Justice SystemARIF SHAFI WANI WASIMKHALID

Srinagar Mar 21: Calling for an

imme¬diate end to arbitrary arrests and re-

peal of the controversial Public Safety Act

(PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir,

interna¬tional human rights watchdog-

Amnesty International on Monday said the

state government has been using PSA to

create a parallel or informal criminal justice sys-

tem. The Amnesty said that 20,000 persons in the

state have been detained under PSA over the past

two decades and recommended to the Government

to carry out an impartial probe into the alleged

abuses against the detainees and their families.

The global human rights body asked the Govern-

ment of India to extend invi¬tations and facilitate

the visits of the UN special rapporteur on torture

and the Working Group on arbitrary detentions to

the Valley.

“Jammu and Kashmir authorities are using

PSA detentions as a revolving door to

(Cont..to page no 7)

16th March 2011 I visited Amritsar

and a village close by Varpal, where

S. Sohan Singh lived with his wife

Bibi Bhupinder Kaur and his chil-

dren. This was his home for several

years and he and his family lived

with his mother in law Bibi Jasbir

Kaur. Some years ago Sohan Singh

had suffered from a very bad leg in-

jury in a motorcycle accident in Jul-

landhar, as a result of which the

orthopedic surgeon had inserted a

steel rod into his injured left leg. He

was lame and a handicapped person.

His brother Gurbinder Singh had

been killed by the Police at village

Maniarawala in the Patti area of Am-

ritsar district earlier in the 1990's.

Sohan Singh and his family have

been true Sikh patriots who have sac-

rificed their lives to gain a hon-

ourable place under the sun for the

Sikh nation, which is stateless and

under Hindu rule at present.

In the press, especially The Trib-

une it was written that Sohan Singh

had traveled to Pakistan many a

time. But he had gone to Pakistan

legally with a passport every time.

When the press and THIS (Theo-

cratic Hindu Indian State) state that

a Sikh has gone to Pakistan on a pil-

grimage it is assumed by the Hindu

state that he has gone there to carry

out some nefarious activities against

THIS (Theocratic Hindu Indian

State). This is a misconception of the

Hindu mind and its press and media,

because half of the Sikh religion, its

history, culture, language lie in this

Islamic state which was bifurcated

by the British in 1947 at the behest

of Hindu leaders M.K. Gandhi, J.L.

Nehru etc. and a Muslim leader

Muhammad Ali Jinnah and became

a separate country - Islamic Pakistan.

The Panjab province, which is the

homeland of the Sikh's, was cut into

two, one half going to Pakistan and

the other half to THIS (Theocratic

Hindu Indian State). At that period

the Sikh's suffered the worst ethnic

cleansing known to history. The bor-

der that divides the two Panjab's is

known as the Radcliffe Line and on

our side of the border THIS (Theo-

cratic Hindu Indian State) has con-

structed a nine foot tall barbed wire

fencing much like the infamous

Berlin Wall which runs 540 kms on

this Line. The para-military force

BSF guard this fence twenty-four

hours of the day shooting to death,

no questions asked if a person is

found wandering along the fence. To

buttress the BSF, THIS's (Theocratic

Hindu Indian State's) Army forms

the second line of defence,

with the Panjab Police rein-

forcing the vigilance on this

hateful division of the two

Panjab's. To spy on the border

lest the BSF, Army and Pan-

jab Police connive with in-

truders from Pakistan THIS's

(Theocratic Hindu Indian

State's) ace intelligence agen-

cies RAW and IB keep a

hawks eye along with the

Panjab CID over the fence

and the activities of the forces

deployed on this fence lest

they connive with the intrud-

ers. THIS's (Theocratic Hindu

Indian State's) Air Force car-

ries out surveillance sorties

and above it are the satellites

systems bought from Israel

that can pick up a rat's image

that may cross this impreg-

nable border.

It is alleged by THIS

(Theocratic Hindu Indian

State) that Pakistan and Afghanistan

send in RDX, arms and munitions,

heroin, opium and smack. How this

is possible without the connivance of

THIS's (Theocratic Hindu Indian

State's) BSF, Army, IB, RAW and

Panjab's CID, only the Union gov-

ernment and the state government of

Panjab can tell us. What is the re-

sponsibility and accountability of the

Union government and the state gov-

ernment in not allowing such goods

into the Panjab through this barbed

wire fencing, is never questioned by

the Hindu press or its media or the

Opposition in Parliament or the State

Assembly? Yet the Sikh's are blamed

by the Hindu state, its press and

media for having connived with Pak-

istan in bringing in these contra-

bands? What good would it do to the

(Cont..to page no 8)

Simranjit Singh MannPresident SaromaniAkali Dal (Amritsar)

March 24, 2011 03 Courageous Journalism

India is in violation of Geneva Convention in their treatment of the citizens of occupied KashmirHabib Yousafzai

At the time of the fight for

freedom of India, the reverse was

true, the Sikhs, Kashmiris, Muslims,

Dalits, Christians, non-Hindus and

Hindus who were fighting for the lib-

eration of India from British occupa-

tion were considered to be fighting

for a just cause. After winning inde-

pendence from British rule, soon

after they began to feel that they have

been trapped in another kind of oc-

cupation. The Indian National con-

gress leadership failed to fulfill their

promises made with all minorities in

order to win their support before in-

dependence. Now, these nations are

fighting for their freedom, how can

one call them terrorists? This was

the responsibility of the occupying

Indian government to provide the se-

curity of life to the oppressed. Since

1947, India has occupied Kashmir;

atrocities have been committed

against innocent Kashmiris, Pundits

and Sikhs. It was their responsibility

because they are the ones who are

controlling the territory.

Chairman of Hurriyat Con-

ference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani

on March 12, 2011 addressing the

session ‘Kashmir - What next’ said

“soon after the partition, Muslims of

Jammu were asked to assemble at a

particular place, according to eyewit-

ness accounts, over five lakhs Mus-

lims were massacred according to a

conspiracy to make Jammu a Muslim

minority region.” He further stressed

that “Even India’s Home Minister (P

Chidambaram) has termed Kashmir

an issue of broken promises. The lin-

gering of the Kashmir dispute has

hampered the development of India

which is the biggest purchaser of

arms. Nearly one lakh people in

Delhi are home-

less and 25 crore

people in India

live below the

poverty line.

Kashmiris want

freedom from

India's forcible oc-

cupation. It is high

time for India to

fulfill its broken

promises and give

right to self-deter-

mination under the

supervision of UN

to Kashmiris. This

is the only amica-

ble and viable so-

lution to resolve

the dispute”, he

said. India has

posted over

700,000 armed

soldiers in the oc-

cupied territory

but has failed to

suppress the free-

dom movement

because the people

despise them. The

Indian govern-

ment was commit-

ting atrocities and

is still committing

them at the present

time just like an

occupied force. In their tenure, the

following people were abducted by

the forces and killed, H. N. Wanchoo,

Dr. Abdul Ahad Guru, Dr. Farooq

Ashai and noted human rights ac-

tivist Jalil Andrabi and Pir Hisam-ud-

Din. There are so many other names

that can be added to this list that were

abducted and killed by Indian forces.

(Cont.. to page no 7)

Highlights

Around 20,000 persons detained in two decades

under PSA

PSA used as revolving door to keep people

behind bars

Hundreds of people held each year on spurious

grounds

Detainees exposed to high degrees of torture,

ill treatment

PSA is arbitrary and abusive, undermines rule of law

PSA provides immunity from prosecution of

officials operating under it

322 persons detained under PSA from January to

September 201

JK Govt must repeal PSA, amend Juvenile Act

Screening Committees are ineffective executive

bodies

State disrespecting courts, DCs are rubber stamps

Security agencies resorting to wanton arrests to meet

targets

GOI must allow UN Working Group on Arbitrary

Detentions to visit Valley

GOI should facilitate extradition of Major

Avtar Singh

Who cares if the liberals and NDPare not happy with this Conservativebudget? Is this Liberal or an NDPbugged? Obviously it is a verymuch Conservative budget. If so;then let Conservatives put their heartand soul in it. The tragedy of any mi-nority government always getsstranded on mouse s` head when itcomes to its policy balancing and itsapplication. Budget of a governingparty in such a punch gets alwayssour. If the anchoring rests with thesupport of the op-position that doesnot mean it is aninfiltration of the opposition. Oppo-sition in the Parliament is always afailed party that lost its mendate ofthe people I believe it is a failedparty that tells you how to fail. Theopposition joined Conservatives tokeep the government running as theyfailed themselves to keep their ownmajority.$278.7 is allocated to be spent thisyear 2011. Out of this; $33 billiongoes for old debt payment. 400 mil-lion to be spent on efficient EcoEn-ergy Retrofit home program for ayear; is prefabricated program whichhas its roots in NDP policy mat-ters.Gauranteed Income supplementraise of the seniors of $600 and for

couplet $840 is in the offings. Newfamily Caregiver Tax Credit willgive $300 for the care giver. An im-itative to the rural area health work-ers of $40,000 loan reduction for thedoctors and $20,000 for the nurses isgood initiative for rural health im-provement.Keeping in view the immigrant qual-ified doctors, nurses, all medical re-lated staff, engineers, accountantswho re foreign trained their qualifi-cation will be recognized and will

get equalopportuni-ties to be

treated. Moreover if in certain casesthey need to get their qualificationupgraded all expenses will be borneby the Government. These are someof the incentives given to makeCanada productive in labor force.Of course; their are lots of NDP is-sues on budget yet to woo Jack Lay-ton to the yes vote lots of his policymatters have been incorporated inthe budget; yet he says it is notenough. Nor does it make liberals abit happy to keep the government inthe saddle. The mute point is; whatis going to be the next step forwardfor the opposition after dislodgingConservatives. Obviously election inin summer. Leaving aside the NDP

Courageous Journalism04 March 24, 2011

Dr. Solomon Naz - 416-661-7272+3

Budget the other side of the Coin“Opposition is always a failed party that tells you how to fail”

Summons served to Congress (I)New York- Congress (I) has been“SERVED” with the “SUMMONS”issued on March 1, 2011 by U.S. Dis-trict Court for the Southern Districtof New York for conspiring, aiding,abetting and carrying out organizedattacks on Sikh population of Indiain November 1984.

The service of summons onCongress (I) starts the 21 deadline forCongress (I) to respond to the classaction law suit filed (SFJ v. Congress(I) SDNY (10 CV 2940)) under AlienTort Claims Act (ATCA) and TortureVictim Protection Act (TVPA). Thecase against Congress (I) has beenfiled by “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ) a

US based human rights group alongwith several Sikh individuals fromdifferent states and cities of Indiawho witnessed and survived attacksin November 1984.

According to attorney Gur-patwant Singh Pannun, legal advisorto “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ), “if theCongress party did not respond to thesummons of the US Federal Court byApril 1, 2011, SFJ will ask the courtto enter a default against Congress(I)”. The default judgment againstCongress (I) will give the victims ofNovember 1984 an opportunity toseek compensatory and punitivedamages from Congress (I) for theparty’s role in genocidal attack onSikhs during November 1984.

The default judgment againstCongress (I) will pave the way forfiling criminal complaints againstCongress (I) leadership under vari-ous int`l laws for violation of humanrights and committing Genocide ofSikhs in November 1984. In US,criminal prosecution of Congress (I)leadership will be sought under the“Human Rights Enforcement Act of2009” which specifically gives juris-diction to the US Courts to prosecuteforeign nationals who are suspectedof committing crimes against human-ity.

As per the Government ofIndia’s record a total of 3296 Sikhswere killed during November 1984throughout India. However, out of35,535 claims for deaths and injuriesreceived throughout India, more than20,000 claims were as many as 14states of India.

1984 Sikh Genocide Case

who will not be in a position to forma government in next years to come;liberals are in a bad shape under theleadership of Ignatiuf. They are not ina position to win enough seats to forma government. If this is the positionafter next election, will there be another minority government again!Clearly it shows that both major Par-ties who talk about the care and con-cern of the Canadians; will send downthe drain millions of dollars of thetaxpayer for this dirty game of elec-tioneering. Who stands for the gov-ernment and for the people is anobvious question for each one of theus. For the opposition; of course theyare not happy with this budget, buthow much enough is enough is verybody’s` guess. The only thing that wecan say at this point is; If the Conser-vative government fall this FRIDAYmark your calendar date for the firstweek of May 2011 for election.

05 March 24, 2011 Courageous Journalism

by Dr. Amarjeet SinghAccording to an Amnesty Interna-

tional press statement, released day

before yesterday (on March 21,

2011), the Indian occupation author-

ities in the state of Jammu and Kash-

mir are holding hundreds of

Kashmiris each year, without charge

or trial, in order to ‘keep them out of

circulation’. (>h t t p : / / w w w . a m

n e s t y u s a . o r g /

d o c u m e n t . p h p ? i d = E N G -

PRE201103212242& lang=e ) This

is a repeat of a draconian Neo-Nazi

crime-against-humanity India’s

morally repugnant rulers have con-

tinued to practice for decades, to per-

petuate their corrupt rule in Indian

occupied Sikh-majority Punjab and

in the unhappy Christian-majority

areas of Eastern India – both areas

wanting freedom from the morally

repugnant Brahmin/Bania dominated

Indian rule which replaced the

British Colonial rule in August 1947.

The Amnesty International Press

statement documents how the Public

Safety Act (PSA) is used to secure

the long-term detention of individu-

als against whom there is insufficient

evidence for a trial.

Estimates of the number de-

tained in Indian Occupied Kashmir

under the Public Safety Act (PSA)

‘over the past two decades range

from 8,000- 20,000, with 322 report-

edly held from January to September

2010 alone’. The Amnesty Interna-

tional report, quoting Sam Zarifi,

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific

Director, has accused the Indian oc-

cupation authorities, in disputed

Jammu and Kashmir, of ‘using PSA

detentions as a revolving door’ to

keep people they can’t or won’t con-

vict, through proper legal channels,

locked up and out of the way. Hun-

dreds of people are being held each

year on spurious grounds, with many

exposed to higher risk of torture and

other forms of ill-treatment. De-

tainees include political leaders and

activists, suspected members or sup-

porters of armed opposition groups,

lawyers, journalists and protesters,

including children and women.

Often, they are initially picked up for

‘unofficial’ interrogation, during

which time they have no access to a

lawyer or their

families.

Over the past decade there has been

a marked decrease in the overall

numbers of members of armed

groups operating in Jammu and

Kashmir but, in the last five years,

there has been a resurgence of street

protests. Quoting Sam Zarifi,


Director, the Amnesty International

Press Release reports that, “Despite

this apparent shift in the nature of the

unrest, Jammu and Kashmir authori-

ties continue to rely on the draconian

Public Safety Act rather than at-

tempting to charge and try those sus-

pected of committing criminal acts.

The Public Safety Act undermines

the rule of law and reinforces deeply

held perceptions that police and se-

curity forces are above the law.

Amnesty International research

shows how the implementation of the

PSA is often arbitrary and abusive,

with many of those being held hav-

ing committed no recognizably crim-

inal acts.

Despite the fact that the In-

dian Supreme Court has described

the Public Safety Act and Public ad-

ministrative detention, as a ‘lawless

law’, those held under the PSA can

face up to two years in detention. But

the Jammu and Kashmir authorities

consistently thwart High Court or-

ders for the release of improperly de-

tained individuals by issuing

successive detention orders. Many

detainees are thus trapped in a cycle

of detention and remain, in the words

of one high-ranking Jammu and

Kashmir official, ‘out of circulation’.

To make matters worst the Public

Safety Act provides immunity from

prosecution for officials operating

under it’s ‘umbrella’.

Says Sam Zarifi that, “those

being held have no access to legal

representation and cannot challenge

their detention in any meaningful

way. Once released, they cannot seek

any redress or compensation for the

wrongful detention they have en-

dured and virtually never receive jus-

tice for the torture and ill-treatment.”

Amnesty International ac-

knowledges the right of Indian occu-

pation authorities to defend and

protect the population from violence,

but, this must be done while respect-

ing the human rights of all concerned

and abiding by international law.


Director Sam Zarifi is quoted in the

Amnesty International Press Release

as saying that, “the use of adminis-

trative detention does not conform to

international human rights legal ob-

ligations and agreements that the In-

dian government is a party to. The

Indian government must ensure that

Jammu and Kashmir authorities re-

peal the draconian Public Safety Act

and end the odious system of admin-

istration detention once and for all.”

Amnesty International, according to

the Press Statement has called on the

Government of Jammu and

Kashmir to:

• Repeal the PSA (>

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/in

fo/ASA20/ 001/2011/en <) Public

Safety Act and end the system of ad-

ministrative detention, releasing all

detainees or charging those suspected

of committing criminal acts with rec-

ognized offences and trying them

fairly in a court of law

• End illegal detentions and

introduce safeguards ensuring those

detained are charged promptly, have

access to relatives, legal council and

medical examinations and are held in

recognized detention facilities pend-

ing trial

Amnesty International also

called on the Government of Jammu

and Kashmir and the Indian Govern-

ment to:

• Carry out an independent,

impartial and comprehensive inves-

tigation into allegations of abuses

against detainees and their families,

including allegations of torture and

other ill-treatment, denial of visits

and medical care, making its findings

public and holding those responsible

to account.

• Invite and support visits of

UN officials, including the UN’s

Special Rapporteur on Torture and

the Working Group on Arbitrary

Detention.

In an amazing coincidence, if

one was to believe the Chandigrah-

based English language newspaper

report, by its Srinagar correspondent

Tejinder Singh Sodhi, the United

States Ambassador to India, Timothy

J Roemer, during a two-days visit to

Indian occupied Srinagar (>

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/2

0110319/j&k.htm#1 <) on 18 March,

2011, has, in a virtual snub to sepa-

ratists in the state, said that, “he met

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah only,

as he was the elected representative

of the people”.

The U.S. Ambassador is re-

ported to have retorted, (when asked

whether he would meet separatist

leaders in Kashmir also) that, “This

is my second visit to Jammu

and Kashmir....

The purpose of the visit is

that he (Chief Minister) is the elected

leader.

The Chief Minister is the per-

son who represents the people in

Jammu and Kashmir.”

‘Kashmiri Quizling’ Chief

Minister Omar Abdullah some

elected leader and some representa-

tive of the people of Kashmir !

Amnesty International calls for repeal of The dra-conian Public Safety Act in Indian Occupied Kashmir


Opposition will support Liberal non-confidence motion

Liberal Party will move non-confidence motionNational and Local News

Canadian jet fighters bombLibyan supply depot

Canadian CF-18 Hornets flew into action Tuesday night,shelling a Libyan ammunition depot during the military'sfirst bombing missions in the country.

Four of the fighter-jets, supported by two air-to-air refueling aircraft, conducted two separate bombingruns last night and this morning, the air force confirmedWednesday. The first overnight attack took placeovernight near Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, locatedeast of Tripoli. Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, the deputy chiefof air staff, told an Ottawa briefing that four laser-guidedbombs were dropped on the depot, but no information isavailable on the second attack or any damage inflicted.

These attacks, during the third day of Canadianmissions, were the first by Canadian aircraft in the UN-sponsored campaign to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.

On Tuesday, two Canadian fighter jets took partin a mission but returned to base without attacking theirtarget because the risk of "collateral damage was toogreat." Lawson said the risk in that mission was not re-lated to any threat to the CF-18s, but rather potential dam-age to civilians or important infrastructure such ashospitals, on the ground. He added that the decision wasin compliance with the rules of engagement that NATOforces have been given, and proves "the system works."

Canada working alongside their counterparts fromFrance, the U.K. and U.S., has deployed a total of six CF-18s and the two CC-150 air-to-air refueling planes to theLibya mission, as well as approximately 140 supportingforces personnel from CFB Bagotville in Quebec.

Ottawa has also sent 25 additional personnel toNaples, Italy, to help co-ordinate the mission -- bringingCanada's total military contribution to more than 400 people.

OTTAWA – With the Harper govern-ment facing a contempt vote in Par-liament, Liberal Leader MichaelIgnatieff gave notice today that hewill be moving a non-confidencemotion against the government.

“Liberals can no longer sup-port a government that misleadsCanadians, breaks the rules andweakens our democracy,” said Mr.Ignatieff. “The Conservative govern-ment has misled the House and allCanadians by hiding the details oftheir core spending priorities fromParliament – and it means we can’t

trust their budget numbers.”The Liberal motion being

placed on the Order Paper today fora vote in the House on Friday states:

That the House agrees withthe finding of the Standing Commit-tee on Procedure and House Affairsthat the Government is in contemptof Parliament, which is unprece-dented in Canadian Parliamentaryhistory, and consequently, the Househas lost confidence in the Government. “Stephen Harper mustbe held accountable for a pattern ofabuse of power, attacks on democ-

racy, and contempt for Parliamentand the Canadian people,” said Mr.Ignatieff. Mr. Harper’s inner-circlefaces charges, with potential jailtime, for breaking election laws, aswell as two RCMP investigations forinfluence peddling and withholdinginformation. Mr. Harper also shutdown Parliament twice, supported a$500,000 gag order for the formerIntegrity Commissioner, and de-fended a Minister who forged docu-ments and misled Parliament.

“The Conservative budgethas no credibility, since they con-

tinue to hide the costs of their biggestspending priorities. How can anyprogressive MP support a govern-ment that ignores Canadian familiesand instead ‘stays the course’ on $6billion in tax breaks for large corpo-rations, a $30-billion untenderedstealth fighter deal and $13 billionfor U.S.-style mega-prisons?

“The Liberal Party will standup to Stephen Harper and tell himthat he doesn’t make the rules, Cana-dians do, and it’s not the ‘HarperGovernment’ it’s the Government ofCanada,” concluded Mr. Ignatieff.

The New Democrat and Bloc Quebe-cois leaders said Wednesday theywould support a Liberal non-confi-dence motion to bring down the gov-ernment, if it were put to a vote.

One day earlier all three lead-

ers signalled their intention to rejectthe federal budget after it was un-veiled by Finance Minister Jim Fla-herty. Liberal Leader MichaelIgnatieff said he is ready to introducea motion of non-confidence against

the government on Wednesday and todebate it on Friday.

He cited accusations of con-tempt of Parliament, election fraudand influence peddling against theConservatives. "We have a responsi-

bility to say quite clearly that thisgovernment has lost the confidence ofthe House of Commons," Ignatiefftold reporters on Wednesday. "Thisgovernment has lost the confidence of Canadians."

Dhalla Discussed BudgetBrampton/Sp Bureau: As the weather inOttawa changed from politically workingtogether to working against, the members ofall parties started their outreach in full gear.That was exactly what Dr. Ruby Dhalla wasdoing when she hosted a virtual townhallmeeting with residents of Brampton-Spring-

dale to discuss the recent parliamentary budgetput forth in the House of Commons.

Using the latest technology, thousandsof constituents were connected by phone andhad the opportunity to discuss the budget,share their thoughts and ask questions aboutthe budget. In addition many constituents dis-cussed their views on the issues of jobs, edu-cation, and healthcare. Media was notinformed of the meeting.

“The virtual town hall was a greatopportunity to connect with residents on issuesthey are concerned about. Many of the partic-ipants expressed their frustration with thepriorities of the Conservative government anddisappointment at the fact that the budget didnot provide support for seniors and families,”

said Dhalla.Dr. Dhalla will not be

supporting the Conserva-tive budget as it does noth-ing to strengthen publicpensions, ignores childcare and early learning forchildren and does nothingto invest in our healthcaresystem.

“No progressive MPwho was elected to fightfor Canadian families cansupport a budget which ig-nores the needs of hard-working families. The

budget is an unfocused document which hasfailed to address long term challenges like thegrowing deficit of $56 billion dollars. My pri-ority is to fight for Brampton families andtheir needs,” said Dr. Dhalla.

On Wednesday night Dr. Dhalla tookpart in a panel discussion during Power Playwhere she criticized Conservative for catego-rized Brampton-Springdale as a ethnic riding.She said they all Canadians.

Courageous Journalism March 24, 2011 07

Amnesty slams ‘arbitrary’ arrestskeep people they cannot or won’t

convict through proper legal channels

locked up and out of circulation. We

have estimated the number of people

detained under PSA over the past two

decade ranges from 8000 to 20,000

with 322 reportedly held from Janu-

ary to Sep¬tember 2010 alone,”

Amnesty Interna¬tional South Asia

member, Bikramjeet Batra told re-

porters while releasing here the 70

page report, ‘Lawless Law, Deten-

tions under the Jammu and Kash¬mir

Public Safety Act’

He was flanked by Ramesh

Gopalakrishnan and South Asia Di-

rector Amnesty International Madhu

Malhotra. The AI team said they met

the Home Secretary GK Pillai and

impressed upon him to release the

PSA detainees in Kashmir. “He (Pil-

lai) told us that Home Ministry had

instructed the State Government to re-

lease the detainees booked under

PSA. However, he told us that the

State Government has its own set of

law and order problems. So the onus

to release the detainees solely lies

with the State Government” Batra

said. Incidentally, the PSA allows the

police to detain a person up to two

years without charge or trial if he or

she is deemed a “threat” to the state.

The report documents how the PSA is

used to secure the long term detention

of individuals against whom there is

insufficient evidence for a trial. It also

reveals how the law “violates India’s

international human rights obliga-

tions”. Besides, the report also pro-

vides evidence of the ways in which

administrative detention under the

PSA “con¬tinues to be used in the

state to detain individuals for years at

a time, without trial, depriving them

of human rights protections otherwise

applicable in Indian law”.

The report is based on a re-

search conducted by an Amnesty In-

ternational team during a visit to

Srinagar in May 2010 and subsequent

analysis of government and legal doc-

uments relating to over 600 individu-

als detained under

the PSA between

2003 and 2010.

“Hundreds

of people are being

held each year on

spurious ground

with many ex-

posed to higher

risks of torture and

other forms of ill

treatment,” Batra

said. The report

shows that de-

tainees under PSA

include political

leaders, activists,

suspected mem-

bers or supporters

of armed opposition groups, lawyers,

journalists and protesters, including

children. It read that often they are

picked for ‘unofficial’ interrogation,

during which they have no access to

a lawyer or their families.

The team said the cases stud-

ied by the Amnesty International in-

dicate the authorities in JK have used

the PSA to create a parallel or infor-

mal criminal justice system.

“The cases studied by us indi-

cate that the authorities in J&K have

used the PSA to create a parallel or in-

formal criminal justice system—by-

passing the regular criminal justice

system to secure the long-term deten-

tion without trial of individuals de-

priving them of human rights

pro¬tection otherwise applicable in

Indian law.” The Amnesty teams also

said that the PSA was even slapped

against the street protesters.

Despite an apparent shift in

the nature of unrest, Jammu and

Kashmir authorities continue to rely

on the PSA rather than attempting to

charge and try those suspected of

committing criminal acts,” said Batra.

“The PSA undermines the rule of law

and reinforces deeply held percep-

tions that police and security forces

are above the law.

--------------

India is in violation of Geneva Convention in theirtreatment of the citizens of occupied Kashmir

In the16th session of the UN: human rights council,

room xxii briefing on human rights of deprived minori-

ties, 9th march, 2011, a 17 year old Aneesa Nabi ap-

pealed to the United Nations Security Council to locate

her abducted father. She addressed a seminar at Palais

de Nations describing the gory details of how Indian

soldiers killed her mother and severely injured her tod-

dler younger brother. Diplomats pledged to contact the

Indian government to help locate her father if alive. I

would like to quote the Hon. Congressman Dana

Rohrabacher, who said in the House of Representatives

of the United States, "As far as the Kashmiris, Sikhs,

Muslims and other non-Hindu minorities are con-

cerned, India is a Nazi Germany to them." The fact of

the matter is the Indian government has failed to win

the hearts and minds of the Kashmiri nation.

As a matter of fact, the India Government is in

violation of the Geneva Convention because they have

failed to perform their duties as an occupant.The inter-

national agreement formulated in 1864 at Geneva, es-

tablishing a code treatment of the sick or wounded,

prisoners and security of life and safety of the op-

pressed nation. There are now four Geneva Conven-

tions, which were drawn up in 1949. And all of them

have now been accepted by virtually every state includ-

ing India.


The martyrdom of Sohan Singh in Police custodySikh nation we are never

told? Do we want our

children and our young to be-

come drug addicts? It is only

a colonial power that intro-

duces drugs amongst its en-

slaved populace so that it can

never awaken from its

colonised status to freedom.

The Sikh's enjoy the status of

an enslaved people

since 1947.

As I have said earlier the

press and media especially

The Tribune had created a

hysteria about Sohan Singh's

arrest on 7th March 2011

about his association with

Pakistan. We knew then that

the Hindu state was preparing

the ground for the elimination

of Sohan Singh. In fact Sohan

Singh had been arrested from

his home in village Varpal on

3rd March 2011 and was kept

in illegal custody of the State

Special Operation Cell

(SSOC) Amritsar which func-

tioned under the stewardship

of Assistant Inspector Gen-

eral of Police S. Manwinder

Singh. Sohan Singh was bru-

tally tortured during his ille-

gal custody in this

interrogation centre where

hardly anyone comes out

alive or without injuries that

last a lifetime through inhu-

man torture. On 7th March

2011 Sohan Singh was shown

as legally arrested and the Ju-

dicial Magistrate without

having sent Sohan Singh for

a medical examination re-

manded him to this brutal

State Special Operation Cell

(SSOC) custody on a nine

day police remand. Finally S.

Manwinder Singh, known for

inflicting unbearable torture

had got his prey. Thereafter, I

was informed by his family

that a hot iron (the one used

for ironing clothes) was used

on his arms and after his

death his family saw these

marks on his arms. He had a

wound on his neck. The steel

rod that was inserted into his

left leg by the orthopedic sur-

geon had come out and S.

Manwinder Singh claimed

that Sohan Singh had hung

himself from a ceiling fan in

his cell. On 11th March 2011

Sohan Singh's wife Bhupin-

der Kaur along with the

Sarpanch (village elected

headman) was allowed to see

and meet Sohan Singh. Bibi

Bhupinder Kaur informed me

that Sohan Singh could not

stand up, as he had been bru-

tally tortured. It confounds

me how a person who could

not even stand up to meet his

wife and his village Sarpanch

could hang himself from a

ceiling fan which was hung

from a height of eight foot

high ceiling of his cell? There

was no stool or a chair in his

cell on which he could have

stood to put a noose around

his neck and hang the ends of

the noose to the ceiling fan.

Dangerous under trial prison-

ers of the Police when put in

a cell are guarded day and

night by a sentry at the cells

iron gate. Why didn't the sen-

try on guard duty see the

preparations of Sohan Singh

when he was preparing to

hang himself? Obviously

these are all cock and bull

stories put out by Mr. Man-

winder Singh AIG and his no-

torious State Special

Operation Cell (SSOC) to

save their skins after murder-

ing this innocent Sikh while

in police and their custody.

Between 7th March 2011

and before the custodial mur-

der of Sohan Singh on 14th

March 2011, Bibi Bhupinder

Kaur, his wife informed me

that she had received a call

from Inspector Nirmal Singh

of State Special Operation

Cell (SSOC) on her cell

phone threatening her that

she should not engage a

lawyer. However, Article 22

of THIS's (Theocratic Hindu

Indian State's) Constitution

declares that no person who

is arrested shall be detained in

custody without being in-

formed of the grounds of

such arrest and he shall not be

denied the right to consult

and defend himself by a legal

practitioner of his choice.

And that she should not tell

anybody about her husband's

police custody or seek any-

one's help. He further told

her, "asi aap hi bhugta de-

vange," which in the Panjabi

colloquial language means

that they (the Police) will dis-

pose (eliminate) him off. All

these acts of Inspector Nirmal

Singh are against the Consti-

tution of THIS (Theocratic

Hindu Indian State) and

the law.

When I was sitting with

Sohan Singh's family, his

brother in law (sister's hus-

band) S. Harbans Singh

Sandhu walked in, coming

from Amritsar where he re-

sides in Partap Nagar. He told

me that in May 2010 the Po-

lice of Amritsar had raided

the house of Sohan Singh in

Swiss city of Amritsar which

was nearing completion but

had all the kitchen utensils, a

frigidaire and other house-

hold goods, all of which were

taken away and no re-

spectable witness of the local-

ity was called, which is

incumbent on the police as

per law. No list of the seized

household goods was ever

made. In a nutshell this was

an illegal search. Then S.

Harbans Singh

Sandhu told me

that his house in

Partap Nagar

Amritsar was

also raided and

searched by the

Amritsar police

in the last week

of May of 2010.

Again no re-

spectable wit-

ness of the

locality was

called or associ-

ated with the

search. This too

an illegality of

the police.

From all

that I have seen

and enquired I

can only con-

clude that

Sohan Singh

HAD IT COM-

ING. It was pre-

planned that the

dog must be

given a bad

name and

hanged. Over a

million Sikh's

since 1982 have

met such a fate.

THIS (Theo-

cratic Hindu Indian State) has

committed the genocide of

the Sikh race with impunity.

No Sikh leader has cried out

against this barbaric torturous

and brutal death of Sohan

Singh in police custody. Why

should they? Did Norway's

imposed ruler by Nazi Ger-

many Vidukin Quisling or the

Vichy regime's head in

France Marshall Patean ever

complain against the rail

wagon loads of prisoners they

sent into the Nazi death

camps? Amongst the Sikh's

we have our Quislings that is

S. Parkash Singh Badal, Cap-

tain Amrinder Singh, S. Surjit

Singh Barnala, Ms. Rajinder

Kaur Bhattal, S. Sukhbir

Singh Badal, S. Avtar Singh

Makker, S. Bikramjit Singh

Majithia etc. all collaborators

of the Hindu state that don't

mind extra judicial killings of

the Sikh's. Rather they wel-

come them, lest some Sikh

may challenge their ascen-

dancy to political power in

THIS (Theocratic Hindu In-

dian State). They are our

Quisling's, Patean's and Ju-

danrat's.

Having read into the Sikh

psyche over a long period of

time, I am of the opinion that

the extra judicial death of

Sohan Singh may prove to be

the last straw on the camel's

back as the torturous death

caused by Deputy Superin-

tendent of Police Giani Gur-

bachan Singh of a Sikh

patriot Kulwant Singh

Nagoke was in the 1980's

after which Sikh's began to

hit back at the state and

formed a resistance move-

ment.

If the Hindu state

handles this case adroitly and

wisely, turbulence in the Pan-

jab and the Sikh mind may be

halted for the time being but

there is no telling when the

volcano in Sikh may begin

to erupt.


OTTAWA – Prime Minis-

ter Stephen Harper today

tabled in Parliament the

Eighteenth Annual Re-

port to the Prime Minister

on the Public Service of

Canada from the Clerk of

the Privy Council, Secre-

tary to the Cabinet and

Head of the Public Serv-

ice, Wayne G.

Wouters.“We are com-

mitted to maintaining a

high-performing Public

Service that meets the

needs of Canadians and

promotes their interests at

home and abroad,” said

Prime Minister Harper.

“This report shows solid

progress towards ensur-

ing our Government im-

proves its performance,

and has the people, pro-

grams and resources to

address current and fu-

ture needs.” The Clerk’s

report highlights the ac-

complishments of the

Public Service over the

past year including its im-

plementation of our Gov-

ernment’s Economic

Action Plan, support for

greater security and de-

velopment in Afghanistan

and support for the suc-

cessful G-8 and G-20

summits. The report re-

asserts the Clerk’s com-

mitment to public service

renewal and outlines a

number of key priorities

for 2011 including engag-

ing employees in the ex-

cellence agenda, and

renewing the workplace

and workforce.

PM tables the Eighteenth AnnualReport to the Prime Minister on

the Public Service of Canada

Minister Kenney Issues Statement Recognizing Pakistan Day OTTAWA, ON-

TARIO--- The

H o n o u r a b l e

Jason Kenney,

Minister of Citi-

zenship, Immi-

gration and

Multiculturalism,

issued the follow-

ing statement rec-

ognizing Pakistan

Day:

"I want to extend

warm wishes to all

Canadians of Pak-

istani descent who

today are celebrating

Pakistan Day.

"Pakistan Day com-

memorates two crucial

events along the road

to Pakistani nation-

hood: the passage of

the Lahore Resolution

in 1940, which led

seven years later to the

formation of a sepa-

rate homeland for the

Muslims of the South

Asian subcontinent,

and the adoption of

the first constitution of

Pakistan in 1956.

"Canada enjoys a

strong relationship

with Pakistan. That re-

lationship is rooted in

the nearly 125,000

Canadians of Pak-

istani heritage living

in Canada. For over a

century, members of

the Pakistani commu-

nity have enriched

Canada with their

skills, their knowl-

edge, and their talent.

And as Pakistan is one

of our top source

countries for perma-

nent residents, Pak-

istani-Canadians will

continue to play an

important role in

building this country

in the 21st century.

"Across the country

today, Canadians of

Pakistani descent will

be celebrating the day

with family and

friends, and the wider

community. I wish

everyone a happy and

festive Pakistan Day.

"And as you cele-

brate, I hope all

Pakistani-Canadi-

ans - and Canadians

who care about Pak-

istan - will also take

a moment to re-

member Shahbaz

Bhatti. Shahbaz

Bhatti was the first

and only Christian

minister in the Pak-

istani government. He

worked tirelessly to

protect religious and

ethnic minorities in

Pakistan. His public

condemnation of his

country's blasphemy

laws cost him his life

when he was slain by

assassins on March

2nd.

"On this Pakistan Day,

I believe it is impor-

tant that we all re-

member the life and

legacy of my friend

Shahbaz Bhatti."

Liberals vow to bring down Harper governmentOTTAWA—The Lib-

erals will move to

bring down the Harper

government on Friday

with a non-confidence

motion that slams the

Conservatives for con-

tempt of Parliament.

“We believe the mo-

ment has come for

Canadians to make a

choice here,” Liberal

leader Michael Ignati-

eff announced in the

Commons foyer on

Wednesday.

“We’ve reached the

end of the road here.”

Ignatieff said the ballot

question in the coming

campaign to boil down

to trust — whether vot-

ers can trust Harper

with the economy or

democracy.

He said he particularly

looks forward to cam-

paigning against the

Conservatives’ $160-

million family-care

plan, which he called a

“knock-off” of the Lib-

erals’ more ambitious

— and expensive —

$1-billion proposal.

It’s possible that the

government could fall

on budget vote before

the Liberals get to

move their motion.

Liberals are putting it

forward nonetheless,

following on a

Speaker’s ruling and

committee hearings

earlier this month into

the government’s treat-

ment of

Parliament.The non-

confidence motion

states: “That the House

agrees with the finding

of the Standing Com-

mittee on Procedure

and House Affairs that

the Government is in

contempt of Parlia-

ment, which is un-

precedented in

Canadian Parliamen-

tary history, and conse-

quently, the House has

lost confidence in the

Government.”

The Liberal leader said

it is “hilarious” that

Harper has portrayed

an election as danger-

ous or destabilizing,

given his own handling

of democratic ques-

tions in his five years

in power.


When the Conservative

Government wants to stoke

an issue without taking

direct responsibility they

often resort to Private Members Bills.

Items that for one reason or another

are deemed too explosive or sensitive

to be pushed as official policy are

given to backbench MPs to push as

their own ideas but with the talking

points and media machinery provided

by the PMO. This gives the Govern-

ment just the right amount of distance

to at once embrace or reject the idea

based on how it’s received. They did

this with the long-gun registry and

they’re doing it with Bill C-623

which seeks to require voters to show

their face before being allowed to

vote. The law is targeted primarily at

Muslim women who wear face

coverings as part of their religion.

Let me start off by calling out

this bill for what it is: a shameless,

divisive piece of legislation that aims

to pit one group of Canadians against

another for political gain. The Con-

servatives first tried to pass this as a

Government Bill in the form of Bill

C-6 which was introduced prior to

the 2008 election and left to die when

Harper ordered the House dissolved.

Feeling the backlash from that debate

the Conservatives did nothing about

the issue for nearly 3 years before de-

ciding that a Private Members Bill

was the best way to leverage the bill’s

divisive power without burning

themselves again.

The reason for its return? For the

past few years the Province of Que-

bec has been gripped by an unpleas-

ant debate over the idea of

“reasonable accommodation”…the

underlying goal being to determine

the limits of social tolerance for other

people’s religious and cultural be-

liefs. This debate is also happening

in other parts of the country but it is

Quebec where it has achieved unpar-

alleled prominence and media atten-

tion. Conservatives of course are

constantly seeking to shore up their

support in the province, hence the

bill.

Bill C-623 is designed to fan the

flames of the reasonable accommo-

dation debate while targeting a spe-

cific group for the sole purpose of

making political hay. Never mind the

fact that using a photo ID to identify

oneself at the polls is only one of 3

options available to citizens who

come out to vote. For example you

can bring a hydro bill and library card

both with no photo and be allowed to

vote. How does seeing someone’s

face help to confirm their identity

when the only identification has no

pictures? Are we supposed to assume

that clever poll clerks will challenge

perspective voters by saying “you

can’t possibly be a Jasmine you look

more like a Mary,” of course not.

Given that it creates a special require-

ment for one group of people the bill

is unfair, impractical and frankly un-

necessary.

This bill seeks to solve a problem

that doesn’t exist; namely hordes of

electoral fraudsters dressing up in

burqas to game the system. Accord-

ing to Elections Canada out of the 14

million ballots cast in 2008, not one

person voted with a face covering. If

fraud were actually a concern then

the Conservatives would have looked

at tightening rules around mail-in

ballots where no identifica-

tion at all is required. Bet-

ter yet the Conservative

Party could also come

clean about allegations that were se-

rious enough for Elections Canada to

charge four party officials including

two Conservative Senators with elec-

toral fraud. Those are real docu-

mented charges as opposed to

imaginary schemes.

This is the worst kind of politics. In

trying to appeal to ignorance and fear

the Conservatives have betrayed the

trust given to them by Canadians.

We are not a country that seeks to

promote division or to vilify a certain

group, Canada is a place where all are

welcome and the rules apply evenly.

Lawmakers have a duty to respect

our constitutional democracy and

only put forward laws that are consis-

tent with the Charter of Rights and

Freedoms.

If C-623 is indeed a true private

members bill then I call on the Con-

servatives to denounce it immedi-

ately. Anything less serves as an

endorsement of these tactics which

would be a travesty not just for Mus-

lim women but indeed all Canadians.

Uncovering the Face of Fear


1984 Riots: Life Term to a Man for Murdering FourA man was sentenced

today to life imprison-

ment for burning alive

four persons in

Trilokpuri area of East

Delhi during the 1984

anti-Sikh riots which

had broken out here fol-

lowing the assassination

of the then Prime Minis-

ter Indira Gandhi.

Additional Sessions

Judge P S Teji also im-

posed a fine of Rs

30,000 on convict Ma-

hesh saying the prose-

cution has established

that he was present in

the mob which had set

the house on fire result-

ing in four deaths on

November 3, 1984.

"The prosecution has

successfully established

on record beyond rea-

sonable doubt that the

accused was a member

of the unlawful assem-

bly at the time of com-

mission of the offence

and entered into the

house."

"Prosecution has also

successfully established

that after entering into

the house, being a mem-

ber of the unlawful as-

sembly, accused

Mahesh committed the

murder of the four per-

sons," the court said.

Mahesh was in the mob

which had entered com-

plainant Vidya Kaur's

house in block number-

13 at Trilokpuri on No-

vember 3, 1984, and

burnt alive her husband

Jaswant Singh, his

nephew Anokha Singh,

his friend Satnam Singh

and a neighbour Bhajan

Singh.The court relied

on testimonies of Vidya,

her two sons Surjeet

Singh and Kuldeep

Singh who had also wit-

nessed the killings.

"The presence of the

eye witnesses has not

been questioned by the

defence. Rather, the

case of the defence was

that Vidya became un-

conscious and was not

in a position to identify

whereas this fact has

been categorically de-

nied by Vidya."

"As a result, the prose-

cution has successfully

established the presence

of eye witnesses at the

spot of the incident," the

court noted.

Mahesh had contended

that he used to visit the

house of the com-

plainant to take liquor.

He said he was falsely

implicated in the case as

some altercations had

taken place between

him and Vidya's hus-

band.

The court, however, re-

jected Mahesh's con-

tention saying his pleas

were "contradictory".

"The defence taken by

the accused has been

false and contradictory

to his various other

pleas, particularly when

the circumstances of

presence of the accused

at the spot, presence of

eye witnesses at the spot

of riots and murder of

the deceased have been

established by the pros-

ecution by leading evi-

dence before the court,"

the ASJ said.

Mahesh was convicted

in the case for the sec-

ond time as the Delhi

High Court, on an ap-

peal by him against his

conviction earlier, had

remanded the matter

back to the trial court

with a direction to hear

it afresh.Mahesh was

convicted and sentenced

to life term earlier in

January 1997 in the case

along with one Balesh-

war who died later. Two

other accused Mange

Ram and Amir Khan

were acquitted during

the trial.

The First Information

Report in the case had

been registered on Jus-

tice Ranganath Mishra

Commission's recom-

mendations.

Following her failure in

getting registered the

case of her husband's

killing, Vidya had ap-

proached the Commis-

sion, and had told it in

affidavit that her hus-

band, who was working

with the DESU, and

others were attacked by

a mob of around 1,000

on the morning of No-

vember 3, 1984.

The mob had looted her

belongings and set her

house ablaze in which

four persons were burnt

alive, she had said in the

affidavit.

The eye witnesses had

deposed that Mahesh

had a knife in his hand.

Considering the deposi-

tion by eye witnesses as

"natural, reliable and

trustworthy", the court

convicted Mahesh say-

ing that "from the testi-

mony of the

complainant and other

eye witnesses, the pros-

ecution has successfully

established that Mahesh

actively participated in

riots on the day of the

incident."

Cont...from pg 1

The comments in question are:

“If they want Khalistan (inde-pendent Sikh Homeland), they won’tget it in India, they should buy land inAlberta and establish it there. Thenthey say I was joking, No I am notjoking!”

“Sikh extremism is on the risein Canada. Now they have trainedthe second and third generation. Theyare much more sophisticated, they aremuch more dangerous?”

In his speech, available on

You Tube, he talks about the unity of

India how his forefathers fought for it

and how he is willing to go to jail or

sacrifice his life for the unity of India,

yet suggesting to buy land and estab-

lish an independent Sikh Homeland

on Canadian soil.

One would ask the question

aren't these divisive comments con-

tradictory for the people of Canada.

Mr Ujjal's comments have been the

cause of serious concern and unrest

here at home in Canada.

This crusader of diplomacy is

calling all second and third genera-

tions of Sikh youth "extremists" , one

must ask him were Terry Fox, Pierre

Elliot Trudeau or the inventor of in-

sulin Frederick Banting all great

Canadians who fought for what they

believed in, while being protected by

the Canadian way of life, extremists.

Give me a break.

Perhaps Mr. Dosanjh also un-

derstands that his political career is at

a stalemate and he is relentlessly try-

ing to discredit hardworking Sikh in

Canada. NDP and Conservative de-

clined to comment.

According to sources close to

Sikh Working Group, on Saturday,

the group will seek public opinion to

pressure the Liberal party of Canada

to either take responsibility of what

being said is disturbing and defama-

tory or the group will lobby exten-

sively throughout Canada to bring

Liberals to realize their wrong doing.

With the smell of an Election

one must wonder, why is Mr. Ignatief

not intervening and correcting this

gross mismanagement and borderline

criminal act by one of his subordi-

nates.

Meeting is on Saturday 12 noonat Chandni Gateway in Brampton.


Japan says no cut in Pakistan aid or trade despite disasterJapan will increase ties, cooperation and investment

Islamabad: Japan on Saturday said it

will continue to play role in develop-

ment of Pakistan and there will be no

cut in aid despite deadly earthquake and

tsunami.

Pakistan will not face any reduction in

developmental assistance and projects

funded by Japan will not be dropped or

rescheduled, said Kaoru Magosaki,

Head of Economic and Development

Section, Embassy of Japan.

The diplomat said that they will in-

crease ties and cooperation with Pak-

istan. Many companies will like to

invest here of security situation is little

improved, he underlined.Kaoru

Magosaki said this while talking to a delegation led

by Chairman FPCCI, Capital Office, Hameed

Akhtar Chadda, Chairman Media Malik Sohail,

and SVP Pharmaceuticals Tariq Mehmood who

visited embassy to express sympathetic grief over

disaster and loses in Japan.

He said that disasters will not stop us from support-

ing a friendly country like Pakistan.

Earlier, Chadda and Sohail said that Japan ii

world's third-largest economy and the fifth largest

donor of development aid. It has played significant

role in Pakistan's economic development.The situ-

ation in Japan has triggered fears in domestic mar-

ket as it is a great trading partner and supplier of

quality goods. Many critical sectors rely on Japan,

they added.Malik Sohail also expressed fear of an

expected drop in demand, exports and remittances

and its impact on local environment.

"Japan should take steps to balance trade and ac-

celerate transfer of technology to Pakistan and ease

visa related issues," he demanded.

He called upon business government and busi-

ness community to reach out to help the people

of Japan as they have always helped us in

need.

The FPCCI delegation also offered condo-

lences. “We share in the sorrow and grief of

the people of Japan and will try our level best

to help them. Japanese have the will and abil-

ity to overcome loses and emerge stronger,"

they wrote in the condolence book at the em-

bassy on the behalf of VP CACCI Tariq Say-

eed, VP Saarc CCI Iftikhar Ali Malik and

President FPCCI Senator Ghulam Ali.

The delegation lauded Japanese support in

construction of Kohat Tunnel, training insti-

tutes, flood warning system and rehabilitation of

Taunsa Barrage, improvement of health, education,

environment, irrigation, agricultural and industrial

development, disaster risk management, energy,

transportation and sanitation.Pakistan's main ex-

ports include textile yarn, woven fabrics, leather

and leather goods, sport goods, fish and fish prod-

ucts etc while it imports road vehicles, boilers, ma-

chinery, equipment, iron, steel, telecommunication,

organic chemicals, auto parts, vehicles etc.

Toronto, ON - “desiFEST” continues

making history, producing the first

ever South Asian showcase in associ-

ation with JunoFest. The South Asian

showcase takes place March 25th at

the Courthouse lounge in Toronto,

and is presented by Luv to Bhang.

Featured Canadian artists include rap

artist Blitzkrieg (a two time Asian

Music Award nominee and title

holder of 4 top ten singles on the BBC

Asian Network) ; R&B singer Deesha

(2007 JUNO Nominee for R&B/Soul

Recording of the Year with her debut album “Life Less Ordi-

nary”) ; and Pakistani folk

artist Ef-Khan. UK bhangra

superstars Juggy D and H-

Dhami, frequent collabora-

tors and tour mates with a

variety of South Asian

Canadian artists, will also

be joining Blitzkrieg, Dee-

sha and Ef-Khan.

“The JUNO’s celebrate the

best in Canadian music and

for desiFEST to be part-

nered with JunoFest for this

South Asian showcase is an

incredible step forward,”

says Sathish Bala, CEO and

Founder, desiFEST. “This

showcase is part of our de-

siFEST Concert Series,

aimed at showcasing the

growing talented musicians

within the South Asian com-

munity, and we hope to con-

tinue this new relationship with

JunoFest for many years to come.”

desiFEST Concert Series embodies a

musical fusion ranging from tradi-

tional eastern, modern western and

regionally inspired music. Bringing

alive the magic of live performances,

desiFEST prides itself on providing a

musical platform, which bridges bar-

riers, celebrates diversity, encourages

unity and instils a sense of Canadian

pride.

For more information visit

www.desifest.ca


“desiFEST” SouthAsian Canadian Con-

cert Showcase in asso-ciation with JunoFest

WHAT: desiFEST concert series in

association with JunoFest

W H E R E : C O U R T H O U S E ,

Toronto, Ontario

WHEN: MARCH 25, 2011 (Doors

open @ 10 PM, Tickets $20)

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Raoul Juneja,

Lyrical Knockout Entertainment

416-988-5363

[email protected]

Though Dabangg di-

rector Abhinav Kashyap has

stated that actor Shah Rukh

Khan is not the reason he left

his launch pad, sources claim

otherwise. The director is ap-

parently spending most of his

time networking with King

Khan for his forthcoming film.

It is learned that the film-maker

is keen to launch a film with

Shah Rukh at exactly the same

time that he was slated to direct

the Dabangg sequel. Abhinav

apparently moved out of Da-

bangg with his team of assis-

tant directors. One of them,

Himanshu Mehra, is the co-

producer of his forthcoming

film.

"Abhinav had kept the Khan

brothers — Arbaaz and Salman

— in the dark about his plans

for his own film. He didn't

want to shoot the film at the al-

lotted dates. It then came to

light that he was having meet-

ings with Shah Rukh for an ac-

tion thriller. His friend Sunil

Vohra brought in a corporate

giant as the producer, and has

already had at least three meet-

ings to get Shah Rukh on

board. The actor's yet to fi-

nalise the project, and Abhinav

is eagerly waiting for the final

nod," informs a source,

adding that the film is tenta-

tively titled Project 18. How-

ever, an official from the

production house confirms that

the film is on even though Shah

Rukh has not signed on the dot-

ted line.

When contacted, Arbaaz said,

"The official reason that Abhi-

nav gave me was that the film

is being done too soon. But I

have to go ahead as soon as I

get the dates from Salman. I've

heard of talks of him having re-

ceived an SMS from us that

prompted him to break off, on

the contrary I was the one who

got the SMS of him not doing

the film."

But what of the fact that he

ditched Salman's film for

SRK? "Whether he ditched the

film for someone else's film is

a question that he can answer

best. For me, Abhinav is a

closed chapter! It's a good

thing that we had our differ-

ences now, and not when the

film was being made," says Ar-

baaz, who'll be making his di-

rectorial debut with the

D a b a n g g

sequel.


Actor Preity Zinta is back in

the limelight and this time it is not for

her philanthropic work or for her

films, but for the constant buzz in her

love-life. She was recently spotted

with a phirang twice the same fort-

night leading to fresh speculations on

the new man (she was earlier linked

to cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Brett Lee,

hotelier Vikram Chatwal) in her life.

When asked, Priety says that

the speculative reports had her in

splits. In her characteristic outspoken

way, she says, "Am I not allowed to

go to a party with friends anymore

without being linked to someone? It's

absolutely ridiculous! Just because I

am single, people have been speculat-

ing and linking me with men I get

seen with. I am single, and I am to-

tally loving it."

So what about the phirang

man she was seen with at a recent

party? "Both men she was seen with

are friends and producers. She at-

tended an event with the French pro-

ducer in the morning along with

another friend, but no one seems to

notice that. Preity is in her element

and focusing on her career," a close

friend comes to the actor's defence.

After a two-year self-imposed

break, the actor is gearing up to get

back to films. And she finds it amus-

ing that her doing films is being

called a 'comeback'. "Was I ever gone,

for people to say that I am making a

comeback?" asks Preity adding, "I am

very much around. I just got busy

with my cricket team and went

abroad for a short business adminis-

tration course. I have not been seen in

films as I didn't

have the time to

sign any. Now,

you will see a lot

more of me. I have

been busy with my

reality show and am

kicked about it. I

have also been going

through a couple of

scripts so some excit-

ing announcements are

around the corner."

lovin' it!'

ONE KHAN FOR ANOTHER

'Single and…is actor Preity Zinta's new slo-gan. So, who was the mystery phi-

rang she was spotted with at arecent party?

The drama around the Dabangg sequel con-tinues... Buzz has it that film-maker Abhi-nav Kashyap is trying to get actor ShahRukh Khan for his next action thriller

Courageous JournalismMarch 24, 2011 16

Deadline

Extended

24-03-2011, issue

Documents

Transcript of 24-03-2011, issue