ਪੰਜਾਬ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੇ ਜ਼ਾਲਮ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਪੁੱਜਣ ਅਤੇ ਸਰੀ ਦੇ ਐਮ ਪੀ ਨਾਲ ਘੁਲਣ-ਮਿਲਣ ਦਾ ਸਿੱਖ ਜਥੇਬੰਦੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਲਿਆ ਗੰਭੀਰ ਨੋਟਿਸ; ਇੰਮੀਗਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਜਵਾਬਦੇਹੀ ਮੰਗਦਾ ਖਤ

-ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਹੋਤਾ | ਸਰੀ | ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ

ਸਿੱਖ ਨੌਜਵਾਨੀ ਦਾ ਘਾਣ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ‘ਤੇ ਬੇਤਹਾਸ਼ਾ ਤਸ਼ੱਦਦ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ, ਪੰਜਾਬ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੇ ਅੱਤਿਆਚਾਰੀ ਇੰਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਸਿੰਘ ਭੰਗੂ ਦੇ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਆਉਣ ਅਤੇ ਸਰੀ ਤੋਂ ਐਮਪੀ ਸੁੱਖ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਉਸਦਾ ਸਵਾਗਤ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਉਸਦੇ ਨਿੱਜੀ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ‘ਚ ਸ਼ਰੀਕ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਕੈਨੇਡੀਅਨ ਸਿੱਖ ਜਥੇਬੰਦੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਗੰਭੀਰ ਨੋਟਿਸ ਲਿਆ ਹੈ।

ਅਜਿਹਾ ਜ਼ਾਲਮ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵੜ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਗਿਆ? ਇਹ ਜਵਾਬਦੇਹੀ ਲੈਣ ਲਈ ਬੀਸੀ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਕੌਂਸਲ ਅਤੇ ਓਂਟਾਰੀਓ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਕਮੇਟੀ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਦੇ ਇਮੀਗਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਖਤ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਖਤ 'ਚ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਸਿੰਘ ਭੰਗੂ ਬਾਰੇ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਸਾਂਝੀ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਤੋਂ ਇਸ ਜ਼ਾਲਮ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਖਿਲਾਫ ਤੁਰੰਤ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਕਰਨ ਅਤੇ ਸਰੀ ਦੇ ਐਮ ਪੀ ਵਲੋਂ ਤੁਰੰਤ ਮਾਫੀ ਮੰਗਣ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ ਹੈ।

ਦੱਸਣਯੋਗ ਹੈ ਕਿ 20 ਸਤੰਬਰ ਨੂੰ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ‘ਚ ਮੱਧਕਾਲੀ ਚੋਣਾਂ ਦਾ ਐਲਾਨ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕਾ ਹੈ, ਇਸ ਵਰਤਾਰੇ ਤੋਂ ਦੁਖੀ ਇੱਕ ਸਿੱਖ ਆਗੂ ਨੇ ਭਾਈਚਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ ਅਪੀਲ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਜਦੋਂ ਇਹ ਲੀਡਰ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਘਰ ਵੋਟਾਂ ਮੰਗਣ ਆਉਣ ਤਾਂ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਪੁੱਛਣਾ ਕਿ ਪੰਜਾਬ ‘ਚ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੇ ਘਰ ਉਜਾੜਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਪੁਲਸੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ‘ਚ ਜੀ ਆਇਆਂ ਕਹਿੰਦਿਆਂ, ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮਾਂ ‘ਚ ਸ਼ਮੂਲੀਅਤ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਰਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਉਂਦੀ? ਕੀ ਇਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦੇ ਕਿ ਇਹ ਉਸ ਮੁਲਕ ਦੇ ਸਿਆਸੀ ਆਗੂ ਹਨ, ਜੋ ਮਨੁੱਖੀ ਅਧਿਕਾਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਚੈਂਪੀਅਨ ਵਜੋਂ ਜਾਣਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਇਹ ਮਨੁੱਖੀ ਅਧਿਕਾਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਘਾਣ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਜੀ ਹਜ਼ੂਰੀ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ? ਭਾਰਤੀ ਸਟੇਟ ਦੀ ਨਸਲਘਾਤੀ ਮਸ਼ੀਨਰੀ ਦੇ ਇਹ ਕਲ-ਪੁਰਜ਼ੇ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਦੇ ਹੱਕਦਾਰ ਹਨ, ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਪੁੱਜਦਿਆਂ ਤੁਰੰਤ ਗ੍ਰਿਫ਼ਤਾਰੀ ਹੋਣੀ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ ਹੈ।

ਇਮੀਗਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਲਿਖੇ ਗਏ ਖਤ ਦੀ ਨਕਲ; ਸਫਾ 1

ਸਫਾ 2

August 10, 2021

The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P. Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship 365 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, ON KIA lLl

Re: Human Rights Violator Inspector Prem Bhangu Allowed Entry into Canada

Dear Minister Mendicino,

In recent days, it has come to the attention of the Sikh sangat (congregation) in Canada, that Inspector Prem Bhangu of the Punjab Police in India, was not only admitted into Canada recently but welcomed and embraced by sitting Government MPs, like Sukh Dhaliwal (MP for Surrey-Newton). This is not only a gross violation of Canada’s international responsibilities under various human rights covenants, but an affront to the dignity of the Sikh community and Bhangu’s victims.

As an active member of Indian security forces during the 1980, 1990s, and until present, Bhanghu is directly responsible for numerous human rights violations and crimes against humanity, including the imprisonment, torture, and extrajudicial murder of Sikh civilians and political dissidents.

Sikhs have long been advocating against the impunity granted to security officials in India. The Indian state has maintained this environment of impunity in furtherance of its genocidal policy aimed at the Sikh liberation movement for Khalistan.

In this genocidal campaign to eliminate support for the Sikh movement, human rights organizations have documented the general profiles of those targeted by security forces for illegal detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings:

-Politically active young Sikh men, whether involved in political parties, student organizations, or religious groups

-Families of activists and guerrillas

-Any amritdhari (initiated) Sikhs or those who maintain the dastar (turban) and beard

Despite the state’s purported secular self-identification, the specific targeting of amritdhari Sikhs is a clear indication of the state’s genocidal policy towards Sikhs as a people. Those arrested at any point in time including recent years, constantly remain subject to surveillance, intimidation, and harassment by security forces—regularly detained and interrogated in the case of any local political or guerrilla activity.

The result of this genocide has been the erasure of democratic political space for Sikh political dissent. The enforced peace since the decline of the armed insurgency is maintained not through political settlement, but by maintaining the omnipresence of repressive state violence—and making this violence felt upon the bodies and voices of potential Sikh dissidents today. The continued incarceration of political prisoners beyond their legal sentences, continued fake encounters, torture, and arrests, and the promotion rather than prosecution of mass human rights violators are clear evidence of this.

Sikh activist, Bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra, has called the environment of enforced peace in India “the silence of the graveyard”. Officials responsible for crimes against humanity are not only routinely protected from prosecution, but shamelessly showered with gallantry awards and promoted to positions of power and authority. Inspector Prem Bhangu of Punjab Police is one such official that has enjoyed this impunity. Bhanghu entered Canada in the last several weeks and is on the record for publicly boasting about killing Sikhs as part of the Indian state’s efforts to “eradicate” those fighting for Khalistan.

Beyond India’s borders, the international community continues to reinforce this impunity by turning a blind eye to violations in pursuit of their own political and economic interests. Today, as NATO powers look for allies to counter China’s rise in the region and seek to secure trading routes to dump their goods in the Global South, political leaders rush to overlook India’s violence against minorities and dissidents in order to court the current fascist administration.

As Sikhs in Canada, we are all well aware of the grave impacts of genocide—both at home in Punjab and here in Canada today. When we see mass graves of Indigenous children being uncovered across the country, we are harshly reminded of the futility of symbolic gestures and apologies in the absence of justice and accountability. The death and destruction caused by genocide and other crimes against humanity reverberate across generations when they are ignored and denied. The welcome, promotion, and normalization of individuals like Bhanghu in Canada contributes to this environment of impunity and to unresolved Sikh trauma.

It is incumbent on members of the government to join voices from the community to advocate for members of Indian security forces who have perpetrated crimes against humanity to be denied entry to Canada. This has been done in the past, in the case of Moninder Pandher of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India in 2010, and should be reinforced by Canadian agencies and policymakers.

Further, we will continue efforts to have those who do successfully enter Canada, like Bhanghu, to be prosecuted for their crimes. Under sections 6(1) and 8(b) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, Canada has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals guilty of such crimes—even whey occur outside of Canada—if the perpetrator is found in Canada. The Sikh sangat across Canada is committed to holding these perpetrators accountable for their crimes, as well as their supporters and allies around the world. We demand immediate action against Inspector Prem Bhangu by the Canadian Government and an apology from those Members of Parliament that supported and welcomed a human rights violator into Canada.

Regards,

Moninder Singh, Spokesperson BCGC

Amarjit Singh Mann, Spokesperson OGC