Khalistani Singh Posted February 3, 2004 Report Share Posted February 3, 2004 rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/c04/c04020104_kerry.rm Please forward to about 31 minutes. Courteusy - Sikh Sangat John Kerry, a Presidental hopeful criticized Sikhs as terrorists in India. Sikhs here in the United States, fund-raised for Kerry. However, he was caught reffering all Sikhs as terrorists. Kerry looks to be the democratic nominee and is the current front runner. If he wins the democratic nominee, he will go up against current President George Bush. Personally, I love Kerry's ideas or any other democrats compared to Bush's. However, with this remark, and if Kerry remains in the lead, I'd rather vote for Bush. Even though, I personally don't like Bush's plans and ideas, he at the least respects Sikh values. After 9/11, Sikhs met with President Bush and he assured Sikhs security and urged the public not to commit hate crimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 3, 2004 Report Share Posted February 3, 2004 the wanker. Just emailed them coz i was so pissed off. Sorry abt the language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegendarySiKH Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Also, some other information before you choose who to vote for. Bush has given the Sikhs the permission to celebrate gurpurab inside the White House, for world-wide recognition of Sikhism. Kerry, well, he's said that phrase in the above video. I'm sure this will have a significant impact on your decision to vote, just as it will have on mine, but remember that just because a Republican may not help your family (middle-class) immediately doesnt mean he's not doing the right thing for the Sikhs (as a whole). Sometimes you got to take a hit in personal life, to make the lives of others better. Personally, if its Kerry vs. Bush, and Kerry does not apologize about this statement, and if he keeps saying Sikhs are Terrorists, I'll have no trouble at all voting for Bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Make sure that whoever is sending them e-mail uses professional tone otherwise there is no way to remove ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherni-E-Punjab Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Wot a stupid a** ..! Going for Dean all the way ! .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr §ingh Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 THis is the one I sent: Dearest Sir, This letter is a reaction to the statement made whilst giving a speech in Oklaholma. It has been very upsetting to hear the comment, comparing Sikhs to the IRA, and Basque Separatists, whilst talking about terrorist. It would appreciated to know, what Mr Kerry based his information on. One mans terrorist, is another's freedom fighter. IF the Sikhs are terrorists, then would George Washington not also be interpreted as one? Looking forward to your reply Sincerely Virpal Singh (Sweden) V.Singh@khalsa.com I was inspired by another person, who wrote a letter to him, on Sikhnet bhull chukk maaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 One problem though, he gets hundreds of emails a day. I think I might just keep sending mine to him again and again. My message: to info@johnkerry.com cc bcc subject Terrorism memo The following is a link of a video made by John Kerry: rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/c04/c04020104_kerry.rm Around 31 mins 50 seconds Mr Kerry outlines his views on terrorism and makes references to certain terrorist groups. Among these groups he names the Sikhs in India. I would like to take this oppurtunity to inform you that as a Sikh I am not a terrorist, nor do I have any desire to be a terrorist. I can only imagine that Mr Kerry is making a reference to the disturbances of 1984 where thousands of innocent Sikhs (many women and children, see Amnesty International) were killed. The disturbances were caused by the Indian government wanting to dispose of a certain individual (Sant Jarnail Singh Bindrawale). Whether this indiviual was a terrorist or not is irrelevant, the important issue here is that a man who wants to run for government does not have the intelligence to distinguish between an individual and the eighth largest religious group in the world. Example: the IRA are terrorists - does that mean that every Roman Catholic is a terrorist? What about Osama Bin Laden and his group? Just because they are terrorists does not mean that all Muslims are terrorists. And finally what about the USA? Just because they are determined to hang on to their world domination does not mean that every Christian (or even Jewish) person is a terrorist does it? I suggest that Mr Kerry actually tries to learn about the Sikh faith and it tenets before attacking it. The link below to the BBC website provides a useful introduction to Sikhi: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/index.shtml I look forward to your reply, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Gotta let everyone know about this Bad publicity can do wonders in correcting the attitudes of politicians :evil: Maybe we should also start a petition demanding an apology. To think, Sikhs actually raised money for this guy :twisted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandeepm Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 First of all - I am British so I probably shouldnt even comment on this but in case anyone is interested in an outiders view, read on. Be careful in attacking the loose language employed by politicians. Kerry was on the stumps and was responding to a question. He was absolutely wrong in saying that India suffered from terrorism from Sikhs. He didnt refer to the IRA as Catholics or Al-Queda as Muslims - he should have named the terrorist organisations not the faith group. That is the error that he made and it simply is an ill thought out remark. I only say this because, whilst I dont follow American politics, I do recall John Kerry being one of the earliest US law makers (in fact maybe the first) to sign in some of the Hate Crime laws that US Sikhs rightly called for after 9/11. I also recall him speaking very publicaly and very passionately on NBC (I think) about the 'anti americanism' of the backlash against Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs in the aftermath of 9/11. We should seek to correct his statement but do it very diplomatically otherwise Sikhs in the US are liable to lose a good friend in Washington. Aman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 We should seek to correct his statement but do it very diplomatically otherwise Sikhs in the US are liabel to lose a good friend in Washington. I agree with you 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 First of all - I am british so I probably shouldnt even comment on this but in case you are interested in an outiders view, read on. Be careful in attacking loose language employed by politicians. THe guy was on the stumps and was responding to a question. He was absolutely wrong in saying that India suffered from terrorism from Sikhs. He didnt refer to the IRA as CAtholics or Al-Queda as Muslims - he shoudl have named the groups not the faith group. That is the error that he made and it simply is an ill thought out remark. I only say this because whilst I dont follow American politics, I do recall Kerry as being one of the earliest US law makers (in fatc maybe the first) to sign in some of the HAte Crime laws that US Sikhs rightly called for after 9/11. I also recall him speaking very publically and very passionately on NBC (I think) about the 'anyi americanism' of the backlash against Arbas, South Asians and Sikhs in the aftermath of 9/11. We should seek to correct his statement but do it very diplomatically otherwise Sikhs in the US are liabel to lose a good friend in Washington. Aman I was unaware of these facts. Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I really stop careing bout dis ne more cos im really sick of it, **** life, france etc etc, its all Gods Will, what ever happends is bout 2 happen, i really dont care if da whole world blows up ne more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandeepm Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 On another Sikh discussion board on the Net I saw a posting on this very subject that blamed Kerry's comments on the power of the Government of India's campaign of misinformation against the Sikhs. The basic thesis was thet Kerry has basically picked up the anti Sikh propoganda put about by the GOI from its agents in Washington and Kerry was simply repeating that. This view was clearly shared by a number of respondants to that posting. It got me thinking that the Sikh representaiton (MPs) within the Lok Sabha in New DElhi really have their work cut out if indeed there is this campaign going on . . . then I read the article (below ) in the Tribune . To paraphrase the article, it says that Sikh intelligencia are appealing to teh Akali Dal to stop sending illiterate MPS to Delhi ! It catalogues a long list of Akali MPs who have been illiterate or semi literate - even the literate ones have remained silent on virtually every and any issue regaridng Sikhs. It seems that there is actually an Akali campaign against teh Sikhs !!- by sending the least able and least articulate people to Delhi the SIkhs in Punjab are being denied any representation at all in the seat of power in India. Furthermore, I cannot imagine the ridicule with which Sikhs are considered by the rest of the Lok Sanha. If it wernt quite so serious it woudl be funny! Aman SAD under ‘pressure’ to field educated candidates Varinder Walia Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 3 It is a sort of history that most of Akali Members of Parliaments have never uttered even a single word on the floor of the Lok Sabha during their tenures. The reason: majority of the Akali candidates were ‘illiterate’ or ‘semi-illiterate’. Sikh intellectuals now have started lobbying for fielding educated candidates so that the case of ‘Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat’ could be taken up in right perspective. They said that the Akali MPs had failed to get the Operation Blue Star condemned in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, apart from opposing POTA. The exceptions are that of Sirdar Kapur Singh, a former ICS officer, Mr Ajit Singh Sarhadi and Mr Hukam Singh, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha who took up certain issues of the Sikhs. One of the most memorable case taken up by Sirdar Kapur Singh in Parliament was that of making tehsil instead of village as unit of deciding the transfer of left-out Punjabi-speaking areas into Punjab. The Akali leaders like Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi and even Mr Parkash Singh Badal who had their stints as Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha MP remained docile in Parliament’s sessions. The Parliamentary constituency of Bathinda had created a history of sorts by sending ‘illiterate MPs’ of Akali Members of Parliament. It was their good luck that despite their poor educational background, they had been winning with heavy margins. So much so Mr Kikkar Singh, a driver of Sant Fateh Singh, the then president of the SAD won from Bathinda constituency in 1967. Mr Dhanna Singh Gulshan who was ‘semi-literate’ was elected from Bathinda (reserve) became Union Education Minister. Mr Sucha Singh Maloa (who had humble educational background), father of Beant Singh — one of the assassins of Indira Gandhi during the general elections to Parliament in 1989 had failed to take up any case of the community or of his constituency on the floor of Parliament. Akalis, with poor educational background was Teja Singh Dardi or Mr Chetan Singh Samaon who were elected from the same constituency could not perform well in Parliament. The ‘Tur family’ which had been given Akali ticket from Tarn Taran for their contribution to the ‘Panth’ could not bring any big project for the ‘Majha region’ which had elected Mr Mohan Singh Tur and his two sons Mr Lehna Singh Tur and Mr Tarlochan Singh Tur many times in the past. The history of Parliament could be traced to show their (Tur family’s) dismal performance in Parliament. Mr Gurdass Singh Badal, younger brother of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had also failed to record his speeches in Parliament. Mr Parkash Singh Badal, who himself became Union Agriculture Minister later preferred to resign so that he could take active part in the state’s politics. Due to inability of Akali MPs to take up Punjab’s issues, the Congress Parliamentarian, Jagmit Singh Brar had earned the name of ‘Punjab di awaz’ by highlighting the issues of Punjab and the Sikh issues. Though the SAD had sent certain MPs like Mr Harinder Singh Khalsa, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal and Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra but their contribution could be described as that of average Parliamentarians negligible. With this background, the Sikh intellectuals have asked the Akali high command to field highly educated candidates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2004 Report Share Posted February 10, 2004 Resolved source: http://www.sikhnet.com/s/KerryApology US Senator Kerry Issues Apology to Sikh community Members of the Sikh community have been contacting US Senator John Kerry about a comment he made during a campaign speech in Oklahoma where he made a reference linking Sikhs with terrorism. Senator Kerry is currently one of the top runners for the Democratic nomination for US President. On Friday, February 6, Senator Kerry issued the following apology to the Sikh community: "It has been brought to my attention that remarks I made on Saturday, January 31 have been misunderstood to imply that adherents of the Sikh faith condone terrorism. Nothing could be farther from the truth and I regret that the imprecision of my statement led to this misunderstanding. "I am deeply sorry for the offense caused by this comment. I was, of course, referring to specific terrorist groups which have invoked Sikhism and committed past acts of terror in India. I realize that, like me, the vast majority of Sikhs in the United States and worldwide abhor terrorism. "I also know that stereotypes, discrimination, and abuse haunt Sikh Americans living and working in this nation. Sikh Americans have made enormous and invaluable contributions to our nation for which I am exceedingly grateful. "Throughout my legislative career I have worked to protect people of all religious faiths, including Sikhs. I have supported legislation condemning bigotry and acts of violence or discrimination against Sikh Americans, and I have fought to prohibit the practice of racial profiling and for a stronger hate crimes law. I have also led the effort in the Senate to enact the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, which would protect religious observance in the workplace. My legislation has been supported by the Sikh Council on Religion and Education among many other religious groups. "I will continue my work for and with the Sikh community and other religious groups as President of the United States." SikhNet would like to thank the members of our on-line community for forwarding us a copy of this statement. Great job singho and singhanio!!! I do feel from before kerry comments was guilt of "words" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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