The Sikh Times - News and Analysis - U.S. State Department Film on Terrorists Features Sikhs

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U.S. State Department Film on Terrorists Features Sikhs

By STAFF
Puneet Singh Lamba's letter to The Sikh Sentinel: It is high time that the Sikh population and leadership came to terms with the long-term implications of complying with Sikh terrorism during the 1980s/90s by virtue of its deafening silence. This is an example of precisely why it is critical for all Sikhs (including those in the diaspora) to demand and exercise S.G.P.C. voting rights and representation. The S.G.P.C.'s well-documented acquiescence in the face of Sikh terrorism has contributed to a significant blemish on the Sikh community worldwide. As your article indicates, Sikhs are paying the price to this day. The comparison with Quebec's separatists is invalid because they employed entirely democratic tools and did not carry arms, hold places of worship hostage, or engage in violence. Individuals, such as McVeigh, can hardly be assumed to represent entire communities. A certain threshold of community involvement is required before an entire community can be implicated.

The Sikh Sentinel, Washington, D.C., Jul. 23, 2003

"Parents with children in middle and high schools should be aware of a video (Terrorism: A War Without Borders) and curriculum that was distributed throughout the country by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Public Affairs. The video refers to the 1984 Darbar Sahib (commonly referred to as the 'Golden Temple') attack as a siege by 'Sikh terrorists.' . . . The video may have been released as early as mid 2002, but was definitely in schools by the beginning of 2003. The State Department distributed 15,000 copies of the video and curriculum to schools throughout the country."
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"The video highlights eleven terrorist attacks throughout the world, beginning with the 1972 Munich Olympics when 'Black September' took eleven Israeli athletes hostage in an attempt to release 200 Arab prisoners. Nine hostages were killed in the rescue attempt. Other terrorist events [depicted] include the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis [precipitated] by Iranian students, the 1988 Pan Am Plane Crash [allegedly orchestrated] by Libyan agents; the 1995 Tokyo Nerve Gas Attack [said to be committed] by the group 'Aum Shinrikyo,' the Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols; 1997 Suicide Bombing in Israel by the group 'Hamas,' and the 9/11 World Trade Center [terrorism said to be ordered] by Osama Bin Laden."
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"The clip shows Sikhs, easily recognizable from their turbans and beards, with weapons in the Darbar Sahib complex along with some Indian soldiers. The transcript from that segment states: 'In an effort to establish an independent state, Sikh terrorists seized Darbar Sahib Shrine in Amritsar, India. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a military campaign to drive out the terrorists. Hundreds were killed.' "
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"The video was discovered by a Sikh teacher at a professional teacher's training conference on teaching terrorism in a classroom led by a State Department official. The expectation was that teachers would introduce this curriculum material along with the video to the classroom."
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"Sikh advocacy groups (including S.M.A.R.T., S.C.O.R.E., U.S.S.A., and The Sikh Coalition) contend that the video incorrectly states that Sikh political activists in Darbar Sahib were separatists. Jarnail Singh [Bhindranwale], the leader of the [Sikh] political activists, never claimed to be a separatist. [Nevertheless,] equating separatists to terrorists is inaccurate. For example, many citizens of Quebec, Canada, consider themselves separatists, [but] no one considers them terrorists."
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"The State Department defines terrorists as those who 'seek to attract publicity for their cause.' [However, during] the 1984 attack, [it was] the Indian government that cut off communication, media and public access to not only [to the] Darbar Sahib, but [to] the entire state of Punjab. They did not want the world to know what they were about to do."
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"The State Department defines terrorism as 'violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets.' But, in fact, the Sikh political activists involved did not [take] any hostages. The Darbar Sahib was open to thousands of pilgrims coming and going freely from the complex. It was the Indian army that attacked and killed thousands of innocent citizens."
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"Following the presentation, in the discussion session with State Department officials involved in the production of the video, it quickly became apparent that they were not willing to make any corrections. Sikh representatives tried to convey that if the State Department is willing to [label] Sikhs [as] terrorists, then they should modify the video to [label] Timothy McVeigh [as] a Christian terrorist and to [label] Hamas [as] a Muslim terrorist group and so on. They also tried to convey the emotional devastation that a Sikh student would face if he or she had to watch this [video] in a classroom. Sikh students, they said, may become more vulnerable to hate crimes by their peers who had seen the video. A memorandum distributed at the meeting stated that 'such a portrayal promotes [the same] stereotypes [as the ones] that have led to hundreds of hate crimes against Sikhs in the United States [since 9/11].' "
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"After months of attempted negotiations, the State Department has made no official statement about any of the requests to modify or recall the video and curriculum. Sources at the State Department stated that they were in the process of preparing a response which should be released soon, possibly next month. . . . [A] State Department official did acknowledge that mistakes were made in the video and curriculum, but attributed it to a part of the learning process in creating a new program. She said, 'this was the first time we created a video and curriculum for schools.' "
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"The official letter that the State Department is preparing for Sikh organizations is not expected to contain anything significant to correct the situation. The only remedy they have to offer is that the next release of the curriculum material will contain something on tolerance and will 'put the situation in a different light with the reference to Sikhs as terrorists taken out of the print material only,' said the official. 'We have no plans to redo the video.' "
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"Meanwhile, there is only one month left before the beginning of the next school year. Sikh parents can take matters into their own hands and inform their children's schools of the wrongful and inflammatory nature of this video and curriculum. They can request that the video not be shown in their schools. As taxpayers with children in public middle and high schools, they have every right to do so."
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Related Links:
Paying the Price, By PUNEET SINGH LAMBA, The Sikh Sentinel, Jul. 30, 2003