Geneva gears up for Khalistan Referendum voting

GENEVA: The Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has announced that the Khalistan Referendum voting in Geneva on Dec 10 (today) will be of historic nature as thousands of Sikhs from across the Europe will gather outside the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to register their support for the independent state of Khalistan for Sikhs.

Addressing a press conference here at the Geneva Press Club, the Sikhs leaders hoped that this will be the biggest gathering of Sikhs in Geneva at the Broken Chair to remind the United Nations of its commitment towards tens of millions of Sikhs who have faced non-stop persecution at the hands of Hindutva-dominated Indian administration.

The press conference was addressed by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel to SFJ; Paramjeet Singh (Pamma), UK-EU Coordinator of Khalistan Referendum; Dupinderjit Singh, K-EU Coordinator of SFJ; and Dr Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, President Council of Khalistan.

On Dec 10, the SFJ will kick off the European phase of Khalistan Referendum voting from Geneva, Switzerland. The Geneva Voting Center at BFM Hall has named “Shaheed Bhai Rana Singh Khalistan Referendum Voting Centre” to honour the New York-based Referendum activist who breathed his last on Nov 28 in Birmingham, UK, while campaigning for Khalistan Referendum.

The Khalistan Referendum voting in Geneva comes after a three months long campaign in the UK which has seen thousands of Sikhs taking part in Khalistan Referendum voting in nine UK cities. More than 30,000 Sikhs attended the voting event in London which the Referendum started on Oct 31 on the question “Should Indian Governed Punjab Be An Independent Country”.

Dr Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, President, Council of Khalistan, stated: “We have invited the UN officials and Permanents Missions of all the countries in Geneva to observe the Dec 10 Khalistan Referendum Voting, a community organised democratic and unique initiative for realisation of right to self-determination.”

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun informed the press conference that the purpose of holding the Khalistan Referendum in Geneva is to inform the UN and the international community about India’s violent repression of Sikh peoples’ political opinion (Khalistan) and its peaceful and democratic expression through unofficial Khalistan Referendum.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that the world doesn’t know the full extent of the crimes against humanity India was committing at all levels to target Sikhs’ democratic expression of freedom and statehood. The SFJ General Counsel said that there was an artificial face of India that India projects to the world as peaceful and benign but the real face of India is draconian and ugly.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that the Indian establishment is involved in reprisal, through cancellation of visas and threats, against Sikhs living in the UK, USA, Canada and EU for supporting and participating in the Khalistan Referendum.

He said that the Indian government is involved in concerted and coordinated disinformation campaign through baseless and concocted fake news maligning Khalistan Referendum. Last week, Scotland Yard officially confirmed that it didn’t raid the London office of SFJ and didn’t recover any machines used in Khalistan Referendum after Indian media aired fake news that the SFJ headquarters were raided by the London police.

Voting in Khalistan Referendum which kickstarted on Oct 31 in London, UK, is being held under the supervision of Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC), a panel of non-aligned direct democracy and secession experts to ensure the transparency and compliance with the international standards of voting. The SFJ is also holding the Khalistan Referendum Rally at the UN Head Office Palais des Nations, Broken Chair.