1984 'genocide' plea tabled in Australian parliament

JALANDHAR: A petition was tabled in Australian parliament on November 1, seeking to declare the killings of Sikhs in 1984 as "genocide".
The "genocide petition" was tabled by Warren Enstch, the chief opposition whip for the Liberal Party. Hundreds of Sikhs had also thronged the city of Canberra to mark the incident and were present in the Parliament galleries as Enstch read out the petition.
Entsch said as long as these killings continue to be referred to as "anti-Sikh riots" there can be no solace for the Sikh community. "Discussions around mass violence and genocide will always be controversial but the continued denial of such historical injustices can only encourage modern day crimes against humanity," the plea said.
The petition has urged the Australian Parliament to recognize that an organized campaign of horrific violence took place against the Sikh community in November 1984 and that these killings were "genocide" as per the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The petition got the support from Labour Party member Michelle Rowland, who also demanded prosecution of those who were involved in the killings.