The Sikh Coalition Newsletter

Justice for All - The e-Newsletter
Magh 21, 535 NanakShahi
February 2, 2004
Volume 30

Long Island Man Pleads Guilty to Bias Crime Against Sikh; Coalition Assists Victim in Assuring Perpetrator Charged With Bias Crime

(January 12, 2004) Thomas Brand plead guilty to aggravated harassment against Gurpreet Singh (see picture left), a twenty-five year old technology consultant from Syosset, New York. Brand had put his finger on Gurpreet Singh's chest and said "Get off the train" while the two were riding on the Long Island Railroad on March 2, 2003.

An off duty New York City police officer, Stephen Hughes, confronted Mr. Brand, asking him to leave Gurpreet Singh alone. According to Newsday, Brand asked the Hughes, "Why are you defending him? All these foreigners, that's the problem." Hughes replied, ""Why don't you go to the next train and relax. Leave it alone." Mr. Brand pocked his finger in the Mr. Hughes' chest and said, "Do something now." Other passengers soon intervened on Gurpreet Singh's behalf, the train was stopped, and Mr. Brand was arrested.

Police initially charged Mr. Brand with a "violation," a minor crime that is not a bias crime. Gurpreet Singh contacted the Sikh Coalition, requesting its assistance during the summer of 2003. In August 2003, the Coalition wrote to the county prosecutor handling the case and requested that Mr. Brand be charged with a bias crime because the crime was motivated by prejudice. The prosecutor changed the charge to aggravated harassment, a bias crime.

Gurpreet Singh plans on requesting that Mr. Brand be required to volunteer for the Sikh Coalition during Brand's sentencing hearing in March. "It can only help fight his own hate or fear,"

Gurpreet Singh told Newsday. "Doing time is only going to build more hatred. This will force him to deal with something he's not comfortable with." Gurpreet Singh also called on Sikhs to more regularly report hate crimes, "I hope people keep reporting things like this," he told Newsday. "Many times people just say, 'Whatever.'

Coalition Joins Campaign Against French Religious Articles Ban

(January 19, 2004) The Coalition joined the struggle to combat the contemplated ban on religious articles of faith in French public schools by issuing a letter to French President Jacques Chirac. Over ninety Sikh organizations from around the world are signatories to the letter.

Since then, the Coalition has been working around the clock to prevent a ban from being enacted. On January 21, 2004, the Coalition joined a delegation of Sikh organizations led by Voices for Freedom to meet the French Ambassador to the United States, the United States State Department, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and the Helsinki Commission. The meetings were held in order to persuade the United States government to take more direct action to prevent a possible ban. The French Ambassador to the United States and a delegation of Sikh-American leaders.

[More information on the campaign to prevent a ban on religious articles of faith in France]

New Jersey Sikhs and Coalition Meet with New Jersey Attorney General

(January 2004) Delegates from New Jersey's eight gurdwaras, along with the Sikh Coalition, met with New Jersey Attorney General, Peter Harvey, to discuss civil rights concerns in the state. The leaders, representing New Jersey's eight gurdwaras, presented the Attorney General with the New Jersey Sikh Civil Rights Agenda, signed by all eight of New Jersey's gurdwaras leaders at a press conference in the state capital on December 10, 2003.

Attorney General Harvey heard a presentation on the civil rights concerns of New Jersey Sikhs from the assembled gurdwara delegates and the Sikh Coalition's legal director. New Jersey gurdwaras represented at the meeting included the Sikh Sabha of New Jersey, Lawrencville; Garden State Sikh Association, Bridgewater; Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Glen Rock; Khalsa Darbar of South Jersey. Burlington; and the Dashmesh Darbar, Carteret. The Coalition would like to thank the gurdwaras of New Jersey for their active participation in implementing the New Jersey Sikh Civil Rights Agenda and Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula for assisting in arranging the meeting with Attorney General Harvey. New Jersey Attorney General, Peter Harvey, meeting with New Jersey Sikhs

[More information on the New Jersey Sikh Civil Rights agenda]

Coalition To Assist In Creation of Museum Exhibit on Sikh-American Youth

The Wing Luke Asian Museum in partnership with the Sikh Coalition has begun a project that will record the history and experiences of the Sikhs in North America through the perspective of Sikh American youth. The museum, located in Seattle, Washington, seeks to engage the public in "exploring issues related to the art, culture and history of Asian Pacific Americans." The project will lead to the development of a traveling exhibit which will be displayed in schools, colleges, universities and museums across the United States.

Learn more about the Wing Luke Museum

Coalition Meets with United States Assistant Attorney General For Civil Rights; FBI; Transportation Security Administration, and Other Federal Agencies

(January 7, 2004) The Sikh Coalition attended a meeting convened by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Alex Acosta. The meeting was held to discuss the ongoing civil rights concerns of Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs and South Asians since September 11, 2001. Representatives of the FBI's Civil Right Unit, the Department of Transportation's Office of Civil Rights, and the Transportation Security Administration attended the meeting. The Coalition requested that training of federal security employees on Sikhs and Sikh practices be continue and be expanded. The Coalition also requested that the investigation of civil rights complaints to the Transportation Security Administration be expedited.

Coalition Meets with Justice Department's Community Relations Service Director

(January 7,2004) The Coalition held a meeting with Sharee Freeman, Director of the federal Community Relation's Service (CRS) on January 2, 2004. The Coalition discussed with Director Freeman CRS' outreach initiatives with the Sikh American community. The Coalition also discussed the status of CRS training programs for federal employees on Sikhs and Sikh practices.

Coalition Trains Federal Immigration Employees

At the invitation of the Bureau on Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Coalition trained BCIS frontline employees on Sikhs and Sikhism last month. At the multi hour training session, the Coalition provided BCIS employees with information on Sikh beliefs and common practices in order to facilitate their interaction with Sikh immigrants.

Coalition Provides Training to High School Students on Sikhism

The Coalition conducted educational presentations on Sikhs and Sikh practices last month at Paramus High School, in Paramus, New Jersey. Over 200 students attended the spirited sessions, which were conducted by members of the local sangat at the Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Glen Rock, New Jersey and the Coalition. The students were taught about Sikh history, philosophy, migration patterns and present issues such hate crimes and discrimination. The school has invited the local sangat to come back to conduct more presentations for students and to conduct addition presentations for teachers. The Coalition would like to thank the administration of Paramus High School for its outreach to the Sikh American community

The Coalition has conducted educational presentations for thousands of students over the past year. It is our hope that through understanding, bigotry and discrimination will end. If you would like the Sikh Coalition to conduct a presentation on Sikhs at your school, please contact education@sikhcoalition.org.

New Jersey Governor Commemorates Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Governor James McGreevey issued a proclamation congratulating the Sikh community on the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The proclamation was mailed to all eight New Jersey gurdwaras. The Coalition would like to thank Governor McGreevey for his continued outreach to the Sikh American community and Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula for his assistance in ensuring that the proclamation was issued.

New Blog on Sikh Human Rights

A new bulletin board and discussion forum on human rights issues in Punjab has been created at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jaskaran. The forum has been created by Jaskaran Kaur, co-author of the report, Reduced to Ashes (available at www.punjabjustice.org)

This blog will post regular news and updates on relevant Punjab/Sikh human rights issues, such as the issue of disappearances, the Nanavati commission on the 1984 pogroms, etc.

Recently an article was posted from the Indian Express focusing on cases of people who have spoken up regarding India's corruption or human rights abuses and who have been silenced. One featured case is of Jaswant Singh Khalra.