Protest in Solidarity with the ongoing protest for the release of Sikh political prisoners

RELEASE ALL THE POLITICAL PRISONERS !!!

  REPEAL ALL THE DRACONIAN LAWS !!!

Bhai Gurbaksh Singh has been sitting on indefinite hunger strike since 14th November, for the release of Sikh political prisoners languishing in jails. However no authority (both the state govt. and centre) has positively responded on the matter. More disturbing is the fact that he was arrested at midnight by a squad of the Punjab Police dressed in plain clothes, posing as supporters of the protest. This incident brings forward the shameful fascist character of the state to suppress any dissent voice. There are more than 100 persons imprisoned in the cases regarding the militant movement in Punjab.

         However, it must be understood that these are not ordinary criminal cases but have deep political content instead of any personal reasons. The root cause of that movement lies in the unjust center - state relations and demand for greater autonomy for the states. However, instead of addressing  the political questions beneath the problem, the governments ruthlessly suppress dissidents  by prosecuting them under various draconian laws, torture them in cells or even the kill them in Fake encounters.

  

The similar phenomenon is observed in every part of the country, be it the issues of Right to SelfDetermination in  Kashmir and North-Eastern Region, or the oppression on the tribals struggling against the neo-colonial model of development in the central India. The picture becomes very clear where the justice remains inaccessible to the poor & oppressed and no one is found to be guilty for the genocides of minorities in 1984, 2002 and 2008. On the other hand, the political dissent are demonized by branding them as terrorists and aredevoid of any democratic space to raise their voice. Any body rising against the exploitation or oppression is victimized under the draconian laws (such as UAPA , AFSPA etc.).
       In such a scenario, we appeal all the students and citizens to demand for the release  of all political  prisoners. We  should fight  for greater democratic space in the country and demand  to repeal the draconian laws suppressing the political dissent.      

SFS condemns the suppressive action of the police and  appeals all to stand in solidarity with the ongoing struggle for release of Sikh Politicalprisoners. We also demand all the draconian laws be repealed and all the political prisoners be released.