OTTAWA – NDP Leader Tom Mulcair marked the anniversary of the invasion of the Golden Temple by the Indian army and the subsequent slaughter of innocents near and inside the Sikhs’s holiest shrine as well as victims of the 1984 Massacre of Sikhs in New Delhi by remembering the thousands of victims who were killed at the behest of India’s then governing Congress party leaders following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in November 1984.
“It is with great sorrow that I extend my sympathies on the 28th anniversary of the invasion of the Darbar Sahib complex, also known as the Golden Temple, and dozens of Gurduaras in Punjab, India. The tragic events that unfolded over the course of those sweltering days in June, and the subsequent killings in November, have deeply hurt the Sikh community, both in India and abroad.
“Like our former leader Jack Layton, I firmly stand in solidarity with the community, independent human rights organizations and Canadians across the country, in seeking justice. When innocent lives are lost with no accountability or explanation by the government, we have an obligation, as one democratic nation to another, to ask why and seek honest answers on behalf of our citizens.
“As we remember June 1984, I remind Canadians that remembrance is the tie that binds us to our past as it guides us through the challenges of the future. Lest we forget.”
