More than 6,000 Sikhs from Switzerland and bordering France, Italy and Germany gathered in Geneva to cast their votes for the non-binding Khalistan referendum.
The voters defied heavy snow and rainstorm in the Swiss capital to kick start the European phase of the referendum on the United Nations Human Rights days, said a press release.
On the other hand, Australian Sikhs observed human rights day on Saturday. The participants criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called RSS a terrorist organisation.
They also criticised Indian billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani and blamed him for harming the environment by using coal. In November, the ‘Punjab Independence Referendum’ had organised by the Punjab Referendum Commission to gauge support for Khalistan.
The referendum which started in London will also take place in other countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, and the region of Punjab, the commission stated.
Punjab Referendum Commission chairman M Dane Waters, a political strategist, writer and direct democracy advocate, clarified that the commission’s role is to “help the SFJ conduct a referendum that is as consistent with international norms as possible”.
The Sikhs for Justice is a US-based organisation that supports the secession of Punjab from India for the creation of Khalistan. It was founded and primarily headed by lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. It was banned in India in 2019 as an unlawful association.
The ban came after it started campaigns for a Punjab independence referendum in 2019 to carve out a separate Khalistan. The organisation has been fighting a long peaceful legal battle against the Indian government and politicians involved in the 1984 deadly operation against Sikhs since 2011. The Sikhs For Justice had filed criminal and human rights cases in the US courts against prominent leaders of the Congress Party allegedly involved in Golden Temple massacre.–Agencies
