Dokument #1224056
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to the attachment from Freedom
in the World, the four Akali Dal factions decided to boycott
the February 1992 elections in Punjab, "rather than implicitly
accept Indian rule by participating" (Freedom House 1993, 271).
Protests and boycott rallies by Sikh parties, including the Akali
Dal (HRW 1992, 170; UPI 26 Feb. 1992; IPS 7 Feb. 1992;
Keesing's Feb. 1992, 38762) and the call for an electoral
boycott by Sikh militant parties helped contribute to the poor
voter turnout (UPI 1 Feb. 1992).
Prior to the parliamentary and state
assembly elections, sources indicate that militant Sikhs began a
campaign of intimidation in an attempt to keep people from voting
(Freedom House 1993, 271; HRW 1992, 170; HRWAP Sept. 1994, 32-33;
Keesing's Feb. 1992, 38762).
As a result of the militant campaign and
the call to boycott the elections, between 20 and 28 per cent of
the population voted statewide (HRW 1992, 170; OAA Dec. 1994, 6),
the majority of voters being Hindu (Freedom House 1993, 271; UPI 26
Feb. 1992). The Congress Party won 12 of the 13 federal seats and
87 of the 117 state seats (HRW 1992, 170; UPI 26 Feb. 1992;
Keesing's Feb. 1992, 38762). According to the February 1992
Keesing's attachment, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Kabul), the
only Akali Dal faction that did not support the electoral boycott,
won three seats in the Assembly (38762).
Following the February elections, Sikh
militants initiated a campaign of violent retaliation against those
who voted (UPI 26 Feb. 1992; HRWAP Sept. 1994, 33). The
Keesing's attachment of March 1992, for example, describes a
Sikh shooting attack on a textile factory in Harkishanpura, in
which 11 of 19 Hindu engineers died, because the factory had not
closed down during the February 1992 elections as ordered by the
Sikhs (38813).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Freedom House. 1993. Freedom in the
World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties,
1992-1993. New York: Freedom House.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1992. Human
Rights Watch World Report 1993. New York: Human Rights
Watch.
Human Rights Watch Arms Project (HRWAP).
September 1994. Vol. 6, No. 10. India: Arms and Abuses in Indian
Punjab and Kashmir. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Inter Press Service (IPS). 7 February
1992. "India: Low-Key Punjab Poll Campaign Haunted by Violence."
(NEXIS)
Keesing's Record of World Events
[Cambridge]. March 1992. Vol. 38, No. 3. "India: States
Developments."
_____. February 1992. Vol. 38, No. 2.
"India: Elections in Punjab."
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. December 1994. India:
Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims. Washington,
DC: United States Department of State.
The United Press International (UPI). 26
February 1992. BC Cycle. Ravi Sharma. "Sikh Militants Wage Terror
Campaign Against Punjab Voters." (NEXIS)
_____. 1 February 1992. BC Cycle. Ravi
Sharma. "Sikhs To Boycott Punjab Elections." (NEXIS)
Freedom House. 1993. Freedom in the
World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties,
1992-1993. New York: Freedom House, pp. 270-74.
Human Rights Watch Arms Project (HRWAP).
September 1994. Vol. 6, No. 10. India: Arms and Abuses in Indian
Punjab and Kashmir. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp.
32-33.
Inter Press Service (IPS). 7 February
1992. "India: Low-Key Punjab Poll Campaign Haunted by Violence."
(NEXIS)
Keesing's Record of World Events
[Cambridge]. March 1992. Vol. 38, No. 3. "India: States
Developments," p. 38813.
_____. February 1992. Vol. 38, No. 2.
"India: Elections in Punjab," p. 38762.
The United Press International (UPI). 26
February 1992. BC Cycle. Ravi Sharma. "Sikh Militants Wage Terror
Campaign Against Punjab Voters." (NEXIS)
_____. 1 February 1992. BC Cycle. Ravi
Sharma. "Sikhs To Boycott Punjab Elections." (NEXIS)