[Reader-list] Kashmiri Sikhs say they are safe in Valley

[Aditya Raj Baul]

Kashmiri Sikhs say they are safe in Valley

2010-08-20 21:40:00
http://sify.com/news/kashmiri-sikhs-say-they-are-safe-in-valley-news-national-kiuvEdedhai.html

Kashmiri Sikhs refute suggestions that they are in any danger, after
they received letters claiming to be from separatist organizations,
insisting to join the protests against civilian killings, or leave the
Valley, altogether.

The Sikh populace on Friday said they are safe in the Valley.

"What was the need to send these letters? If any organization has done
this, they would have done it using their letterhead. We can say that
this must be done by a central government or state government-paid
organization," said Indumeet Singh, the Chairman of the United Sikh
Front Kashmir.

"We don't have any problem here, we are living here for the past 20
years in the midst of so much of militancy, and we never faced any
such problems," he added.

Locals also said they are completely safe in the Valley, adding that
they had been staying there since many years.

"If we have any problem, the Muslim brothers always came and helped us.

This is a kind of propaganda by one of the organizations, which are
working here. We are a kind of a scapegoat for them. They want to gain
something out of it," said Rajender Singh, a local.

Meanwhile, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani reassured Sikhs,
and said they shouldn't feel threatened and should, in fact, ignore
the fake letters. He added that nobody would force them to join the
protests.

"It is not necessary that any Muslim would do. This can be done by any
third person who wants to spread misinformation and wants to harm and
stop our movement," said Geelani.

Sikh organizations, said that they feel secure with the majority of
Muslim community.

Meanwhile, Rattan Singh Ajnala, a lawmaker of the Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) raised the matter in the Lok Sabha and said that Sikhs have
always been there whenever the country needed them.

Ajnala showed a newspaper, which carried an article stating that the
Sikhs in the Valley got letters from separatist organizations,
threatening them to either join their movements or leave the Valley.
By Parvez Butt (ANI)