NEW YORK – Sikhs for Justice (SfJ), a New York-based advocacy group thatplans to hold what it calls a “London Declaration” for an independencereferendum for the Indian state of Punjab in the British capital on August12, has offered to sponsor Sikh students and activists from variouscountries, including Pakistan, to participate in the event, according to apress release.
The August meeting, which will be attended by Sikh from all over the world,is set to shape up the “London Declaration On Referendum 2020” campaignseeking a separate state of Khalistan, the SfJ press release said.
India protested the convening of the pro-Khalistan rally in London convenedby what it called a “separatist” organization, but the U.K. government saidit has no plans to ban it so long as it is “within the law” and remainsnon-violent.Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the legal advisor to SfJ, said that theorganization plans to provide sponsorship letters to participants fromabroad and also arrange free stay for them from August 10-14, according tothe press release.The SfJ that has initiated a social media campaign for the meeting atLondon’s Trafalgar Square proposes to unveil the declaration advocating forSikhs’ right to self-determination for the independence of Punjab.
The SfJ press release asked interested overseas students and activists toWhatsapp their IDs and passport details to provide them a sponsorshipletter to attend the meeting, which would be necessary to obtain a visa.
Pannun said, “The aim of this event is to raise awareness around themembers of the community, the Sikh peoples’ calls for self-determinationand promote the non-binding referendum that SfJ will be holding in 2020.“The event will be attended by thousands of Sikhs from across the UK,Europe, North America and Australia,” he added.