Sikh-Edmontonians highlight human rights concerns over India's Punjab crackdown
Some members of Edmonton's Sikh community hosted a car rally through the city and then a march to the legislature grounds Saturday to raise awareness about human rights violations in India.
Motorists gathered at Mill Woods Town Centre and travelled west on 23 Avenue to Gateway Boulevard, where they proceeded north towards Kinsmen. From there, the demonstrators marched to the legislature holding signs and flags demanding action from the Indian government within the state of Punjab.
Last month, authorities there restricted communications and the size of gatherings as the search for Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh continues. According to international media reports, he recently led a violent storming of a police station.
"We are here because of the human rights violations happening in the Punjab," said organizer Gurnoor Singh. "We are here protesting to actually tell them what human rights are and what they are violating.
"Imagine in Alberta, Wifi gets cut, and there's no voice around the world to hear it," Singh added. "Everyone has rights."
Last Monday, Tim Uppal Edmonton Mill Woods MP, was one of several parliamentarians across party lines who voiced concerns about the Indian government's actions.
"As Canadian members of Parliament, we're trying to ensure that there is some safety for Canadians who are visiting there," Uppal said, who is also the deputy Conservative leader.
"We raised this as a concern. And the response was quite harsh — a number of threats in there as well, and by people who have a very large following."
Singh said he was proud to use his voice to raise awareness of what is happening to Sikhs in India.
"I'm not suppressed," Singh added. "I have freedom of speech right now. I can talk here."
"If I was in India right now, I would be probably arrested right now."
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.