XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
   From: cognomen@domus.ca   
      
   How many years have BC's MLAs and federal MPs been supporting this annual   
   fiasco - a   
   political demonstration of 'up yours' by those who claimed it was nothing more   
   than an   
   annual Sikh parade?  Too many, it seems.  A few politicians had to be   
   threatened before   
   party leaders finally saw through this charade.   
   ______________________________________________   
      
   CBC News  -  April 16, 2010   
      
   B.C. premier demands apology   
      
   B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell says he won't attend a Sikh parade in Surrey on   
   Saturday   
   unless there is a formal apology from organizers for a perceived threat   
   against two other   
   politicians.   
      
   B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell says he won't attend a Sikh parade in Surrey on   
   Saturday   
   unless there is a formal apology from organizers for a perceived threat   
   against two other   
   politicians.   
      
   "Unless there has been a direct apology to the two individuals that were   
   mentioned ... I   
   would find it difficult agreeing to go," Campbell said Friday.   
      
   An organizer of the annual Vaisakhi parade told a Punjabi radio station   
   Thursday that   
   Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh and B.C. Liberal MLA Dave Hayer were not invited to   
   the event and   
   were responsible for their own safety.   
      
   "They have never been invited," Inderjit Singh Bains said during an interview   
   on Radio   
   Sher-e Punjab "If they come, they need to bring their own security."   
      
   Organizers are denying that any threat was implied.   
      
   Both Dosanjh and Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts have lodged complaints with the   
   RCMP about the   
   comments.   
      
   The parade has a history of controversy because of its support for Sikh   
   militants in   
   India. Both Dosanjh and Hayer are Indo-Canadians who have distanced themselves   
   from the   
   militant movement.   
      
   Never attended parade: Dosanjh   
      
   Dosanjh said he has never been to the parade since he lives in Vancouver and   
   only   
   occasionally attends the yearly religious celebration there.   
      
   "I'm not very religious. So for the organizers to pick on someone like me and   
   Dave Hayer   
   out of the blue ... and say if you come, your security is on your own ...   
   implies a   
   certain degree of threat - that some violence may happen to you," Dosanjh told   
   CBC Radio   
   on Friday afternoon.   
      
   In 1985 Dosanjh, who was a lawyer at the time, was severely beaten for   
   speaking out   
   against militancy in the Indo-Canadian community.   
      
   Dave Hayer's father was a newspaper publisher who was shot dead in his garage   
   in Surrey   
   after he refused to be silenced in his criticisms of hard-line Sikh   
   nationalists operating   
   in Canada.   
      
   "It may in fact be a prompt for violence for people who hate me or dislike   
   me," Dosanjh   
   said. "I don't know if it's criminal or quasi-criminal. I felt out of concern   
   that I   
   should send it to the RCMP and I did."   
      
   Temple denies allegations   
      
   On Friday another parade organizer, Moninder Singh of the Dasmesh Darbar   
   temple, said the   
   matter was a misunderstanding and no threats had been made.   
      
   "There is no invitation that's sent, so we can't really invite somebody to   
   come, and if   
   they show up there is nothing stopping them from attending," Singh said.   
   "Technically at   
   the end of the day, the RCMP and security services are all throughout the   
   parade and they   
   ensure the safety of everyone there, so those comments I think are taken out   
   of context."   
      
   Singh said parade organizers don't condone violence and the politicians are   
   welcome to   
   come if they wish.   
   "We personally aren't going to provide any type of security for any MP or   
   anybody that   
   decides to come to the event," he said.   
      
   Controversy keeps politicians away   
      
   In years past the parade, which marks the Sikh new year, attracted a slew of   
   political   
   figures, including the premier, MPs and the mayor.   
      
   But in 2007 Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat politicians who attended   
   the parade   
   faced political embarrassment after a photo of alleged Air India bombing   
   mastermind   
   Talwinder Singh Parmar was displayed on a float.   
      
   At the time Dosanjh said police should investigate the incident. The following   
   year Surrey   
   officials sent letters to politicians warning them the parade would again   
   include   
   controversial images.   
      
   While Parmar's photo was not displayed on a parade float last year, organizers   
   did set up   
   a separate tent on the grounds of the Dasmesh Darbar temple for a   
   controversial display   
   that included photographs of the founders of the Babbar Khalsa and the   
   International Sikh   
   Youth Federation, groups Canada considers terrorist organizations.   
      
   Parade organizers have reportedly said that this year every float would   
   include the flag   
   of Khalistan and images of martyrs, said by their supporters to be heroes of   
   the armed   
   struggle by Sikh extremists to carve out an independent   
   nation called Khalistan in the Indian state of Punjab.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)