Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to commemorate the innocent lives lost on June 4, 1984 when the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India, was attacked by the Indian government.
Thousands of innocent devotees peacefully worshipping within the temple were massacred by army tanks, mortar and machine gun fire.
This act of cruelty demoralized an entire people. Twenty million Sikhs around the world still feel the deep and scarring pain of this unjustifiable act of violence.
State violence against its citizens, as seen when China attacked students during the Tiananmen Square democracy protests or India's action against the Golden Temple, is a symbol of a government that has forsaken democracy and the rule of law for the power of the gun and the rule of violence.
Canadians must remember these tragic events and promote human rights by condemning state violence whenever and wherever it occurs in the world.