Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chairman of the Sikh Federation (UK), will be one of the keynote speakers at the Public Discussion Meeting at Westminster Central Hall on 12 October co-ordinated by the Mayor of London. At the weekend he will give a major speech at a Sikh Conference at Guru Arjan Gurdwara in Derby where he will publicly challenge those that remain totally silent on the need for a united effort to defeat terrorism. He will say: "The Mayor of London is spearheading a campaign on behalf of Britain's diverse communities to persuade the government that any measures to address the threat of terrorism should be directed at those who plan, support or carry out terrorist attacks and should not result in criminalising communities." "Sikhs are totally opposed to terrorism and fully support the efforts by Ken Livingstone. That is why organisations such as the Sikh Federation (UK), National Council of Gurdwaras and Young Sikhs (UK) were the first to sign up to the "unity statement" first circulated in mid-August." "However, almost two months later it is disappointing that not a single Hindu community organisation has shown the courage to join the united effort to defeat terrorism and speak up for civil liberties. Instead leading Hindu organisations have simply used the post 7/7 period as an opportunity to claim they are being excluded and ignored by Government at the expense of the Muslim community." "In India 9/11 signalled a policy by the Indian authorities to make maximum mileage out of a tragedy, by targeting minority communities. The current silence of leading Hindu organisations in the UK, perhaps guided by their Indian counterparts, suggests they may be following a similar strategy by pointing the finger of blame at the Muslim community through their silence and claiming the Muslim community is being given more favourable treatment. Simply put this is Islamaphobia by the back door and is something that must be challenged and condemned if we are genuine about confronting the threat of terrorism that we all face." "Sikhism emerged over 500 years ago as a faith and way of life dedicated to the truth and speaking out and challenging oppression and abuse of human rights. Sikh history has demonstrated that we are concerned with the human rights of all and prepared to confront all perpetrators of oppression. In the UK we are a community with an excellent law-abiding reputation and duty bound to defend the freedoms and liberties we all enjoy."

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