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Sikhs in the UK have demanded for more protection
against race hate
crimes after the London bombings. The Sikh Federation
said ministers
had "not adequately acknowledged and tackled
race-hate crimes against
Sikhs and their religious institutions".
The comments were made at the National Sikh Convention,
which began
in Wolverhampton, four years after the September
11 attacks. More
than 10,000 British Sikhs were expected to be
attending the annual
event.
The Sikh Federation - which organises the convention
- said Sikhs
were "the prime target of hate crimes as
the largest and most visible
ethnic minority". Despite "taking the
lead in condemning terrorist
attacks", Sikhs had been attacked and abused,
chairman Bhai Amrik
Singh said.
"There is considerable frustration within
the community that the
government has at best been paying lip service
to Sikhs since 9/11,
when we were first targeted by what many termed
'mistaken identity'."
He said he believed government ministers had not
publicly condemned
attacks against Sikhs because they feared it would
"imply it is
acceptable to attack Muslims". Other issues
on the convention's
agenda include political representation, discrimination
and the
treatment of Sikhs in India.
The Sikh Federation has also urged Britain to
use its presidency of
the European Union to defend the Sikh identity.
"In recent years, the
visible Sikh identity has been increasingly challenged
and threatened
in the UK and other parts of the EU," it
said.
A statement from the Federation said that Sikhs
travelling or living
in other parts of Europe were increasingly facing
discrimination. "The UK Government has not
done enough to represent
the rights of Sikhs to practise their faith, whether
it is in the
context of France, Belgium or EU regulations imposed
on the UK
against its wishes. "
The Federation also claimed that increased security
concerns since
9/11 have unfairly affected Sikhs in many walks
of life, from
security cleared airport workers to members of
the public trying to
obtain public services in government buildings.
At the convention held at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara
on Sedgeley Street,
in Blakenhall, West Midlands, Bhai Amrik Singh
said it
was "indefensible" that no government
minister was
attending. "Ordinary law-abiding Sikhs and
their issues are being
ignored by the government," he said.
Speakers at the convention included the shadow
minister for homeland
security, Patrick Mercer. Labour MP Pat McFadden
and the chairman of
the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs,
Rob Marris, along
with SNP leader Alex Salmond and Liberal Democratic
MEP Liz Lynne.
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