NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is defending a decision to speak at a Sikh separatist rally in 2015 where the stage he spoke on featured a portrait of the leader of a militant extremist group. The news of his attendance at the event in San Francisco, Calif., was first reported Tuesday night by the Globe and Mail. Following questions from media, Singh posted a statement on the NDP website saying he condemned terrorism but felt he had a responsibility to speak about human rights abuses in connection with the 1984 raid by India police on Sikh militants occupying the Golden Temple in India's Punjab province. Three hundred people were killed in the raid, including the leader of the group behind the occupation, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
It was his portrait that was displayed on the stage where Singh spoke at the rally in 2015.
"While there, I spoke directly about the pain in the community and my own path to learning about my heritage. When faced with the knowledge that your relatives were targeted for who they were, you are faced with the question of how to respond," Singh said in the statement posted Wednesday.
"My response was to embrace my identity and work harder to stand up for human rights and not allow the voices of the marginalized to be made silent. That is a lesson that has helped me to empathize with the struggles of others."
He also appeared to criticize attempts to "oversimplify" the matter but did not elaborate.
"I encourage all those facing these tough questions not to fall prey to rage and violence, but rather to embrace your truth and move forward with love and courage. Admittedly, this is not a simple or easy process, but attempts to oversimplify these experiences will not advance the cause of reconciliation."
Before resigning his seat as a provincial MPP to run for the leadership of the federal NDP, Singh led an effort to get the Ontario Legislature to recognize the 1984 raid as a genocide.
The Ontario Liberals adopted that push in a motion of their own and officially did so in 2017.
However, the federal government does not recognize the raid as a genocide and the issue is one of ongoing debate.
