For immediate release Tuesday 31 October 2006
Unveiling of Surjit Singh Chhokar Memorial Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum 7.00pm, Tuesday 31 October 2006
Tonight, Tuesday 31 October 2006, a memorial bust will be unveiled at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street Glasgow. The bust is a tribute to Asian waiter Surjit Singh Chhokar who was brutally murdered on a Lanarkshire street on 4 November 1998. It is also a tribute to the struggle of the Chhokar family, and the Chhokar Family Justice Campaign, who have campaigned for justice for their son. Despite two separate trials, and subsequent inquiries, no one has been convicted for Surjit’s murder.
This evening, during a memorial ceremony, with participants from the Chhokar family, the Chhokar Family Justice Campaign, Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Scottish Parliamentarians, and others, a portrait bust of Surjit Chhokar, sculpted by Paisley Sculptor Alexander Stoddard, and commissioned by the Chhokar Family Justice Campaign, will be unveiled.
Speaking before the event Manjit Kaur, sister of Surjit Chhokar said:
“The whole family would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the past eight years. Unfortunately, we did not receive justice for losing a member of our family. However, we hope this will be a constant reminder of Surjit, and never lets us forget the mistakes people made and how they affect families like our own. This is a very simple way of remembering Surjit, who we think of every single day”.
The Chhokar family’s lawyer Aamer Anwar, said: “Nearly eight years on from the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar, it is fitting that there is a permanent memorial to him in Scotland, which is also a tribute to the courage and persistence of the Chhokar family, who, for over four years, struggled for justice. Many of the recent reforms in the High Court are as a direct result of their campaign for justice. The killers of Surjit Singh Chhokar will never be brought to justice, however, the name of Surjit Singh Chhokar will live forever”.
STUC Chairperson Katrina Purcell said:
“The STUC was proud and humbled to be able to provide some support to the Chhokar family in its long struggle for justice. The STUC is pleased that the Chhokar Family Justice Fund, which it assisted in establishing and administering, has now been used for a fitting memorial to Surjit’s unjust death and the Chhokar family’s subsequent fight for justice”.
The STUC and the Chhokar Family Justice Campaign would like to express their sincere thanks to Glasgow City Council for housing the Surjit Chhokar memorial sculpture in the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, and for hosting the memorial ceremony this evening.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Aamer Anwar mobile: 07980 443807
Mary Senior STUC tel: 0141 337 8100
or mobile 07976 515 039