‘Don’t pre-empt my remark on Jallianwala massacre’

I made a statement on dreadful massacre... I’ll make another statement on Tuesday. Being a religious leader, I’ve no authority to offer anything on behalf of UK.

REVD JUSTIN WELBY , Archbishop of Canterbury

KOLKATA : Archbishop of Canterbury Revd Justin Welby on Sunday said he would make a statement on the “dreadful” Jallianwala Bagh massacre when he visits Amritsar next week, but insisted that it should not be “preempted”.

Welby, who was here as part of his 10-day India tour, said he will travel to Jalliwanwala Bagh in Amritsar on Tuesday.

“... I did make a statement on the anniversary of this dreadful massacre... I will make another statement on Tuesday...i think, it is important that is not pre-empted,” he told the mediapersons at the Bishop’s House in Kolkata in Wet Bengal.

On the 100th anniversary of the tragedy in April, the Archbishop of Canterbury had said in a tweet that “as British people, we can’t avoid this shameful part of our colonial legacy”.

Welby said that being a religious leader, he had no political authority to offer anything on behalf of the UK or its government.

“I cannot speak for the British government or the United Kingdom... So what I would be saying will be in my capacity as a religious leader,” the head of the Anglican Communion said.

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when the then British Indian Army under the command of Col Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores of people dead.