KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (m) Chairperson, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Wednesday said the United Nations has failed to come to the expectations of the people of Kashmir whose human rights were “being violated mercilessly”.
A one day seminar organized by Human Rights Division of Hurriyat (m) was held at APHC Rajbagh headquarters Srinagar and presided over by Mirwaiz.
In his presidential address on: “Human Rights Violations in Kashmir and Indifferent Attitude of World Community”, Mirwaiz said, “the UN is going to launch a year-long campaign about the awareness and protection of Human Rights in the entire world under the title: ‘Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always’, but has failed to protect the human rights of Kashmiris.” “The human, political, religious and economic rights of people of Kashmiri were being trampled upon with military might.”
Mirwaiz said, “besides keeping people of Kashmir politically and economically deprived of their rights, Government of India (GoI) was also vandalizing the rich environment resources of Kashmir and the human presence in the form of armed forces had not only polluted the picturesque health resorts of the Valley but also polluted the glaciers.”
He said, “the arrest of the youth, house arrest of the resistance leadership, stopping the resistance leadership and people from performing religious obligations, and other forms of human rights violations and state-sponsored terrorism has become a routine affair in Kashmir. Around 10,000 people of Kashmir had been subjected to enforced disappearances while thousands more were buried in unmarked graves.”
“Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and other black laws were used to crush the will of the people of Kashmir and peaceful protests were being dealt with pellets, teargas and pepper gas,” he said.
Terming the silence of the international community and the United Nations on such instances of human rights violations as most unfortunate, he said, “it is the moral obligation of the civilized nations to take notice of the flagrant Human Rights Violations being committed in Kashmir and play their role to end this situation.” “United Nations had failed to deliver to the expectations of the people and it seems that the organization is working to safeguard the interests of a few powerful countries.”
While welcoming the resumption of dialogue process between New Delhi and Islamabad in Bangkok and the forward movement on the parleys between the two countries with Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj visiting Pakistan, he said, “any type of talks between the two countries on Kashmir would remain incomplete without the inclusion of the people of Kashmir in such talks.” “Instead of using its military might, New Delhi needed to exhibit a flexible stand toward Kashmir and understand that it is not an issue that could be pushed under the carpet but realize that it is a political issue that calls for a political solution and a human issue that calls for understanding the sufferings of humans.”
He said world peace would remain a utopian concept until organizations like the United Nations do not ensure to provide justice and look into human rights violations and “resolve the long-standing issues like Kashmir and Palestine”.
Criticizing the pro-India parties in Kashmir for being “involved in Human Rights violations of people of Kashmir”, Mirwaiz added, “these people were equally responsible for the sufferings of Kashmiris along with New Delhi.” “These pro-India politicians had never stood up in the State Assembly for protecting the rights of people of Kashmir by bringing any legislation for it and instead have been instrumental in creating legislations which gave a free hand to the Indian forces to carry gravest of atrocities.”
Hurriyat (m) Chairperson said, “when these politicians are in the opposition, they highlight the sufferings of the people of Kashmir in the Assembly but soon after coming to power, they act like the real stooges of Government of India and help them execute their nefarious designs in Kashmir.”
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat said, “the principles of humanity demand that every human respects the rights of other humans irrespective of their political affiliations and religion and where governments were involved in the violations of human rights, expecting them to respect human rights was expecting too much.”
Bhat said, “Hurriyat politics was based on the principles of accepting the views of others, holding proper consultations and emerging at a consensus and respecting dissent and the emancipated world too was arriving at the same conclusion of giving others space too.”
