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Islamabad, June 12 (KMS): Speakers at a webinar hosted by Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) while condemning India’s majoritarian hegemony and high-handedness to stifle the voices of dissent in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have said that the successive Indian government have been grossly involved in systematic genocide of Kashmiris.
The seminar titled “Forgotten Massacre: Remembering the victims of Chotta Bazaar Massacre of June 11, 1991”, was attended and addressed by noted human rights activists, academicians, scholars, journalists and parliamentarians including former MEP (Member of European Parliament) Julie Ward, former MEP Shaffiq Mohammad, Lord Wajid Khan, Sheni Hamid senior political advisor and rights activist, Ali Raza Syed Chairman Kashmir Council Europe, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo Chairman International Forum for Justice and Human Rights, Zaffar Ahmed Quraishi Chairman Kashmir Campaign Global, Muzamil Ayyoub Thakur, Raja Sajjad, Muhammad Shehzad Khan, Rameez Mukhdoomi chief spokesman Jammu and Kashmir Young Journalist Association and others. Whereas the event was moderated by the KIIR chairman Altaf Hussain Wani.
On the occasion, the speakers while remembering the victims of Chotta Bazaar massacre termed it as one of the deadliest mass killing incidents that have taken place in IIOJK since 1990. “The mass killing incidents, which have largely gone unnoticed at the international level, in fact reflect a pattern of genocide and state repression to which Kashmiris have been subject to over the past several years”, the speakers said adding that it was unfortunate that the civilized world remains unmoved by the systematic genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Muslims.
“The BJP regime is usurping the fundamental rights and freedom of minority communities. In Kashmir, the BJP government is not only involved in the systematic genocide of Kashmiris but also trying to erase their political, cultural and religious identity,” they added.
Terming the rising incidents of xenophobia in India as a threat to world peace they observed that India was fast becoming a fascist state where there is no law and no justice.
Urging the world to halt genocide of Kashmiris they said the successive governments of India have remorselessly used the repressive state apparatus to kill the voice of dissent in the region. The use of excessive force by the Indian occupation forces, they said, has led to uncounted deaths, widespread violence and destruction of public properties in the region.
Voicing their concerns over the notorious laws enforced by India in the disputed territory, they said, “Black laws under which the Indian forces have long enjoyed the impunity for serious abuses have facilitated violations of human rights in the region at an unprecedented scale,” they said.
Calling for an independent international investigation into the incidents of mass killings, the speakers observed that the heart-wrenching incidents like Chotta Bazaar would continue to recur in the disputed region unless the Indian forces’ personnel involved in this heinous crime were brought to book.
Terming the unresolved Kashmir dispute as a major cause and consequence of the continued bloodshed and violence in IIOJK, they lamented that despite the lapse of over 70 years, the conflict remains unaddressed and justice eluded.
Referring to the post 5th August 2019 situation in the occupied territory, they said that the right to freedom of speech and opinion in IIOJK remains under serious threat.
The speakers also criticized the Indian government’s colonial tactics to change the demographic complexion of the Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir and using COVID-19 as a tool to persecute Kashmiris. They urged the Indian government to shun its policy of oppression and suppression and stop the continued bloodshed in the territory in order to pave a way for peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Peace in the region, they said, would remain elusive unless the Kashmir dispute was addressed in accordance with the legitimate demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They hoped that the time was not far when Kashmiris would achieve their birthright, the right to self-determination.
The speakers stressed for a just and amicable solution of the dispute in line with the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiri people to ensure durable peace in the region and beyond.
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