June 21, 2012
Kashmiris Losing Hope in Nonviolence: Yasin Malik
Why would a group of people wish to secede from a democratic
setup? Isn’t democracy, a rule ‘of the
people, by the people, for the people’, the best form of government? No, not quite. Groups of people may seek secession from a
democracy when a democratic rule has been imposed upon them, and especially
when the democratic rule is merely a continuation of the colonial era setup, forcefully
bringing together regions without obtaining the consent of people living there. Sixty five years after gaining independence
from Britain, regions and peoples of South Asia are still struggling to find
political setups best suited for their needs.
Kashmir, South Asia’s connection with the Central Asia, is one such
region. Struggle for an independent
Kashmir has seen ups and downs in the last sixty five years. The violent days of the 90s are gone, but a
desire for independence is still a reality in the Kashmir valley. Many Kashmiri leaders based in the West
believe the West and especially the US can help them see the light of
independence. US-based Dr. Ghulam Nabi
Fai is one of them. But whereas Fai may
consider himself just an activist fighting for the rights of his people, in the
post 911 United States he is a Muslim whose activities are closely watched by the
Big Brother. Emboldened by legislation
that gives carte blanche powers to law enforcement agencies in the name of
national security, undercover agents, eager to prove their performance to superiors
and patriotism to America, are gung ho about arresting the ‘Muslim terrorists.’ In this era of neo-McCarthyism, entrapment,
if it involves ‘Muslim terrorists’—or, lately, the ‘occupy movement’ activists--
is very much condoned by the larger society and the courts. We see the FBI agents regularly frequenting
mosques, exhorting people to do jihad, making ‘terrorist plots’ for the
feeble-minded they can recruit, supplying the dimwits with fake ammunition, and
in the end arresting them for plotting terrorist activities. Those who don’t get easily entrapped, get
their lives and finances closely examined-- benign actors are implicated in tax
evasion and building code violation cases; ‘despicable’ ones—ones with the
beards—are humiliated through charges of prostitution and child pornography. To cut a long story short, Ghulam Nabi Fai
has been implicated in a tax evasion case and is scheduled for an imprisonment
starting from June 26. A conference on
Kashmir dubbed “Right of Self-Determination for the People of Kashmir: A
Reminder to US Policy Makers,” hosted by Dr. Agha Saeed and others, held
on June 21, gave Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai the last opportunity to address a public
rally before the start of his incarceration.
Speaking at the conference, through Skype, Jammu Kashmir
Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik said after suffering for generations
Kashmiris started an armed struggle in 1988.
In 1994, the separatists laid down their arms after the international
community and especially the US promised Yasin Malik and other Kashmiri leaders
of their help in the resolution of the Kashmir issue if the Kashmiris would
turn their struggle into a nonviolent movement.
Malik said the unilateral ceasefire of 1994 was a very unpopular
decision. He said several of his colleagues
have been killed by India, and he too was arrested over 200 times after the
Kashmiris voluntarily chose the path of nonviolence. Malik said in 2003 he collected over 1.5
million signatures on a petition and presented the document to both the Indian
Prime Minister ManMohan Singh and the then president of Pakistan, Pervez
Musharraf. He said millions of
Kashmiris have taken part in peaceful marches that have been largely ignored by
the international community. He feared
that Kashmiris are losing hope in peaceful protests and wondering if violence
is the only way to bring attention to their cause.
Listen to Yasin Malik’s speech here:
Dr. Mohammad Siddiqui, brother of Aafia Siddiqui, and
Raja Asad Ali khan, a Pakistani journalist also addressed the audience through
Skype.
Mark Hinkle, an American libertarian activist, said that one of the tragedies
that came out of the 911 attacks--besides the death of three thousand
people--was the wholesale violation of rights of the Americans. He said Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qaddafi, and
Osama Bin Laden were all funded by the US government. Hinkle advocated a non-interventionist US
foreign policy.
Listen to Mark Hinkle’s speech here:
Dr. Imtiaz khan, professor at the George Washington
University said the Indian human rights abuses in Kashmir would put the
Israelis to shame. He highlighted the case of Major Avtar Singh, a former
Indian military officer, who shot his family members and then killed himself,
in Selma, California, earlier this month—Khan implied that Avtar Singh’s
suicide was an act of insanity stemming from psychological problems Indian
military personnel deployed in Kashmir face.
Avtar Singh was accused of abducting and killing Kahsmiri human rights
lawyer Jalil Andrabi, in 1996. Dr. Khan
also reminded the audience of the Kunan Poshpora mass rape case in which dozens
of Indian soldiers raped over 50 women in the Kashmiri village of Kunan Poshpora.
Dr. Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi, professor of journalism at the
Western Illinois University, said as an Indian Muslim he wants to see his
country strong and prosperous and wishes India to stop wasting resources in
Kashmir.
Listen to Dr. Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi’s speech here:
Edward Hasbrouck, a peace activist and author of “The
Practical Nomad” said he looks forward to visiting an independent Kashmir one
day.
Listen to Edward Hasbrouck’s speech here:
Hazem Kira read the position of the American Muslim Task
Force, AMT, on Kashmir.
Listen to the AMT’s position on Kashmir here:
The text of the statement is here:
In his speech, Dr. Hatem Bazian, Chairman of the
American Muslims for Palestine, said both Palestine and Kashmir entered the
post-colonial era as entities still trapped in colonial setups. Bazian said occupations are the most violent
manifestations of structures of violence.
Listen to Hatem Bazian’s speech here:
Imam Zaid Shakir, co-founder of Zaytuna College, and Qadr Fai,
Ghulam Nabi Fai’s wife, also spoke at the conference.
In his speech Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said the unresolved
Kashmir issue concerns not only the 17 million people of Kashmir, it affects 1.3
billion people of South Asia. He spoke
of the four important factors--the historical background, the ground reality,
the Indian thinking, and the International understanding—of the Kashmir
dispute. Dr. Fai said Kashmir was never
a part of India so ‘secession of Kashmir from India’ does not mean anything.
Listen to Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai’s speech here:
The Kashmir conference held at the Chandni Restaurant in
Newark was emceed by Dr. Naeem Baig.
