Observance of October 27th as Day of Occupation in Kashmir
Cumberland, Maryland. October 27, 2012. “The international community must intervene on humanitarian grounds to ease the suffering of the innocent and unarmed Kashmiri population. The suffering and abuses are so pervasive as to extend beyond those directly affected. The pattern of abuses reaches every man, woman and child in the Valley of Kashmir. The people live under the constant threat of the abuses. The prevalence of military personnel and bunkers serve as a constant reminder to Kashmiris of the potential for them to fall victim to such a horrible occurrences,” this was stated by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai from Cumberland Prison Camp in Maryland, USA. Fai warned that India may be the largest democracy but its policies in Kashmir has been uniformly brutal and deceitful.
Fai quoted the New York Times column of July 8, 2012 which appeared on page 4 that says, “Had the graves been found under Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s compound in Libya or in the rubble of Home in Syria, there surely would have been an uproar. But when over 2,000 skeletons appear in the conflict-ridden (Kashmir) backyard of the world’s largest democracy, no one bats the eye. While the west proselytizes democracy and respect for human rights, sometimes going so far as to cheerlead cavalier military interventions to remove repressive regimes, how can it reconcile its humanitarianism with such brazen disregard for the right to life in Kashmir? Have we come to accept that there are different benchmarks for justice in democracies and autocracies? Are mass graves unearthed in democratic India less offensive?”
Commenting on the Observance of the Kashmiri Day of Occupation, Dr. Fai said that the issue of Kashmir became international the day an alien Indian soldier set foot on the soil of Kashmir on October 27, 1947. Fai reiterated that the people of Kashmir demand what has been agreed upon at the United Nations Security Council with the consent of both India and Pakistan that they will be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination to decide the future of their land, i.e., whether they want to join India or Pakistan or remain independent.
Fai said that it is symptomatic of the approach of the world powers that the greater emphasis is placed on the “reduction of tensions” than on the settlement of the core issue, i.e., Kashmir. This gives importance to superficial moves and temporary solutions even though it is known that such moves and solutions do not soften the animosities of the parties, nor allay the life and death concerns and anxieties of the people most directly affected.
Fai emphasized that the rational approach to set a stage for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute is to include the accredited leadership of the people of Jammu & Kashmir in all future negotiations with India and Pakistan. Any Kashmir solution that fails to command the consensus of the 17 million people of the State of Jammu & Kashmir is doomed to shipwreck moments after its launch.
Dr. Fai can be reached at:
Syed Fai
78764-083
FCI- Cumberland
Prison Camp
P. O. Box 1000
Cumberland, Maryland – 21501, USA