Mr.
Salih Turhan, President of Anadolu Youth Association
Delegates
from Universities from across Turkey
Ladies
and Gentlemen!
Assalam-u-Alaikum
I
would like to express my gratitude to the Anadolu Youth Association for inviting
me to share views on an extremely important issue – Jammu & Kashmir
dispute.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Tomorrow,
27 October, will be marked by millions of Kashmiris across the world as “Black
Day.”
It
was on this day in 1947, that the overwhelmingly Muslim majority state of Jammu
& Kashmir was forcibly occupied by India, giving birth to one of the
darkest chapters of human history in the modern times.
This
day marks the beginning of one of the most protracted disputes of modern times,
that remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council to this day.
The
denial of the right to self-determination to the Kashmiris remains at the very
heart of this bitter dispute.
The
UN Charter as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu &
Kashmir recognize the inalienable right to self-determination of the Kashmiris.
However, for the last seventy-two
years, India has blatantly violated these UN Security Council resolutions.
Meanwhile, the number of Indian
occupation troops in Jammu and Kashmir has increased from thousands to hundreds
of thousands, almost approaching a million.
Indian has used unimaginable force
against the Kashmiris whenever they have risen to demand their right of
self-determination.
Since 1989 alone, close to 100,000
Kashmiris have been martyred in extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary
executions.
Thousands have disappeared, their
loved ones waiting for decades for them to turn up, their wives living the life
of half-widows, their children growing up as half-orphans.
Thousands of Kashmiri women have been
raped.
Hundreds have lost their eyes and
limbs to pellet guns, which have been used with impunity against civilians,
including women and children.
Ladies and gentlemen,
If things were bad before, they have
become infinitely worse since 2014, when the current Indian leadership came to
power.
It believes in the ideology of
Hindutva – that India is only for the Hindus, and followers of other faiths,
particularly Muslims, can either live in India by becoming Hindus or by not
demanding any rights as Indian citizens.
The adherents of this ideology, who
not very long ago orchestrated a brutal massacre against Muslims in the Indian
Gujrat, are now re-enacting it on a grander scale against Kashmiris in the
Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, as well as against the Muslims in India.
For this ideology, the cultural,
religious and civilizational identity of the Kashmiris symbolizes yet another
Babari Mosque – an edifice that they aim to forcibly tear down and replace by
their own.
India’s recent illegal measures in
Jammu & Kashmir are manifestation of the same ideology.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On
5 August 2019 through an illegal “Presidential Order,” the Indian government
unilaterally scrapped Articles 35-A and 370 of Indian Constitution, which
ensured the “special status” of the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOK);
defined the residents of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir; and limited subjects
like property ownership and state citizenship to the current residents of the
area till the final settlement of the dispute.
These
steps are in direct contravention of the relevant UN Security Council
Resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir, which clearly state that India cannot bring
about any material changes in the status quo in the disputed territory.
This
highly provocative path chosen by India will further destabilize a region,
which has already seen several conflicts as a result of non-resolution of the
Jammu & Kashmir dispute.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
What
makes the situation all the more concerning is that since 5 August 2019, the
egregious violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms in the Occupied
territory have increased exponentially.
Before
taking these illegal measures, India placed the entire Occupied territory under
a lock-down by deploying another 180,000 troops in addition to the over 700,000
troops already deployed in the most militarized region in the world.
For
over two months now, Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir remains under a total lock-down.
Millions
of Kashmiri men, women and children remain prisoners in their very own homes,
on their own land.
Armed
Indian soldiers stand before every house; check-points and barbed wires block
every street; and military vehicles patrol the empty roads.
Farmers
have been cut-off from their orchards and fields; children from their schools;
faithful from the mosques; patients from the hospitals; and above all, mothers
and fathers from their sons and daughters.
Hospitals
are short of medicines, and markets of food and daily essentials.
Kashmiri
political leaders, including those India once claimed to be its supporters, remain
under detention.
Those
who dare to step out, are forced back by “pellet guns” – an inhuman weapon being
used to inflict maximum pain and misery.
The
international media outcry and strong criticism of the human rights
organizations has failed to deter India to restore the fundamental rights of
the Kashmiris.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It
is imperative for the international community to step in and discharge its
moral, ethical and legal responsibility by bringing an end to the on-going
Indian gross violations of human rights and collective punishments against the
Kashmiris.
It
must call on India to immediately lift the blockade of the Occupied Jammu &
Kashmir; allow international human rights organizations and observers to access
the region to assess the situation on ground; end impunity; and conduct an
independent inquiry under the UN auspices to hold those responsible for decades
of systematic, and gross violations of fundamental rights of Kashmiris.
Above
all, the inalienable right of the Kashmiris to self-determination must be
upheld.
Today,
South Asia, which is home to one-fifths of the entire humanity, stands on the
brink of another conflict.
Indian
leaders are threatening to use nuclear weapons against Pakistan.
Violations
of the Line of Control, targeting Pakistani civilians have increased in the
recent days.
Inaction
on this issue is no longer an option.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Turkey
is an important member of the international community, and has a history for
standing up for the cause of truth and justice globally.
The
people of Pakistan and Turkey are bound together in an unparalleled and
fraternal relationship that is embedded in the very hearts of the peoples of
the two countries.
The
two nations have always stood by one another under the most difficult and
challenging circumstances.
The
people and the Government of Pakistan as well as those suffering in Indian
Occupied Jammu & Kashmir are thankful to the people and leadership of
Turkey for their strong support on the issue of Jammu & Kashmir.
We
are particularly thankful to Anadolu Youth Association for organizing protests
on 23 August in various cities across Turkey including those in front of Indian
Embassy in Ankara and Consulate in Istanbul.
Turkey
has indeed once again proved that it has always been and will Inshallah
continue to stand by the Kashmiris.
While
we must keep on pricking the conscience of the world on issues like Palestine
and Jammu & Kashmir, the reality is that the Muslim Ummah is facing these
challenges because of our own weaknesses and divisions.
We
need to rise above our internal differences; overcome our economic and
political dependence on others; and revive the great intellectual traditions of
our civilization.
It
is only through building our own internal strengths that we can overcome the
daunting challenges of the present day.
I thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment