Srinagar, Sept 18: Ahead of the General Session of the United Nations in Geneva, octogenarian Hurriyat patriarch Syed Ali Geelani has written a letter to the world body.
In the interest of our readers, here are the contents of the letter, verbatim:
His Excellency,
The Secretary General
United Nations Organization
New York, USA.
Your Highness
I hope that you are familiar with the fact that Kashmir (read Jammu and Kashmir) issue is a long pending issue waiting for the final dispensation in accordance with the agreed UN Resolutions. Most recently, International Community has embarked on an unprecedented effort to map out normative guidelines for global justice. It is important to refer that to the normative political changes that have ensued at the international level in recent years have reinvigorated the critical importance of the UN efforts to safeguard Human Rights all over the world. The UN intervention in almost all the conflict zones and regions of the globe (e.g. Kosovo, East Timor etc.) is lauded as a welcome move.
It is in this context, the people of Kashmir demand the UN intervention for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue, lingering for the last seven decades before the UNO.
The people of Kashmir also demand to appoint a War Crime Tribunal for Jammu and Kashmir to identify the culprits of Human Rights abuses and to penalize them, because the present situation with respect to gross violation of human rights at the hands of Indian occupation forces, and denial of civil and political liberties has become alarming and grim. The indiscriminate use of lethal weapons, pellet guns, bullets, pawa shells to contain public rallies while chanting slogans for right to self-determination, has become a routine matter. People are mercilessly killed, maimed arrested, blinded, bruised and molestation of woman is used as a war weapon by Indian occupation forces. In this grim situation the life, honour and property of the people has become vulnerable.
We also demand that the UNO should prevail upon the Indian government to give free access to global human rights groups to take on spot stock of the situation with regard to Human Rights abuses in Kashmir. The volatile situation prevailing in Kashmir needs a proactive approach by UNO to avert any possible nuclear collusion between the two nuclear powers of the sub-continent and we expect facilitation of the same from your Excellency.
Yours Sincerely
Syed Ali Gilani
Chairman APHC Jammu and Kashmir.
Kashmiris demand UN intervention for peaceful resolution of K-issue, Geelani writes to UN chief
