USCMO’s Emergency Diplomacy to Unmask and Build International Support to Turn Back India’s Invasion, Communications Lockdown and Annexation of Kashmir, and to Restore the Kashmiri People’s Long-Standing Right of Plebiscite
[dropcap color=”#f96e5b”]T[/dropcap]he US Council of Muslim Organizations has launched an emergency diplomatic action against the Republic of India’s shocking and internationally illegal massive military occupation and political annexation of Kashmir on August 5, the Day of Eid Al-Adha, and especially in the face of India’s unprecedented total communications lockdown of the people of Kashmir, which is now entering its 7th week.
USCMOs emergency Kashmir diplomatic campaign has been two-pronged. Its consultative leadership has organized formal protests calling attention to India’s occupation and repression, while its envoys have met with officials whose responsibilities encompass Kashmir from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Islamic Republic of Pakistan to represent the American Muslim Community’s alarm at India’s aggression in Muslim Kashmir and to highlight the undemocratic Hindu-Chauvinist bigotry driving it.
“The American Muslim community has grave concern about India’s excessive, violent repression of Kashmir’s long-promised and guaranteed international right to self-determination and the Kashmiri people’s God-given right to freely choose for themselves their own national future,” said Oussama Jammal, USCMO Secretary General, leading the Council’s diplomatic efforts.
“But on a more basic level, India’s actions have set Kashmir on a track of inevitable and major humanitarian disaster – particularly because India has blocked communication between Kashmir’s people, even between family members, as well as their freedom of movement inside Kashmir,” he said.
And just as egregiously, India has imposed a lockdown on the Kashmiri people, totally disabling their contact with the outside world. Nor can the world go in and see the people or even speak with them. This can only mean that India is perpetrating untold and unrestrained abuses and violations against the Kashmiri people.
The history of conflict between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers, with Kashmir as a flashpoint, makes India’s invasion and repression of Kashmir a critical global concern.
USCMO has outlined five critical needs of intervention for the people and crisis of Kashmir:
- Invocation of Article 99 of the Charter of the UN to independently intervene in this crisis.
- Calling for an immediate lifting of India’s siege of Kashmir; its restoration of free speech to its population, including free contact and access to all communication avenues internally and internationally, and the right to free assembly and political self-exercise.
- Appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir of international standing, someone like Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, to visit, assess the situation, and report back to the Security Council.
- Convening of a follow up, formal emergency meeting of the Security Council on Kashmir to diffuse the extremely volatile situation and to explore how to democratically resolve this colonial-era crisis.
- Bringing the international community to bear on India’s government to restore and respect the intents of Articles 370 and 35A, and to repeal its imposition of draconian laws in Kashmir, like the “Armed Forces Special Powers Act.” UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet Jeria has already made such recommendation in her 43-page report issued July 8, 2019.
