In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that aggression and repression can never resolve anything but only aggravate it.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq addressing a public gathering in Srinagar after his release from illegal 57-day house detention said, “Each day young educated boys are being killed and there is a belief in some sitting in New Delhi that once all of them are killed the problem will be over. But those that think this forget that these boys took up arms as a reaction to repression and for the resolution of the dispute.”
The Mirwaiz said for the past 70 years people of Kashmir are born, raised, live and die with the fact that Kashmir is a disputed place waiting a final resolution. He said its foundation lies in the United Nations’ ratification through passing of resolutions to this effect and the commitment made by no less than the Prime Minister of India.
He said that resolution of the dispute can always be reached provided there is a willingness to accept the facts and compassion, humanity and mutual respect among the parties involved while addressing the problem and a keenness to work towards real peace by all.
The Mirwaiz said the agitation and protests by students in colleges and universities across the Valley that force the authorities to frequently shut them down, again indicates how the youth of Kashmir sees the situation and his reaction to it.
“Similarly, persecution of leadership through so-called investigations and spreading lies and creating a huge propaganda through print, electronic and even social media against them, involving their families, friends and acquaintances, and harassing them in order to defame and intimidate leadership and demoralize people will also prove futile as people of Kashmir know such ploys and do not buy them. It will only worsen and complicate matters further,” he said.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq appealed to all people in India to see Kashmir not as a piece of real estate nor as a territorial dispute between two hostile neighbors but as a human issue concerning hundreds of thousands of people and divided families hanging on fire since the last 70 years, leading to great sufferings and loss of life on all sides that begs for a just resolution.
