Dear Prime Minister,

Subject: Support the right to Self-Determination for the people of Kashmir as per UN Resolutions and ensure the implementation of International Human Rights.

We are deeply concerned by recent developments in Indian Occupied Kashmir and are writing to urge that you speak about these issues when you visit India next year.

Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory. On 5 August 2019, the Indian Parliament, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), unilaterally evoked Articles 370 and 35(A) of the Indian Constitution.

Article 370 has provided semi-autonomy to the Kashmiri people since 1948. It ensured the state had its own constitution, flag and cultural independence, protecting the people of Kashmir as a cultural and linguistic minority group within the Indian state.

Over the years the provisions of this Article have been hollowed out through Presidential orders, and ultimately arbitrarily abrogated on 5th August this year. This is in direct contradiction of the various resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council since 1948, especially Resolution 47 passed on April 12,1948 which states that the political future of the state must be decided through a free and impartial plebiscite.

In early August, the Indian Government asked all tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave Kashmir immediately, issuing warnings of an impending security situation. Using this pretext, the Indian Government deployed thousands of troops additional to the existing 700,000 present, with current estimates reaching one million. Political leaders were arrested and some were placed under house arrest, communications were cut off and local media was shut down. The Kashmir valley was placed under complete lockdown.

This unilateral decision by the Indian government, without consulting the people of Kashmir, depriving them of their civil liberties and holding them hostage in their own land, is both illegal and unconstitutional. India’s complete disregard for International Law, will provide an avenue for a new period of conflict, oppression and bloodshed in the region. It is in not in the interest for any leader to bear witness to this.

Kashmiris are unable to express their views online or on the ground. The Indian Army is protected by legislation that allows them to arrest individuals for long periods of time, without adhering to due process. The Public Safety Act is used against those protesting online and weaponry is used to injure or kill Kashmiris in order to suppress their voices and right to self-determination. This has resulted in thousands of political prisoners being held without trial, some as young as nine years old. The civilian population has been suppressed for over three decades and denied their basic civil liberties. This is not only in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also The United Nations Charter.

Kashmir has a long history of gross human rights violations and suspension of civil liberties. The decision of August 5th needs to be viewed against the backdrop of the history of a continual denial of rights and self-determination to Kashmiris. Human Rights groups have reported that in the last three decades, more than 70,000 have been killed, 8,000 disappearances, 6,000 unmarked mass graves, thousands of cases of torture and countless cases of rapes and sexual violence.

Whilst Kashmir faces a humanitarian crisis, the world continues to watch silently. We note that The 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper states “Australia will promote human rights through constructive bilateral dialogue” and request that this policy of the Australian government informs the discussions you will have with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government leaders on your visit to India.

We appeal to you to step and be a voice for the Kashmiris’ right to exercise their self-determination through a UN referendum.

We the undersigned request you, as the Prime Minister of Australia, call upon the Indian Government to:

1.     Stop human rights abuses in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir,

2.     Restore communication and freedom of movement by ceasing house arrests, detention of innocent people and dismantling the communication blockade, and

3.     Uphold the promise made by Prime Minister Nehru in 1947 that the people of Kashmir would have a referendum on the status of Kashmir.

 

Yours Sincerely,

Concerned global citizens