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"PAK
wants our land, not the Kashmiris"
Special
Report
Excerpts From
The Text Of The Report On The Study Tour Of Beersmans Paul,
President Of The “Belgian Association For Solidarity With Jammu And
Kashmir” To India And The Indian State Of Jammu And Kashmir.
On October 2002
Elections:
Kashmiris are convinced the last elections were fair and free. They
are happy with the change of government that took place. Now the
politicians listen to the demands of the people and pay attention to
the basic needs of the Kashmiris. The healing touch policy is being
implemented: innocent prisoners are being released, new jobs are
created, corruption will be tackled with, there is improvement of
the electric power and water supply, education is being improved,
etc. Although the new government is only eight months in power one
can already feel the difference.
On
Hurriyat Conference: All Parties
Hurriyat Conference is divided between the hard-liners who want to
merge with Pakistan and the more compromising leaders who are
prepared to accept other solutions. Its members are playing a double
game: on the one hand they pretend to be democrats and on the other
hand they support the violence. This organisation doesn’t have much
support from the population because its stand is too communal,
fundamentalist and extremist: no support at all in Jammu and Ladakh
and only some support in the Valley. The support in the Valley even
diminished after the murder, by fundamentalists, of the more or less
moderate People’s Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone.
Meeting
with N N Vohra: I am a bureaucrat
and officially appointed by the Government of India. My mission is
to find out the state of ply, the mood, the complaints, the
grievances, the expectations, the aspirations, the wishes of people
of all walks all over J&K State. So, I am dealing with the internal
situation of the State and everyone is welcome to meet me and to
express his views. At the same time a process on the diplomatic
level is on between India and Pakistan. A solution will come at a
subsequent stage and all elements and segments of the people of J&K
have to be satisfied.
We must go forward, we must move, the
suffering must stop. All political leaders have a responsibility
towards their countryman. Also the secessionists have the moral duty
to find a peaceful solution. How long this process will take is
difficult to say. It is not important to put a deadline. The most
important is to get nearer to a solution, especially a solution for
the internal problems.
There is still cross-border terrorism
and many foreign mercenaries are operating in J&K State. Whatever is
the point, these mercenaries are coming through Pakistan where they
receive logistic support, training, equipment, … This is not only a
threat to India but also to the entire international community. We
have to take terrorism seriously all over the world.
There is a terrible responsibility
resting on our shoulders and we have to find a solution. We can’t
escape our future and too many people suffered. Those who dare come
out with a voice of moderation face a certain death. This has to
change.
Meeting
with Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman, Panun Kashmir:
The Kashmir dispute is based on the confronting
position of India and Pakistan. For India J&K is an integral part of
the Indian Union because the Maharaja acceded to India and for
Pakistan J&K belongs to them because the majority of the population
is Muslim and Pakistan is specially created for the Muslims of the
Sub-Continent as they consider themselves to be a separate nation.
If India would recognise this position of Pakistan, than the Muslims
within India should also go to Pakistan. So, the position of
Pakistan is nonsense. It proves that Pakistan is only interested in
the territory of J&K and not in the population. Pakistan is using
the religious aspect in order to create the dispute but is certainly
not willing to accommodate the 150 million Muslims living in India.
The Kashmiri Pandits are in a very bad
position:
- there are no signs from the
Government of India that they want at any point of time address the
genocide war which was unleashed on the Hindus in the Valley and
which now has spelt over to Jammu Province;
- we don’t see any government, be it from India or from J&K State,
policy which is aimed at countering the demographic change in J&K
(encirclement of Hindu-pockets by Muslims), and
- after the emergence of the government of Mufti Sayeed the dilution
of Indian sovereignty over J&K State has been strengthened.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
future of the Pandits is very dark the Pandits maintain the
visibility of their issue. They continuously talk about the basic
issues that need to be addressed. They are holding on and they want
to create a set-up that is not dominated by the principle of Muslim
politics. If the Kashmir issue is solved there still will be no
peace between India and Pakistan because there is another hidden
agenda dictating the course of history.
Conclusions:
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Pakistan is openly exposed as being
the force, the origin and the instigator of the militancy and
accused of being primarily responsible for the whole disaster in
Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmiris are against the interference of
Pakistan and the foreign terrorists because they are destroying
their culture. Pakistan should stop cross-border terrorism and
cross-border infiltration, stop sending money, ammunition and
weapons and stop giving training
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Kashmiris in general are happy
with the democratically elected government. Mufti Sayeed and his
ministers are working hard to meet their aspirations and
expectations to fulfil the commitments they made: implementing the
healing touch policy, fighting corruption, abolishing abuses of
power, reviving the economy and creating jobs.
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