Niranjana Das was temporarily disabled by Facebook for this post about Afzal Guru, a remarkable figure in the Kashmiri freedom struggle who was hung by the Indian government:
“Also add Afzal Guru’s pic who was executed by the world’s largest democracy and his widow was later informed through a speed post. Till date, his family didn’t receive his remains.”
Do you see any violations of FB community standards there? Any incitement to violence or harm to others? Any hate speech at all? Or does criticism of India’s treatment of political prisoners constitute hate speech?
Cut the crap, Facebook!
This is MC Kash’s tribute to Afzal Guru & Maqbook Bhat who was also hung by the Indian government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U00V9Ue_KkE
There will come a day when Kashmiris no longer grieve the executions & dissappearances of their youth who defied the occupation. That day of victory will require active, international solidarity & will redound to the advantage of freedom struggles against oppression around the world.
(Photo by Mudasir Rawloo)
In looking for a suitable photo to use on a petition to restore the FB account of Kashmiri Arshad Hussain, I came across this recent photo by Basit Zargar of schoolchildren walking toward a razor wire barrier. What a stark contrast between innocence & barbarity.
End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.
Because the brutal occupation doesn’t take New Years Day off:
“In 2017, to kill 217 Kashmiri militants, 124 armed forces were killed. The ratio is 2:1. It seems, the ‘Operation All Out’ has taken a huge toll on armed forces too, despite the fact that militants are ill-equipped & lack training.”
–Khurram Parvez
2017 only seems like the worst year ever in human history because we’ve forgotten how awful 2016 was. The passage of time hasn’t gone well for a while for millions of human beings. But we will make 2018 a renewal of our commitment to human solidarity with all those struggling against war, occupation, genocide, inequality. In that regard, social media has made our mission possible in a way it wasn’t just a decade ago. We’ve made social media our meeting grounds where we can get to know, respect, collaborate, & even love one another. Which is why governments are monitoring & censoring us. They can’t let that happen & we can’t let them take it away from us. This is a year for taking on that censorship stuff head-on.
Thank you to all my FB friends for teaching, inspiring, making me laugh. We can change the world to make it worthy of our children & overcome the inequalities that make life a hell for so many if we stand together. Happy new year.
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