Why should we care about Kashmiris thousands of miles away from most of us? Because their cause is just & because a victory against colonialism & occupation would hearten all of suffering humanity in their struggles against plunder, persecution, war, occupation, genocide. And because no human being is alien to us. They are one with us.
Daily Archives: August 29, 2019
This is a very disturbing report from Kashmir which probably only touches the surface of the suffering imposed on the Kashmiri people by the merciless siege.
https://thewire.in/rights/jammu-kashmir-srinagar-article-370?
The two remarkable things this video shows: the relentless brutality of Indian troops using pellet guns on unarmed protesters & the relentless opposition of the Kashmiri people to colonialism & occupation.
#StandWithKashmir
Kashmiri activists & their supporters, including independence icon 90-year-old Syed Ali Geelani, were suspended from social media in 2016 for showing a photo or just saying the name of Burhan Wani whose funeral prayers were attended by 600,000 people in Kashmir. Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was arrested a year ago for writing a profile of Wani & charged with inciting terrorism & subversion. He has just been awarded the Press Freedom Award by the American National Press Club. But like Kurdish-Iranian writer & journalist Behrouz Boochani, who is imprisoned in Australia’s Manus Island refugee prison, he will be unable to receive his award.
#FreeAasifSultan #FreeBehrouzBoochani
Kashmir is standing up to Modi’s fascism: massive protests after Friday prayers:
Do you recall when India snapped the internet in Kashmir around the time of the 2016 uprising & crackdown & the young were so electronically savvy that they used VPN technology to continue reporting on social media? As if that internet lockdown didn’t exist? That’s why India imposed the telecommunications blockade. Because they knew they weren’t smart enough to stop communications unless they did.
Now we see reports that Kashmiris are using their traditional tactic of shutdowns, now called “people’s curfew”, to prove ‘all is not well’ or calm, as India claims. They are using the curfew against the Indian Army. In the Soura neighborhood in Srinagar, they are building moats & barricades to make it a “no-go zone” for Indian troops, something we also saw in the Egyptian Arab Spring.
The Kashmiris are not going to submit to colonial occupation & will continue to develop forms of resistance. But they need the auxiliary force of international protests, a boycott of India, petitions, forums & panels, conferences, solidarity organizations coordinated around the world to join them in demanding the withdrawal of all Indian troops, the release of Kashmiri political prisoners, the end of pellet guns & live ammo, the end of rape as a weapon of war, the end of vandalizing & razing homes, the end of hunt to kill operations.
Since I have almost 600 pending friend requests I’m culling those friends I haven’t heard a peep from & don’t seem to be on the same trajectory with to make room for others. If I bump you by mistake, let me know & I can fix that. In culling, I’ve come across those I haven’t heard from for several years.
Seattle #StandWithKashmir rally.
Seattle stands in solidarity with Kashmir
Posted by Stand With Kashmir on Monday, August 19, 2019
Photo’s from Philadelphia #StandWithKashmir rally.
“Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi, members of all marginalised communities & anti-caste allies of India — condemn the support shown by certain Dalit–Bahujan political party leaders to the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s decision of diluting Article 370 of Constitution of India through fraudulent means. Our heart goes out to the people of Kashmir.”
https://countercurrents.org/2019/08/dalit-bahujan-solidarity-with-kashmir?