Kashmiri media reports that a joint force of J&K police, Indian Army, & CRPF special forces launched a massive cordon & search operation in many areas of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Officials claim some snitch gave them specific information about the presence of militants. Isn’t that the same exact region where health officials just reported 55 J&K policemen tested positive for corona? Fifty-five cases before they’ve even completed testing all the officers? Have they done any testing of the soldiers or special forces before sending them in to an area with thousands of civilians? Or don’t corona protocols matter much in a genocide?
Demand the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all Indian forces from Kashmir.
(Photo of hunt to kill operation from files of The Kashmir Press, posted on May 18, 2020)
The spirit of Palestinian freedom fighter Ghassan Kanafani resonates with that of Kashmiri freedom fighter Maqbool Bhat. Ghassan was assassinated by Israel in 1972; Maqbool was hung by India in 1984. They stand as giants of the struggle against colonialism & for a just world.
Maqbool Bhat said: “For us, azadi means not just getting rid of foreign occupation of our beloved motherland but also to remove hunger, poverty, ignorance & disease & to overcome economic & social devastation. One day we will achieve that. Azadi.”
Ghassan Kanafani said: “The struggle for the liberation of Palestine, for a democratic secular state free from all forms of racial & religious discrimination is a vital part of the international struggle for justice & equality.”
(Photo of Maqbool Bhat on left; Ghassan Kanafani on right)
Palestinian journalist, novelist, & leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972) answers the banal, insinuating questions of an interviewer on why Palestinians continue to fight against Zionist colonialism & occupation. Ghassan was assassinated by Mossad in a car bomb attack in Beirut.
What kind of talks would be there between the sword and the neck. Ghassan Kanafani
And in the end, what is freedom all about but the future of children; that they may never know colonialism, occupation, inequality, & violence but only a world of creativity & endless possibilities.
As independence leader Maqbool Bhat said before he was executed by India in 1984: “For us, azadi means not just getting rid of foreign occupation of our beloved motherland but also to remove hunger, poverty, ignorance & disease & to overcome economic & social devastation. One day we will achieve that. Azadi.”
(Photo of Kashmiri child by Umer Asif)
Responding to retired Indian Army Major Gaurav Arya who endorsed the execution of Mehrajudin Shah, Zafar Khan says: “He is so full of himself. These soldiers get rewards and commendations for their scores in terms of how many kills they make in Kashmir. Kashmiris are fully aware of the fact that close to a million Indian military are paramilitary troops & do NOT hold toy or “ornamental” guns.
Their guns are instruments of death and killing of Kashmiris in cold blood! Just as the killing of Mehrajudin Shah by the CRPF soldier was in cold blood. Indian army in J&K is an army of occupation. There is no other word for it! Kashmiris consider it as an army of occupation and since 5 August 2019 any legitimacy for the Indian State to be in J&K no longer exists with the illegal and unilateral annexation of the disputed J&K whose political status remains to be decided by its people, through the exercise of their sovereign and internationally recognised, inherent and inalienable right of self-determination.”
“Indian media has fed nothing but poisonous lies about Kashmiris these years. Since they can no longer hide what’s happening in Kashmir, the only thing left to do is justify it in the name of Islamophobia. By now, the Indian citizen knows who is right and wrong, and their denial of the truth and justification of occupation makes the truth about Kashmir more recognisable. It makes the Kashmir struggle worth dying for. We are destined to be free; the only question is: are you going to be ashamed that day or join us in celebrating our freedom?”
–Zachriah Sulayman, May 15, 2020
This young guy climbing over the fence is being chased by police from the protest in Makhama village west of Srinagar against the execution of 25-year-old Mehrajudin Shah. Maybe he threw a stone, maybe he chanted anti-occupation slogans. Kashmiris have the right, whether India recognizes it or not, to protest occupation & colonialism without being assaulted by truncheons, pellet guns, tear gas, live ammo.
Stand with Kashmiris & demand the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all Indian forces from Kashmir.
(Photo by Pulitzer winner Dar Yasin/AP, May 13, 2020)
This is another photo of Kashmiri women protesting the execution of Mehrajudin Shah by supplying stones to protesters in Makhama village west of Srinagar. Some of the women are themselves stone pelters. When you understand that Indian troops are firing pellet guns, tear gas, & live ammo at these protesters, you grasp something of the anger, courage, & commitment of the protesters, male & female, young & old.
Stand with Kashmiris & demand the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all Indian forces from Kashmir.
(Photo by Pulitzer winner Dar Yasin May 13, 2020)
