KCEU Condemns India’s 5th August 2019 Actions in IIOJK at Brussels Protest

Chairman of Kashmir Council Europe (KCEU), Ali Raza Syed, strongly condemned the 2019 revocation of Articles 370 and 35A by the Modi regime. He argued that this move was a calculated attempt to permanently occupy the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a protest camp at Europe Square in Brussels, Syed highlighted the illegality of India’s actions on August 5, 2019. He emphasized that the move violated international law and UN resolutions. The protest, organized by Kashmir Council Europe, drew a large crowd holding placards and banners. Participants chanted slogans supporting the Kashmiri right to self-determination and condemning India’s illegal occupation.

Representatives of NGOs and human rights defenders joined the protest. Many passersby stopped to inquire about the situation in Occupied Kashmir. The organizers provided detailed briefings on the ongoing human rights abuses.

Ali Raza Syed stated that the removal of Kashmir’s special status was not just an illegal act, but a deliberate assault on the identity and dignity of the Kashmiri people. He described it as a direct attack on the very existence of the Kashmiri nation and their aspirations for self-determination.

He warned that India’s actions have paved the way for demographic changes that threaten to alter Kashmir’s identity. Since 2019, the Indian government has modified domicile rules, granting permanent residency to thousands of non-Kashmiris.

Syed also highlighted the dire situation of Kashmiri political leaders, activists, and journalists who have been imprisoned since 2019. He noted that Indian forces have been given a free hand to crush the Kashmiri freedom struggle, leading to extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.

He condemned the new wave of atrocities unleashed by India following the abolition of Kashmir’s special status. Syed pointed out that Kashmiri Muslims are now restricted from holding religious gatherings, including Eid and Friday prayers, and Muharram processions.

The chairman emphasized that major Hurriyat leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front head Yasin Malik, are currently imprisoned. Several Kashmiri political organizations have been banned in Occupied Kashmir.

He presented alarming statistics: from August 5, 2019, to April 30, 2024, Indian forces martyred 887 Kashmiris, injured or tortured 2,430, arrested 23,668, and destroyed 1,119 buildings. Additionally, 68 women were widowed, 185 children were orphaned, and 34 women were assaulted or raped during this period.

Syed condemned the Indian military’s 19,000 siege and search operations over the past five years. He criticized the Indian authorities for not handing over the bodies of many martyred Kashmiris and for prohibiting funeral prayers for these martyrs.

In his speech, Syed called out the global community’s silence on these human rights violations. He stressed that this silence is tantamount to endorsing the brutalities against Kashmiris. Despite India’s attempts to break the spirit of the Kashmiri people, Syed asserted that the freedom movement would continue unabated.

He urged the United Nations, European Union, and international human rights bodies to take a stand against these violations and hold India accountable for its actions in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He reaffirmed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve the right to decide their future through a free and fair plebiscite, as promised by the UN.

In addition to the Brussels protest, Ali Raza Syed also addressed online gatherings organized by Pakistan’s embassies in Paris and Berlin. These events also aimed to protest against the Indian government’s actions on August 5, 2019.