JKLF picket G-8 foreign ministers summit in London
London, 12 June 1998
Hundreds of members of the pro-independence Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in UK formed pickets outside Lancaster House, venue of the G-8 foreign ministers conference, in London, which was specially convened by the British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, to discuss the growing tension between two newly declared nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. The Kashmiri demonstration to highlight the root cause of the conflict between the two arch enemies called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces in order to defuse a potential nuclear clash. They demanded the Kashmiri peoples right to self-rule. JKLF members who had gathered from London and surrounding counties in the morning distributed leaflets to the press and passer-by for several hours, highlight the negligence by the UN and G_8 nations of Kashmiri rights and their plight over the last 50 years. The demonstrators were joined by pro-Khalistan Sikhs and several hundred Kosovo liberation supporters. JKLF protesters included women and children who shouted pro-independence slogans and demanded that India and Pakistan withdraw in accordance with their historical pledges at the UN.
A four member delegation of the JKLF, including UK President M Younis, general secretary Azmat Khan, secretary of their Watford Women wing Sadia Shah and Munir Khan from Luton, presented a memorandum addressed to the individual foreign ministers of the G-8 nations, UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and Russia. Other Srinagar based Kashmiri groups including the head of the APHC as well as from Azad Kashmir and other countries also faxed letters to G-8 ministers demanding prompt action on Jammu-Kashmir to defuse the growing tension between the two countries in order to halt the nuclear arms race.
Full text of the JKLF memorandum
Since last time G-8 foreign ministers met in London India and Pakistan have declared themselves nuclear powers. We have been at pains to forewarn the world that their nuclear program was geared up to perpetuate their hold on Kashmir. It is gratifying to note that the UN Security Council and the P5 foreign ministers have finally acknowledged that fact but a speedy resolution is still required. As the real reason for the nuclear arms race in the sub-continent is Kashmir, we believe that the 50-year deadlock can be brought to an end by offering Jammu-Kashmir independent status, which is the root cause of the conflict.
Fifty years ago both India and Pakistan promised at the UN to withdraw from Jammu-Kashmir and let the people there exercise their right to self-determination but world powers did nothing to resolve that issue. We hold the world leaders responsible for the dangerous nuclear arms race as they have allowed Kashmir to become a flash point in the region. If the continued denial of fundamental rights to 13 million people of Jammu-Kashmir for half a century and the massive human rights abuses over the last 10 years did not prick world conscience, the spectre of nuclear war raised now should be reason enough to change old attitudes and take pro-active approach and concrete actions in seeking a just and amicable solution to issue.
If peace and world prosperity are the objectives of the leading industrialised nations than we urge that smaller (non-nuclear) nations such as the Kashmiris should be offered a fair deal to stop further nuclear proliferation. If regional conflicts remain unresolved lasting peace or prosperity will remain a distant dream We believe that self-rule is the key to economic, political and social progress and those nations which remain occupied and subjugated by their powerful neighbours will always present a challenge to world peace.
When discussing peace issues in South Asia, the key issue, which is linked to peace and prosperity in the region and which is inter-dependent on the principles of justice and self-determination for the long suppressed people of Jammu-Kashmir, has to be placed on the top of the agenda. We believe that over a billion people are now placed between a short-burning fuse in Kashmir and chauvinistic war-mongering cries from India's new breed of leaders that threatens to take the region a step closer to mutual and absolute destruction. We also believe that 'economic sanctions' or calls to 'seek bilaterally acceptable solution' are not likely to move the two arch rivals to arrive at any formidable agreement as Indian and Pakistani leaders have had 17 round of bilateral talks since 1966 without any progress. It is a foregone conclusion that without the active and authentic participation of Kashmiri leaders no solution will be achieved. When taking steps to defuse the potential nuclear short fuse in the region it is essential to ensure that the principle of self-determination does not become a causality of the new reign of terror in South Asia.
It is our firm belief that independence for entire Jammu-Kashmir as an end product (in accordance with the universally recognised principle of self-determination) is still workable. This is not a new option as there is precedent and mechanism in the UN for implementation of such a peace package without tilting the balance of power in either direction and without raising fears for any possible chain reaction. To this end a peace deal through international brokerage is now imperative.
We urge that a reduction in huge Indian and Pakistani armed forces facing each other in highly volatile and tense line-of-control (which forcibly divides Kashmiri people) as envisaged in the UNCIP Resolutions should be given a priority. A replacement by UN mandated neutral peace-keeping force from countries friendly to both India and Pakistan should be inducted for a fixed duration, which would also result in compulsive reduction of armed troops and other personnel from the streets of Indian occupied areas thus reducing the chances of a direct military clash.
We would also like to request that a parliamentary fact-finding delegation from your country should be sent to visit both sides of Kashmir and obtain first hand information about the gravity of the situation. ENDS
