MIRPUR [AJK]: Kashmir European Union Week, a week-long arrangement of events on Kashmir started at the European Headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.
There was an opening of a photo exhibition in Kashmir evening of yesterday, the first day of the program which will continue till December. Several people from different walks of life visited the exhibition and expressed their keen interest in the current situation in the occupied Kashmir, says a message reached and released to media here Wednesday.
The events of Kashmir EU Week which is being organized by Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU) also include conferences, seminars, discussions, a media conference, and meetings at the European Press Club Brussels, the European Parliament, and other institutions in the EU headquarters.
Talking on the opening of the photo exhibition at the EU Press Club, Chairman of KC-EU Ali Raza Syed said, besides the events at the EU Press Club and EU Parliament, there would also be several meetings with the European officials, members
of the European Parliament and representatives of civil society and human rights organizations during the Kashmir EU Week.
He explained the topics of the events would be related to the history of the Kashmir dispute and the current situation of the conflict particularly human rights violations committed by the Indian occupation forces in the occupied land of Jammu and Kashmir.
Chairman Kashmir Council Europe Ali Raza Syed said the week-long programs of Kashmir’s EU week have been organized by Kashmir Council EU for many years and the purpose of these events is to highlight the beauty of Kashmir’s culture side by side with the focus on miseries of oppressed Kashmiris in Europe.
He expressed fear that as the world is currently focused on the tense situation in Europe (Ukraine) and the Middle East, the Modi government can take advantage of this situation to carry out some heinous acts in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Ali Raza Syed added, under different pretexts, that India wants to maintain its illegal posses
sion of this region for a long time. Genocide of Kashmiris, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and crude tactics like amendment of domicile laws to change the Kashmiri population ratio are part of Indian nefarious motives.
Ali Raza Syed said that many Kashmiri leaders and activists, including Yasin Malik, are currently under arrest or detention and the purpose of these actions is to suppress strong voices favouring the oppressed Kashmiris.
He paid tribute to Yasin Malik and other imprisoned Kashmiri leaders and activists and called for their immediate release. He said that we salute the brave Kashmiri leaders and activists and appreciate their courage who have been struggling for the rights of Kashmiris for a long time.
He further said, as these days people all over the world stand against state terrorism, and atrocities on the common citizens are being condemned, we hope the world would prevent Indian brutalities on the Kashmiris.
He asked the international community especially the European Union
to put pressure on India to immediately end the crimes of Indian security forces against the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and grant them the right to self-determination according to the UN’s resolutions on the Kashmir issue.
He said, that since 1947 the people of occupied Kashmir are facing endless hardships as their deprivations are increasing day by day. International community including Europe Union must take immediate action to stop the atrocities against the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. So the situation of the disputed land should be normalized, and the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be provided a peaceful atmosphere where they can use their right to self-determination by their wishes and according to United Nations resolutions.