Amritsar (August 03, 2010): In a significant gesture, the Dal Khalsa saluted the spirit and steadfastness of Kashmiri youth who were sacrificing their lives while facing the state repression in the valley since last 2 months.
The party head Harcharnjit Singh, general secretary Dr Manjinder Singh and spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh in a statement said they were moved by the sufferings of the Kashmiri people that were striving for their rights and freedom. “By facing the bullets and batons of security forces with brave hearts, the Kashmiris have shown to the world that they prefer death to slavery”. They urged the Sikh community residing in Kashmir to donate blood to injured Kashmiris as a mark of solidarity with them.
They lauded the role of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for displaying leadership qualities and skills in this hour of crisis.
As India has failed to protect the human rights and human dignity of Kashmiris, it was time for the United Nations to get involved,” the leaders demanded. They asked the UN secretary general to designate a high level human rights delegation to conduct independent investigations into the killings of scores of youths, mostly teenagers who have died in the hands of police and the CRPF since June 11.
Accusing the Indian government for using excessive force in Kashmir, they said security forces were firing indiscriminately on Kashmiri protestors and beating them to silence their voices.
The mothers and sisters of Kashmir were voluntarily sending their teenagers sons and brothers on protest programmes because they desire for freedom and justice and not political packages including development as was being conceived and portrayed by the mainstream leadership.
“New Delhi has flooded the valley with troops that were torturing protestors to death during detention”. They pointed out that hundreds of Kashmiri youth arrested in the crackdown remain unaccounted for.
Criticizing the detention of Hurriyat leaders including Shabir Shah, JKLF chairman Yasin Malik, High Court Bar Association chief Mian Qayoom booked under the stringent Public Safety Act, they asked for their early release along with hundreds of protestors.