Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) zonal president Noor Muhammad Kalwal Friday said fighting for ones freedom is a matter of honor and pride and the nations that silently tolerate oppression only perish.“People who have banned every peaceful political activity and choked every space have no right to talk of democracy and ‘battle of ideas’,” Kalwal said while speaking to media and participants of rally that was held today at Lal Chowk in connection with the JKLF ‘Jail Bharo’ campaign against ‘choking political space and oppressive behavior of India and its puppets in Jammu Kashmir.’
In a statement to KNS a spokesman of JKLF said led by Kalwal several Front leaders and activists including JKLF district president Anantnag Muhammad Ishaaq Ganai, activists Muhammad Shuaib Malik, Muhammad Ishaaq Malik, Nazir Ahmad Malla,Nazir Ahmad Khan, Peerzada Suhail Ahmad, Bashir Ahmad Butt, Zubair Ahmad ,Mudasir Ahmad Mir, Nisar Ahmad ,Muhammad Qasim and Mushtaq Ahmad Matoo, courted arrest near Paladiam Chowk Srinagar today afternoon.Prior to this JKLF activist, leaders and common people in large numbers gathered outside historical Hamza Masjid Kokerbazar and marched towards Lal Chowk in a peaceful and graceful procession. Raising slogans in favor of freedom, resistance, martyrs and struggle and against oppression, tyranny, choking of political space, arresting youth this procession reached near Gurdwara Chowk where JKLF activists and leaders courted arrest. Before courting arrest, JKLF vice chairman advocate Bashir Ahmad Butt while addressing the gathering emphasized on the need and importance of these voluntary protest arrests.
Kalwal who led today’s program in his speech said that a Muslim always loves honor and bravery but today lack of passion, honor and pride has touched such high levels that our brothers are being butchered in Burma by Buddhist terrorists and “we are not able to even speak against this tyranny.”
“Burmese Muslims are being terrorized but no one in the world seems to care. We have no regrets about the international community that is always hypocritical about Muslims but the criminal silence of the Muslim world is worrisome and condemnable,” he said.While condemning the atrocities being committed on Jammu Muslims, Kalwal also condemned the brutal assault on Sikh brothers’ day before by police and other forces in which a young Sikh youth lost his life. He strongly condemned the killing and termed it as a brutal murder.
“Kashmiri freedom struggle is a genuine and legal struggle based on truth and its importance for people of Jammu Kashmir is well known. India and its Kashmiri puppets make tall claims of being democratic but when it comes to Jammu Kashmir these tall claims get washed away and become bundle of falsehood. Right from 1947 pro-India rulers of Jammu Kashmir irrespective of their parties and ideologies have only served the interests of India and suppressed the genuine voices of people of Jammu Kashmir through oppressive measures,” he alleged.“Today these so called rulers have gone a step forward and have started implementing the RSS agenda on Jammu Kashmir. JKLF has started this peaceful Jail Bharo campaign against these tyrannical acts of so called rulers who on one hand raise slogans of morality, battle of ideas and no bullet but talks but on the other hand have choked every space for peaceful political activities.
The fact of the matter is that these people have no guts to compete resistance camp especially JKLF on political front and they feel safe only by choking political space of resistance camp and hence suppress the voices of decent through power,” Kalwal said.He said that JKLF has started this jail Bharo campaign as a protest against the government’s policy of “choking political space and other oppressive measures” against JKLF and other resistance parties. “Fathers are being arrested in place of their sons and brothers in place of brothers .this condemnable act is being done throughout Kashmir and hence youth are being pushed to the wall by these so called rulers.
JKLF will never allow any body to change the demography and special status of Jammu Kashmir,” he said.It is worth to mention that Jail Bharo campaign of JKLF started last Friday on May 29 when its chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik courted arrest. Since then about five dozen JKLF leaders and activists have courted arrest and all arrested except JKLF chairman have been shifted to central jail Srinagar. Malik alone is lodged at Kothibagh police station and has not been shifted yet.