The conflicts around the world and non-resolution of the Palestinian and Kashmir issues are a sequel to inhuman and discriminatory policies of the countries claiming to spearhead the so-called civilized world. Blatant trampling of human rights and continued killing sprees in both these lands at the hands of occupying forces do not matter to them because everything is subservient to their geo-political and geo-economic interests. The principles enshrined in the UN Charter, or international laws and conventions have no value for them and they trample them with impunity. Yet they still have the audacity to pronounce their humanitarian credentials from every convenient roof-top.#
n my considered view, the USA, which leads that group, is to a great extent responsible or linked to the conflicts all over the globe. The non-resolution of the Palestinian conundrum and the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir in spite of UN resolutions providing the road map to resolve these issues is a ranting proof of the cruelty of the civilized world.
The voices emanating from the UN for an end to the atrocities being perpetrated on the hapless Palestinians and continued annexation of their land have proven only a cry in the wilderness. Hardly a day goes by when the Palestinian are not murdered in cold blood by the occupying Israeli force.
In the latest flare-up, the Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, including children, during a raid on a refugee camp in Jenin using a combat helicopter. The incident marks the first time in years that a combat helicopter has been used in the occupied West Bank. Israel has persisted with its crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian land because it enjoys unqualified support of the USA and its western allies. Hundreds of Palestinians have died over the past five years. And yet, the world waits and watches without any solution in sight.
The same is the situation in regards to the blatant human rights violations in IIOJ&K where since 1989, when the Palestinians launched an armed struggle to win their freedom, the Indian security forces have killed more than 100,000 Kashmiris, dismantled thousands of structures and raped thousands of women. Notwithstanding the fact that international human rights organizations like Amnesty International have documented these killings and human rights violations and they have also been corroborated by the UN human rights commission, the big powers like the USA continue to look the other way.
It was in the backdrop of this support and backing by the USA and its allies that the Modi government dared to change the special status of Indian-Held Kashmir on 5 August 2019 by repealing Article 370 of the Indian constitution, bifurcating the state into two territories and their amalgamation in the Indian Union, followed by promulgation of a new domicile law to change the demographic features of the state in brazen violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. This was done in spite of the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court which held that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution could not be revoked as it had become permanent. The High Court of Indian-Held Kashmir in its decision also ruled out any such possibility.
The world powers are giving preference to their strategic and geopolitical interests over humanitarian issues and the UN Charter. Spilling of human blood and oppression does not stir their conscience so far as their strategic and commercial interests are served as they perceive them.
The resistance by the people of the Indian-Held Kashmir against these draconian actions has been dealt with with a heavy hand. The entire state was converted into an open prison and it remained cut-off from the outside world for months. Since 5 August 2019 the Indian security forces have killed Kashmiris in their search and cordon operations. It continues as a daily ritual without the world taking notice of it. It is pertinent to mention here that in the backdrop of the unilateral action of 5 August 2019 the UN Security Council in its three informal huddles reiterated the fact that the resolution of the Kashmir issue needs to be carried out in conformity with the principles of the UN charter and the relevant UN resolutions. But no headway has been made in this regard because the UN cannot proceed in the matter without the consent and support of the USA and its allies.
Kashmir is a disputed territory as recognized by the UN resolutions. These resolutions urge settling the question of accession of state through a plebiscite under the auspices of the World Body. The Indian claim of Indian-Held Kashmir being its integral part, therefore, has no moral or legal basis and is nothing but a travesty of the ground realities.
In the wake of UN Resolutions, then Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru is on record as having assured his Pakistani counterpart repeatedly of resolving the dispute through a plebiscite and also having unequivocally made statements to this effect in the Indian Parliament. However India reneged on its commitment and tried to have the question of accession resolved through the constituent assembly of the occupied Kashmir in 1957. That move was repudiated by the UN through its resolutions 91 and 122, maintaining that the issue could not be settled through any arrangement other than a UN sponsored plebiscite.
It is also significant to note that India in spite of declaring Indian-Held Kashmir as its integral part granted special status to the state with its own assembly and constitution through Article 370 and 35 of the Indian constitution, which also prohibited the purchase of property in the state by outsiders (those who were not domiciled there). That itself negated the Indian claim of the state being an integral part of India.
India ostensibly is being rewarded for its partnership with USA and its allies in the ‘stop China’ policy. The US in connivance with India is also trying to sabotage the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a project that promises shared economic prosperity in the region and to turn Pakistan into a hub of regional economic activity.
The USA, the UK and France have signed agreements with India for transfer of civilian nuclear technology in violation of the NPT. They have also won a waiver for India from the NSG. They are also trying to prop up India as a regional superpower and winning her a permanent place in the UN Security Council. So they are giving preference to their strategic and geopolitical interests over humanitarian issues and the UN Charter. Spilling of human blood and oppression does not stir their conscience so far as their strategic and commercial interests are served as they perceive them.
