The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Secretary General; Hissein Brahim Taha, has visited Kashmir, and the OIC has since released a statement saying it is searching for a solution. Although this is a good development, there are fears that it will amount to nothing more than just words. Jammu and Kashmir have been under Indian occupation since 1948, the same year as the implementation of apartheid in South Africa and Palestine.
India had promised to hold a referendum there at the time, but this turned out to be a lie, and East Kashmir has continued to be under Indian occupation. Despite this, it held a special status within the Indian federal system, granting it a form of autonomy under article 370 of the Indian constitution. However, in 2019 this was revoked, and a brutal campaign of terror was waged by the Indian military on the Kashmiri population to silence them and crush any opposition.
Taha, visited the border between the Pakistan-administered and Indian controlled on the 11th of December, in order to hear stories from refugees who had fled across the border and gain a better understanding of the conflict, as well as praying for the martyrs who had died fighting Indian occupation. He then travelled to Islamabad, where he held a joint conference with President of Azad Kashmir (the Pakistani administered area).
The visit from the OIC to the border was condemned by India, who saw it as a provocation, and shows that they fear a unified Muslim response to the occupation, but the fear is that nothing will materialise from these talks. We must make clear that the OIC should not water down or accept any compromise on the oppression of Kashmiris.
Action Required
- Write to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation urging them to take concrete action in leading a coalition of Muslim countries.
- Please forward any responses you might have to us at info@ihrc.org, so that we can continue to develop this campaign further.
- Share this alert and encourage others to take part.
- Please share verified stories and information. Although this situation has recently gained some small notoriety on social media, it is important to keep up the momentum and the outrage. The girls who are protesting will not stop until their rights are recognised, so neither will we.
- Keep visiting our website (https://www.ihrc.org.uk/) to see any updates on this case, and keep up to date on previous campaigns we’ve done on Kashmir at https://www.ihrc.org.uk/kashmir/
Model Template
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
His Excellency Hissein Brahim Taha
Re: Your recent visit to Kashmir
Asalamu Alaikum, I would first like to congratulate you on your visit to Kashmir, a land whose suffering has been largely ignored by the World. I do hope, however, that this will not be just a symbolic visit, but that it shall be followed up with concrete action. Recently, we have seen an OIC-supported action taken by the Gambia to try Myanmar for the genocide of their Rohingya minority. Still, we have also seen a lacklustre response from the OIC regarding crimes being committed against the Palestinian people. As an organisation that is meant to unify the Muslim World, and make it possible to stand together against the injustice of Muslims, as was seen in the organisation’s beginnings, created in response to the fire at al-Aqsa Masjid, it is imperative that the OIC leads a unified Muslim response to the issue of Kashmir. The revocation of Article 370 should have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, after the oppression of Kashmiris since 1948. However, it passed with very little fightback from the OIC or Muslim countries and has now been almost forgotten. The Muslim Ummah has abandoned Kashmir. They have been forgotten in favour of good relations with an increasingly Islamophobic Indian Government.
It is time that the OIC fulfils its obligation and takes firm action against the Indian government, demanding that they withdraw their military from Kashmir, reinstate Article 370 and give the Kashmiris the right to a referendum on the future of their land, as promised to them.
Yours sincerely,
[Your signature]
[Your name]
Recipient Address
P.O.Box 178, Jeddah 21411,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
If you are unable to send mail, you can also tweet them with a screenshot of your letter at @OIC_OCI
You can also send them a copy via the internet on their website at: https://www.oic-oci.org/contact/?lan=en
