Monitor News Bureau
Srinagar, Sep 14: Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday reiterated his call for boycott of upcoming panchayat and municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Coercion, repression, arrogance or military might has never succeeded in suppressing peoples just political movements across the globe and neither will ours. Kashmir rejects all so called elections, this dispute has to be resolved politically in keeping with peoples will & choice by granting them their inalienable right there self-determination #NoToElectionOnlyRightToSelfDetermination,” tweeted the Mirwaiz after addressing a congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid in downtown Srinagar.
Later in a statement, Mirwaiz said all elections announced for J&K including local bodies’ elections and panchayat polls are “nothing but a farce and a move to dilute the basic nature” of Kashmir dispute and people of Kashmir and leadership have “already rejected” these polls.
He said people of Kashmir are “not interested” in any of the elections be it Assembly, parliament, municipal or panchayat.
“There is only one solution and one slogan: No election, only self-determination coined by the Joint Hurriyat Leadership. Same slogan will be used on all media campaigns as well as on social media to launch an election boycott campaign soon,” he said.
Joint Hurriyat Leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik has called for a boycott of the elections scheduled from next month.
Elections to municipal bodies and panchayats in the state are scheduled to begin from October 1 and November 8, respectively.
Mirwaiz welcomed the recent statement of United Nations Human Rights Council Chief Michelle Bachelet that there was no action on the UN report depicting grave rights situation in Kashmirby New Delhi.
Mirwaiz, as per the statement, said that it has been a long pending demand of the people of Kashmir that the world forums wake up to take notice of the grave human rights situation in Kashmir.
He expressed his gratitude over the remarks of newly elected UNHRC chief on Jammu and Kashmir supporting the “right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Addressing the Friday congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz expressed his deep anguish over the Govt of India’s response to the statement made by the UNHRC chief on Kashmir.
Meanwhile after Friday prayers outside Jamia Masjid a peaceful rally was organized by Hurriyat and AAC activists to protesting the killings of political workers, Hurriyat activist and youth by “unidentified gunmen”, the protestors carrying placards were demanding an end to these target killings.
