The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKA) issued the following statement in honour of Kashmir’s “Right to Self Determination Day” on January 5.

“On January 5, 1949, the United Nations Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP) affirmed Kashmir’s right to self-determination through a free and fair plebiscite. More than seven decades later, India’s brutal military occupation has continuously denied Kashmiris this right.

"Today, the situation in occupied Kashmir is existential. With 100,000 civilian deaths, 10,000 missing and civic, political and economic life critically suppressed, the people of Kashmir are on the brink of genocide. In a further escalation of oppressive tactics, in 2019, India imposed the longest internet blackout ever in a democracy, while engineering laws that are forcibly grabbing land and changing the demographics of the region in favour of Indian settler colonies. As recently as November 2020, India has carried out surprise raids against non-governmental organizations (NGOs), media outlets, human rights activists, political opponents and journalists.

"On ‘Right to Self-Determination Day,’ the World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKA) sharply condemns the Indian government’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, and the human rights violations resulting from it. The 73 years of oppression and terror have not weakened the Kashmiri peoples’ commitment to self-determination. It is the responsibility of all nations who uphold democracy and human rights to champion our cause; the WKA is hopeful that the new Biden-Harris administration will take the lead in this vital work.”