Kashmiri Americans Rejoice at the Establishment of the Unified Kashmiri Voice: Dr. Fai

Washington, D.C. June 20, 2008. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center said that in the history of self-determination movements, it is strikingly clear that people cannot become free unless they learn to master themselves. In other words, those struggling for the realization of their society’s collective and inalienable human rights must focus on the needs of the people. Second, by doing so, they understand that while every struggle contains seeds of dissension, it is only from the alliance of the one, working with and through others, are great things born. Leadership, more succinctly, is precisely that. After all, leaders must be cognizant of the needs of those they are responsible for, fulfill that responsibility without recourse to personal well-being and harness diversity into unity. In addition what matters is not who obtains public credit for success, but that success is achieved. Recognizing this, the two chairmen of the All
Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani came together, under a broad-based common platform and agreed to jointly continue the freedom struggle by forming a unified Kashmiri voice.

Dr. Fai that this monumental meeting began in solemn recognition of three key points; first, the tens of thousands killed, maimed and tortured along with the other countless untold sacrifices of the Kashmiri people; second, that, according to the Hindustan Times; and IBN/CNN survey on August 13th, 2007, 87% of the people of the Valley want ‘Aazadi’ – or, the right to be free, exercise their basic right of self-determination and decide their destiny for themselves; third, the illegal transfer of Kashmiri forestland to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Following their lengthy deliberations, both Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani addressed a joint press conference and agreed on three key principles; first, that self-determination is an inalienable human right and that peace initiatives must be tri-partite, thereby, including the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people; next, the formation of a joint committee that will devise new procedures, strategies and
methodologies for the Kashmiri freedom movement; and, lastly, to reinvigorate the 1993 Constitution of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference.

Dr. Fai emphasized that both Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani have shown magnanimity and wisdom by coming together. Moreover, they have taken giant strides in creating a vision, developing strategy, enlisting cooperation, and motivating action. However, significant challenges still confront them. As effective leaders, they must symbolize and understand the past, set immediate tasks for the present, and create a vision of the future that takes a rational and strategic approach for moving towards that vision. Also, they are encouraged to enlist the support of other key Kashmiri leaders outside Hurriyet conference whose cooperation, compliance, or teamwork is necessary to actualize that vision.

Dr. Fai said that notwithstanding that, today, all those who support the cause of justice, are rejoicing at the establishment of the unified, legitimate and sole voice of the Kashmiri people. After all, in the striking words of Thomas Jefferson, ‘it behoves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own.’