Baloch activist in UK marched against illegal occupation of Balochistan and enforced-disappearances

London: Around 100 Baloch activists and their supporters took out a protest march on Saturday (30-03-2013), against forced disappearances Balochistan and the illegal occupation of Balochistan by Pakistan on 27 March 1948.The march organised by the International Committee against Disappearances (ICAD) and the International Voice For Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP) started from the Pakistan High Commission and ended at 10 Downing Street where a rally was held.Patriot Baloch leader Hyrbyair Marri, who also joined the march, said that a particular school of thought in Balochistan was being abducted, subjected to brutalities and killed because their views are in conflict with those in establishment, adding that “Those who are being killed are peaceful political activists but they demand independence of Balochistan. That is why the state forces are abducting and extra-judicially killing them.”The protesters carried pictures of the missing persons and those who have been killed under custody by Pakistani forces. They also carried banners condemning the enforced-disappearances and extra judicial killings of Baloch activists by Pakistan and Iran.We are here to show solidarity with the relatives of the missing persons whose dear ones have been abducted and tortured for speaking about their fundamental rights Marri told media outside 10 Downing Street, London. He said that thousands of Baloch were missing.Graham Williamson, who represented Nations Without States during the protest, told The News that disappearances had become a worldwide phenomenon and states like India, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq and Sri Lanka “routinely disappear” people with dissenting views. That, he held, was condemnable and unacceptable in the 21st century “where people expect to have more democratic rights than ever before”.Faiz Baluch from the International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons said it was Baloch people’s right to live free from torture. He appealed to Pakistan’s liberal voices to speak against assassination, political imprisonment and reprisals against pro-freedom Baloch activists.He further said Baloch were a secular and freedom loving nation and they were struggling for their freedom. Adding that, “Pakistan occupied Balochistan at gun point in 1948 and the Baloch have been struggling to regain their freedom ever since.” Doris Jones from Borneo Diaspora who is a member of Nations without States participated in the march to show her solidarity with people of Balochistan. She read a message from Balochistan from several messages that were sent to IVBMP on this occasion. The message highlighted the ongoing state atrocities in Balochistan. The message ended with an appeal from the UN and other international Human Rights Organisations to play their role to stop Baloch genocide. Eylen from ICAD said she was taking part in the protest because her organisation was especially concerned with the cases in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and elsewhere “enforced disappearances are reported to be happening on a wide spread scale”. She said ICAD dedicated two months for Balochistan to spread awareness among different nations by holding meetings, distributing leafleting and talking to common people. She called on Pakistan to investigate reports of enforced disappearances and apply international standards of justice and not violate the rights of any category of people.Kurdish activist Jawad Mella said that all nations must unite to get their freedom. He raised the slogan Freedom for Balochistan, Freedom for Kurdistan and Freedom of all oppressed nation. Yogalingam Yogi a Tamil activist said he understood the Baloch pain because Pakistan is a rouge state and it helped the Sri Lankan government to carry out Tamil genocide. He said, “We the oppressed nation have to stand up and fight our freedom. If we do not fight nobody else is going to support us.”Video of the speeches of participants and rally have been uploaded on BalochWarna News Youtube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/kohdil

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