Kashmir: Stand by Party Policy
Statement by Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs
Many in the Labour Party are deeply concerned that Keir Starmer is attempting to improve the Party’s relationship with the Indian diaspora by reaching out to the Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), an organisation closely aligned with Narendra Modi’s far-right and Hindu supremacist government. Allying yourself with the HFB suggests that you are condoning the human rights abuses committed by Indian government and endorsing the fascistic policies which have brought it into international notoriety and highlighted Modi’s position among far-right leaders globally.
Contrary to their assertions, the HFB does not represent the entirety of the Indian diaspora in the UK. Many Labour Party members who are part of this diaspora have actively condemned not only these human rights abuses but also the lynchings of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities by mobs affiliated to the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), which is a fascist organisation modelled on Mussolini’s Blackshirts
Keir Starmer’s initiative contradicts the sentiments of the emergency resolution on Kashmir passed at 2019 Labour Party Conference.
This conference notes:
• While we have been meeting here, Pakistan and India are discussing the issue of Kashmir at the United Nations as there is a major humanitarian crisis taking place in the Kashmir region and several exchanges of fire across the Line of Control have taken place.
• The enforced disappearance of civilians, the state endorsed sexual violence of women by armed forces and the overall prevalence of human rights violations in the region not only continues but has exasperated further in the past week.
• The house arrest / imprisonment of mainstream politicians and activists and restrictions on journalistic freedom.
• The ongoing communications blackout causing disruption for medical agencies and families not knowing the safety of their relatives.
The conference urges the Labour party to:
• Ask Jeremy Corbyn or ensure someone from the labour party is represented to attend the UNHRC to demand the restoration of basic human rights including the freedom of speech and communication, the lifting of curfews, and to allow the humanitarian aid organisation and international observers to enter the region.
• Jeremy Corbyn to meet high commissioners of both India and Pakistan to ensure there is mediation and restoration of peace and normality to prevent a potential nuclear conflict.
• Accept that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the people of Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions.
• The Labour party to stand with the Kashmiri people fighting against occupation, this is vital as we stand for social justice and ethical foreign policy.
Below is the full text of the Socialist Campaign Group statement on Kashmir.
We reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Kashmir in their struggle against the world’s largest military occupation.
In accordance with the motion passed unanimously at Labour conference in 2019, and as enshrined by multiple UN resolutions, we recognise that Kashmir is a disputed territory and demand the realisation of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination, as mandated by UN Resolution 47.
We are deeply concerned by the ongoing human rights violations, including torture, rape, extrajudicial execution and illegal detention, that continue to take place in Kashmir that have been widely documented by numerous human rights organisations and that have been intensified by Narendra Modi’s government.
Furthermore, in August 2019, the Indian government unilaterally revoked Articles 370 and 35a of the constitution that granted Indian occupied Kashmir autonomy reflective of its status as an occupied territory, and subjected the Kashmir people to a seven-month long lockdown and repressive communications blackout that was brutally enforced by Indian Security Forces.
We recognise the UK’s responsibility regarding the ongoing situation in Kashmir due to the historic role played in this conflict during the partition of the Indian sub-continent that laid the groundwork for the oppression faced by the Kashmiris.
Our internationalism acknowledges the role of British colonial injustices and the inalienable nature of universal human rights.
