"Children in Kashmir are prevented from accessing urgent medical care. Basic necessities — including baby food, milk and medicines are in short supply. Parents are not sending their children to school for fear they will be injured, detained or killed and have no way of communicating with them.” Armed forces have illegally detained 13,000 Kashmiri boys and are abusing them, physically and sexually. –Alisa Khan
Despite the Indian government’s insistence that everything is back to normal, the situation in Kashmir is horrifying. Not even children are spared.
The Indian army’s government’s brutal crackdown on Kashmir is following the same script that China has used in East Turkestan: high-tech surveillance and control paired with a gradual policy of colonization by Hindu Indians (read more below). Meanwhile, the Burmese Army builds new bases on Rohingya graves (see below).
Justice For All is carrying on campaigns for accountability and human rights in each of these dire situations. All these struggles are linked together. Read on for an update on our three central campaigns.
Free Kashmir Action: Congressional Hearing Today
Though some mobile services have restarted in the Kashmir valley, the majority of the region remains under a communications blackout.
In the United States, there will be a hearing featuring Kashmir today, October 22nd, at 10 AM - 4 PM on Capitol Hill.
Here are some channels that may live stream it: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtxAmeCl0xtSuo7tHZpgcQA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCjgHrMgPEqDvCmPc9BbJA/videos
Please watch the hearing closely and monitor what is being said.
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Contact your Congresspeople and encourage them to attend the hearing.
Use our advocacy tool and urge your representative to attend this important hearing.
Script
"I am a constituent and would like my Congressperson to attend the hearing on ‘Human Rights in South Asia’ held by the House Subcommittee on Asia on Monday October 22, 2019 at 10 A.M. to hear testimony on human rights abuses in Kashmir. Children as young as 6 are being abducted by the military. 13,000 boys are missing."
- Monitor the hearing and if you hear things that are contrary to the truth, contact your Congressperson and share the real situation with them.
- Join us on Twitter tomorrow from 10:00 am to 4 pm with the hashtag: #FreeKashmir.
- October 27th will have global vigils and protests for Kashmir.
News clips
India and Kashmir blame each other for Kashmir shelling
Kashmiris down shutters, shun schools in 'act of defiance'
Kashmir shutdown: Farmers struggle to make a living
Save Uighur Campaign
Recently, Justice For All leader, Abdul Malik Mujahid, attended a congressional hearing on Oct. 17. The hearing highlighted the seriousness of the forced labor that is used in China for manufacturing, especially from Uighurs.
The hearing featured testimony by four experts on China and specifically the East Turkestan (Xinjiang) region. The upshot of the testimony was that forced labor with Uighur workers plays a major role in Chinese industry. This means all of us, as consumers of products made in China, are beneficiaries of slave labor until something changes.
We continue to work to pressure Costco and other American retailers, and will be expanding our campaign to other outlets.
Action item
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We ask all supporters to sign the petition by the Uighur Human Rights Project for EU countries to sanction Chinese officials complicit in human rights violations:
News Clips:
Highlights of hearing of Oct. 17
Further resources:
"China is Exporting Its Anti-Muslim Strategy to India"
"Pompeo: 'I Wish the NBA would acknowledge' treatment of China's Muslims"
Burma Task Force
The situation in Northern Rakhine State remains violent and unstable. Recently the New York Times went on a tour organized by the government of Burma, but even in those conditions they were able to see through the official lies of the government (more info in article below).
Burma Task Force is also asking that Rohingya refugees be allowed to vote in the 2020 elections and that foreign governments make that a condition for their support for the electoral process.
Experts expect hate speech to increase as we near the 2020 elections in Burma. Facebook and other online platforms do not show sufficient sense of responsibility for their role in spreading lies and hate, and we are in ongoing discussions with them regarding their policies in Burma.
In the coming week the Bangladesh government will be pressuring refugees to move to the isolated, low-lying island Bhasan Char.
Action item
In the USA the "Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2019" (S.1186) still only has 21 co-sponsors and needs more to advance. Because the House already passed their Burma bill, the passage in the Senate will bring it close to a reality.
- Call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224 3121. Simply tell the Congressional staffer - in person or on their voicemail - to support and co-sponsor "Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2019" (S.1186) to help end the genocide in Burma (Myanmar). Also ask them to include all the language of this bill in the important NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) which is currently being finalized.
- Please share any meaningful response you receive from anyone with adem@burmamuslims.org. If anyone lives in Senator Mitch McConnell’s state, please let us know.
- Please also help our allies in their campaign to pressure Western Union not to do business with the brutal Burmese generals by following this link.
News clips
New York Times: How Myanmar Covered Up Ethnic Cleansing
Frontier: Role of China is Disrupting Burma’s Economy
Pacific Council: Our Allies Discuss Role of China in Blocking Progress for Rohingya
