Hundreds of Kashmiri Diaspora Community members took part in a demonstration near the Olympic Park Village in London to heighten the plight of the people of Jammu and Kashmir demanding right of self-determination, peace, social justice and re-unification of their forcibly divided state currently under administration of India and Pakistan.
The leaders of Kashmiri nationalists parties Jammu Kashmir National Liberation Conference (JKNLC), Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM), Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP), Kashmir Liberation Organisation (KLO) and Association of British Kashmiris in their joint memorandum to Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) stressed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir want to be part of Olympic Movement and Kashmiri athletes wante to take part in the London 2012 Olympic but they couldn’t because India and Pakistan occupy and administer their country.
The memorandum further states that we, the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir gathered here in London today would like to extend our congratulations to all the members of LOCOG for successfully organising 2012 Olympic Games.
We are pleased to watch hundreds of athletes from all over the world participating in the 2012 Olympic games but equally sad that no one from our beloved country of origin Jammu and Kashmir has managed to participate in 2012 Olympic games because India and Pakistan still occupy our state. Both countries do not allow anyone from their respective administered part of Jammu and Kashmir to represent their state in the Olympics. In the Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir our playgrounds have been turned into military camps and our fields in rural areas where young people use to play have been turned into mass graves, for further details please watch ‘Kashmir’s Torture Trail’ (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/kashmirs-torture-trail/4od) .
Jammu and Kashmir is the world’s most militarised place and despite our young people desire to become world champions in javelin throw they have been forced to become stone pelters, for details please read http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article550058.ece.
We want to break the chains of subjugation and control over our freedom of speech and movement so that we can build a peaceful and better world for our future generations to enable them to participate in Rio 2016 Olympic Games. We want to use sports as a catalyst for bringing change and peace in Jammu Kashmir.
We would like you to take this memorandum on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to the next IOC executive Board meeting and ask them to approve the facilitation for participation of athletes from all parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Kashmiri diaspora.
We will appreciate if you could pass on this request to the President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games for necessary actions. We would welcome an opportunity to provide further information and assistance in this process if required.
Mehmood Kashmiri
Chair
On Behalf Of,
Jammu Kashmir National Independence Alliance (JKNIA)
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