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PRESS RELEASE: Modi visit fools SA constitutionalists as India declares martial law in Kashmir

The recent, historic visit by Indian prime Minister Naredra Modi to South Africa on 7-9 July 2016 traced the footsteps and gave homage to Mahatma Ghandi. He was warmly welcomed by South African congress struggle veterans and paid homage to the great Mahatma Ghandi by visiting Constitutional Hill and riding the train Ghandi took a century earlier. The irony was not lost on us when that Modi and the exclusive ideology of his BJP government goes against these Ghandi constitutional values.

While Modi was being feted by local leaders that day, Kashmir was in flames with the assiination of liberation commander Wani. In the past week over 50 civilians have been killed by Indian forces and thousands injured in the worst form of occupation violence in years, many of them women and children. A formal marital law has been declared and there is a complete block of all media and telecommunications. Effectively Kashmir has been blocked off the world.

Worse, the Indian government has blocked all communications to and from Kashmir. This is in direct violation of the UN Human rights charter and Article 19.

While India is a key member of BRICS and it is important to maintain trade, economic and cultural links, we cannot wash away or ignore the atrocious human rights record of Modi, who as state minister of Gujarat was responsible for the planned massacre of 2000 Muslims.

We call on South African government and civil society to:

➢  Blow the whistle on the atrocious human rights record of Modi and the BJP government;➢  An Immediate lift the blockage of Kashmir and for the Indian VSNL Mobiel company  form to restore all telecommunications and internet access services;➢  A formal human rights investigation on the current massacre be instituted by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (UN) ;➢  That South African government, through DIRCO to summon the Indian ambassador to explain the dire human rights situation in➢  DIRCO and the  HSRC Host a conference on human rights and foreign policy so that South African foreign policy is aligned to its own constitutional values

Globally Modi and the BJP party machinery have crafted a slick PR mass media campaign to hide his atrocious human rights record. India, under the BJP is corporate and large business interests that rolled back many social gains, and continues to subscribe to an exclusivist nationalist ideology that maligns and actively discriminate against its minorities. This goes against the values of the UN charter and bill of rights.

Information on Save Kashmir Protest on 29 July 2016 at 14h30PM Outside Indian Consulate, 1 Eton Rd, crn Jan Smuts Av, Parktown, Joburg.

SA Kashmir Group

Salman Khan. 0826916048

Further resources on human rights abuses of Modi government India can be obtained on

www.truthofgujurat.comwww.article19.orgwww.unesco.org

MRN