The Repression in Kashmir (SUMMARY) Lecture Given by Khalid Qazi, Board Member of Kashmiri-American Council AND Fundraiser for Kashmir Sponsored by Global Relief Foundation This Event Sponsored by The Islamic Society of Boston University Science and Engineering Center Room 107 590 Commonwealth Avenue Boston University Boston, Massachusetts 02215 Saturday, February 26, 2000 Moderator: Sheik Abdul Hamed Fundraiser Moderator: Hazem Ragab of Global Relief Foundation PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF KHALID QAZI SPEECH .... I am going to describe one particular tool of occupation that India has been using that might give you some idea as to how they operate the occupation of Kashmir. It is called crack down. Crack down is a sort of a new terminology in oppression that India has introduced in Kashmir. What happens is that they decide to check an area within the city or an entire town. Theyll bring up huge number of army, 20, 30, 40,000 at one time. They surround the entire area and this happens generally very early in the night, I mean, in the morning or in the middle of the night, around 2, 3, 4 in the morning. Theyll come and surround the entire area; and they will have loud speakers all around asking all the men to leave their houses and assemble in a particular ground in that area. So, theyll get all the men and boys and have them assemble in one particular area. Now, when thats happening, the army is going through every single house making sure that there is no man or a boy that stays inside the house and they get out. And, to make sure that happens, they use any and every force that is necessary to get these people out whether that means that they just have to push them, they have to beat them, or they have to shoot them. There is no distinction. Every single person has to get out whether they are sick, whether they are old, whether they are young. And, in one instance, five people could not get out; and all five were shot. And, it turned out the reason they couldnt get out is because they were blind. Five blind who were in one house were shot just like that. So, when they are going through the houses, they inspect the entire houses; and this has been documented by many neutral observers that in the process they (Indian army) will rob, they will steal, and then they will abuse the women because now there are no men in the houses so they can do whatever they want. I really dont want to go in that part because that really is most despicable part of Indian

armys character that must be condemned by every single person. So, while they bring all the men in the field or the ground, there will be a big truck in the background; and that truck will be filled with all the instruments of torture. And, while these men are in the field, therell be also three small cars, two, three small jeeps or wagons. They will be totally covered from all around; and theyll be just two peep holes through which a person inside those jeeps, informers, are looking at every single male who is paraded in front of the cars. You know this has been done in Palestine and also in other places. So, these informers will identify the people from the crowd; and they have to fulfill a certain quota every time the army has a crack down now because they have to prove it to their bosses they did the job. So, they have to get certain people out of this crowd. And, these people that they pull out are generally young. They take them in the truck and start torturing them at sight. And, while they are crying and shouting, everybody in the field has no way of doing anything because there are huge number of army with the guns around, ready to shoot; and they shoot if anybody moves. Out of those, there will be a percentage who will succumb to the injuries right there. The rest will be taken to the bigger torture houses; and again, Indias own human rights organizations have detailed all those torture houses in every major city in Kashmir where they take them for torture. And, generally, two days later, youll find a dead body of that young man in the river or on the street. Now, when the video was going on, I was writing the numbers that the death toll, when that video was made, was 60,000. There were 15,000 orphans, 12,600 widows, 6,500 gang rapes, etc. I can guarantee you that that number is not what it was then. That number has totally changed. Theres no single day that goes by when theres not an additional tally to this number. End of Word for Word Transcription ... In many such instances, entire neighborhoods have been completely burned and many times with people alive inside the house, completely burned, because they thought there might be some mujihadeen or freedom fighter in the locality. These things are happening as a matter of policy on behalf of the Indian government to break the will of the people of Kashmir. People of Kashmir have decided that they really dont want to be under the clutches of Indian occupation; and, insha Allah, one of these days with your blessings and help, well come out of the clutches of the Indian occupation. But, what is more troublesome is that India does this in the name of democracy and (secularism?).