Protesters stage demonstrations outside Indian embassy in Brussels to mark August 5

• Two separate protests were staged outside the Indian embassy in Brussels to mark Aug 5.
• The first demonstration was organised by the Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU).
• The second protest was held by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Europe.

BRUSSELS: Two demonstrations were held outside the Indian Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the 'black day' when India striped the Indian-Occupied Kashmir of its special status in 2019.

The first demonstration was organised by the Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU) in connection with August 5, 2019 — the day the Indian government annulled the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and imposed a lockdown in the occupied Kashmir. A number of Kashmiri leaders and political workers were arrested in the occupied territory and atrocities against the people of Kashmir were increased.

Chairman of the International Forum for Justice Human Rights JK (IFJHRJK), Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, also addressed the protest in Brussels via a telephonic link from occupied Kashmir. He updated the gathering about the latest situation in occupied Kashmir.

"The people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir have a lot of expectations from the international community, especially ones residing in European Union countries," Untoo said.

He said that the EU should use its good offices for the prevention of human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and play its role in a just resolution of the Kashmir issue.

The protesters in Brussels, led by Chairman Kashmir Council EU Ali Raza Syed, also called for an end to the atrocities in the occupied Kashmir, especially violence against Kashmiri women and children.

Protesters asked the EU to play its role in ending atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir and the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, giving the right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people. 

They called for the withdrawal of occupation forces, an end to its state terrorism, an end of genocidal repression, rape, gang rape, torture, and the degrading treatment of Kashmiri men, women, and children. They also called for the unconditional release of all those imprisoned in Indian jails, including political figures in connection with resistance to the Indian occupation.

Chairman KC-EU Ali Raza Syed, the organiser of the protest, said the atrocities committed by the Indian forces against the oppressed Kashmiris is going unabated. Citing a recent report of the United Nation, he said that a large number of children were targeted by the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir in recent years.

Ali Raza Syed asked the EU to play its role in a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue and ensure the participation of the Kashmiri leadership in the peace process.

The second protest was held by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Europe in front of the Indian Embassy in Brussels where protesters could be seen chanting slogans against the Indian occupation of Kashmir.

Protesters also demand the release of JKLF leader Yaseen Malick, who has been imprisoned in an Indian jail. A number of women and children also participated in the JKLF demonstrations.