Kashmiri Peoples Right of self-determinaation Celebrated

Kashmir Peoples Right of Self-determination CelebratedWashington, D.C. August 13, 2009. All Parties Committee for Kashmiri Peoples Right of Self–determination, comprising 16 main political parties of Azad Kashmir is observing August 13, 2009 as “Kashmir Peoples Right of Self-determination Day” on national as well as international level.Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center said that the self-determination of peoples is a basic principle of the United Nation Charter which has been reaffirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied countless times to the settlement of many international disputes.The principle of self-determination in modern times can be defined as the right of people to decide their own political future and pursue their economic, social and cultural policies. Self-determination literally means the right of a people to shape their destiny in whatever way, shape or form they want, Fai said.Dr. Fai reminded that in 1945 the establishment of the United Nations gave a new dimension to the principle of self-determination. The Charter emphasizes the principle as one of the objectives it wants to achieve. It also makes the principle of self-determination as the basis for the maintenance of international peace and security, the ultimate objective for which the United Nations was created.“Article 55 of the UN Charter. UN General Assembly Resolution 1514; the UN General Assembly Declaration of 1960; Article 20 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights; and the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975), confirm the right to self-determination,” Fai added.“The United Nations, the United States and the European Union recognize Kashmir as a disputed territory, not an appendage to any nation. Successive United Nations Security Council resolutions since 1948, agreed upon by both India and Pakistan, and celebrated by the family of democratic nations, remain undisturbed yet unimplemented — a constant reproach to international law and morality. These clearly state that the future of Kashmir shall be decided in accordance with the wish and aspirations of the people of the territory,” Fai emphasized.
Dr. Fai reminded that Pandit Nehru, India's first prime minister, declared on Jan. 2, 1952: "We have taken the issue to the United Nations and given our word of honor. We have left the question of final solution to the people of Kashmir.”The Executive Director warned that the people of Kashmir are baffled and ask a very simple question: Isn’t it true that UN Security Council resolutions were implemented in the case of East Timor, Namibia and Iraq, then why can’t they be implemented in the case of Kashmir?