London

“Stop killing Kashmiris”, “Freedom for Kashmir”, “Revolution will come”, and “Action Committee, Action Committee” were some of the chants as around 3,000 people demonstrated on Sunday 14 June in central London against the ongoing repression in Kashmir.

Three coaches came from Bradford, two from Sheffield, five from Luton and many other places around the country, after a week that had seen local protests in many areas with a Kashmiri population. This followed the banning of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) under terror legislation on 5 June, the organisation which has led mass protests in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir over recent years against the soaring cost of living for basic necessities such as flour and electricity.

Without a central platform at the demo, groups gathered in Parliament Square around various megaphones and PA systems which protesters had brought with them, leading different chants. Seemingly spontaneously, the demonstration marched past Downing Street to Trafalgar Square, with several tourists stopping to ask about what is taking place, given the almost non-existent coverage of the situation in the  mainstream UK media.

Demands that could be seen on placards and banners included the restoration of internet and mobile phone services, release of political prisoners, and withdrawal of the additional military and police forces sent to Kashmir in recent weeks.

Other placards highlighted the cases of particular individuals, such as JAAC executive member, Shahzaib Habibi, in Rawalakot. Here there were clashes with the police as supporters tried to recover his body from the hospital for his funeral, which led to deaths at the hands of state forces, the first of several incidents since.

A convoy demonstration was due to start on 9 June marching to Muzaffarabad. Reports from Kashmir suggest this is over 10,000 strong, but the regime has declared it will not be allowed past Rawalakot, with the potential for the thousands of additional police and armed forces deployed in Kashmir to drown the demonstration in blood.

The protests are beginning to shine a spotlight on what is taking place, as well as opening up the beginnings of a discussion as to how the movement’s demands can be met.

Iain Dalton

Bradford

On 9 June, more than 100 people gathered outside the Pakistani consulate in Bradford to protest against repression in Kashmir. A meeting was called for that evening to discuss the campaign.

300 or more people packed into a meeting hall, filling the standing room at the back and lining the walls. People had travelled from all across Yorkshire.

Speeches were passionate, as many there spoke about family in Kashmir. The whole room frequently broke out into chanting, including chants of “inqilab” (revolution). There were calls for Kashmiri independence, free from the yoke of the “big three powers” of India, Pakistan and China. There was particular distrust of all major Pakistani parties expressed in light of recent repression, and support expressed for the Joint Awami Action Committee, now designated a terrorist organisation by the Pakistan-backed regional government.

The Socialist Party was welcomed, and I was asked to speak. Points about democratic working class control of resources and the need for international socialist struggle were warmly received.

Ali Mansfield