Monday 13 December 2010

Report: The 6th International Conference against Disappearance 9 – 12 December, London


London: The three-day International Conference against disappearances ended successfully here on Sunday after a long March from Marble Arch to 10 Downing Street the official residence of British Prime minster. The conference was organised by ICAD and supported by International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons and other Organisations. The conference brought together the families and relatives of missing persons from different countries around the world. Delegates from 27 countries including Balochistan participated in the conference and shared their experiences and information about their respected countries – and the occupying states violence against National Liberation Movements.

Emotional moments were seen as the relatives of disappeared persons explained their ordeal and heartbreaking stories. It has been observed that almost all the brutal states and the occupying forces use the same methods of abduction, torture and violence against political and revolutionary activists. The conference emphasised the need of creating an International data base for the enforced disappeared persons around the world which should be easily accessible to the heads of National Organisation that are working against disappearances in their countries. The conference also recommended the creation of an International Solidarity network that should work on emergency bases and report any disappearances that occurs in any country around the world.

Several Human Rights Organisations and activists send their messages of support and congratulations to the ICAD, families of missing persons and other participants of the Conference. A message from Palestinian liberation fighter Leila Khaled was read out by Faiz Baluch which expressed solidarity with families of abducted persons around the world and urged those who enjoy liberty to continue their struggle for peace, justice and freedom. Her message further read that she was willing to attend the conference but the British authorities have refused her visa three times.

On the third day of the conference several resolutions were passed urging occupying states to release all political activists. The conference also recognised the National liberations struggles as the legitimised right of nations under occupation. (The complete resolution will be posted Shorty).

Brother of abducted Faiz Mohammad Marri posed the following questions:

“Before I end speech I would like to pose few questions to those who enjoy liberty: how do you deal with a situation when one of your family members disappears for a year! Maybe for five or ten years?

When the pro-claimed human rights organizations like UN close their eyes and ears to hear or notice your plea? How do you keep your sanity when your brother, father, son or daughter has vanished without a trace for a very long time and what do you do? How do you deal with the excruciating pain and the feeling of not knowing what happened your dearest ones? How do the mothers and the “widowed” women deal with the fading of their fiancés, husbands, sons and relatives for a long period of time by notorious forces? Is there any medicine or mechanism to deal with such an unbearable tragedy?

For those of you who luckily do not have anyone from your family member taken away, just do the following to at least feel a fraction of the pain that the families of the disappeared Baloch and other people fell; stop calling or talking to your loved ones for a year, two years, or five years! You will at least understand a little bit of what I am talking about”.

On the third day of conference 12-12-2010 a protest March was organised from Marble Arch to ten Downing Street, British PM official residence. The protest was carrying placards, banners and pictures of abducted person. They also chanted slogans and distributed leaflets for the release of political prisoners and the arrest of perpetrators of such crimes. The protesters also urged the western democracies to stop giving safe sanctuaries to dictators who after committing heinous crimes flee to Western capitals and live with impunity without any fear of being arrested or prosecuted.

More details of the conference and videos will be published soon, after an official statement by the ICAD (International Committee against Disappearance). (Some of the pictures of the conferenceand the protest March)

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