Baloch activists in Canada held an anti-nuclear weapons awareness campaign day
May 12, 2015 (Vancouver) Canadian Baloch activists organised an awareness campaign at the Simon Fraser University in Barnaby, British Columbia, against increasing human right violations and the effects of Pakistan’s series of nuclear tests on the soil of Balochistan on 28 May, 1998.
International voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP) coordinators of Canada, Aziz Baloch organized the event. World Baloch Women’s Forums, representative professor Naela Qadri Baloch, Baloch Community of British Columbia representative Ayesha Baloch and Baloch students actively participated in the human rights awareness campaign.
International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) Coordinator Aziz Baloch briefed the interested Academia, students and public about the involvement of the Pakistan army, Inter services Intelligence (ISI) Frontier Corp (FC) and state local agents in the abduction of 20,000 Baloch and the extra judicially killings of more than 1500 Baloch.
“Pakistan’s democratic government and its judiciary have been completely callous towards the war crimes Pakistan army is committing in Balochistan,” he said.
The activists displayed images of state victims of brutal torture, enforced-disappeared and those target killed by Pakistan military and other security agencies. They also put up images of victims of Baloch victims killed by Iranian regime.
The campaign was the third of series of protests as part of Baloch international anti-nuclear weapons campaign against the effect of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons on local population and lack of international community’s attention to take notice of the plight of Baloch nation.
Baloch pro-freedom leader Hyrbyair Marri and his like-minded friends had announced to start an international campaign from 19 April – 28 May. The first protest was held in Germany, second in Sweden and third in Canada and the fourth will be held in London on 17 May, 2015.
Mr Aziz Baloch said, “The Human Rights Watch (HRW) Amnesty International, Human Rights Commissions of Pakistan (HRCP) and UN Working Groups all have documented these human rights violations. But, still Pakistan government is deliberately ignoring the illegal abductions and killings of Baloch while in custody.”
Many participants curiously question why the United Nations is not taking the notice? Aziz Baloch explained that; according to the universal charter of rights, the UN has obligations to protect the Baloch human rights and to help stop the increasingly frequent killings of Baloch while in custody of Pakistan Security Forces. Yet the UN has done nothing.
The IVBMP coordinator said that Baloch Diasporas have been campaigning for the last ten years among the western democratic states for human rights.
Professor Naela Qadri Baloch also briefed the participants in depth about the consequences of Pakistan’s May 1998 nuclear tests and its painful effects on Baloch children in the affected regions. She showed images to the participants of the suffering caused by the radioactive fallout from Pakistan’s nuclear tests. Many of them were shocked to see such disturbing images of Baloch children.
Ayesha Baloch explained to the public, Canadians and oversees students about the denial of the Baloch people’s cultural, linguistic and fundamental rights in all three Balochistan.
Baloch students have actively participated in the campaign. They distributed pamphlets of Pakistan nuclear tests in Balochistan and its effects on Baloch people in the regions. They answered participant’s questions about human rights violations in Balochistan by showing them the images and data.
In one occasion Professor Naela Qadri Baloch highlighted the mass grave in Balochistan and showed the images of the Mass Grave in Totak, Khuzdar. An Armenian human rights defender was brought to tears; she said, “I know how it’s hard for Baloch people because we have gone through the same by Turkish regimes genocide.”
A Sikh student said that He has never heard about Baloch genocide on such a scale. A number of Iranian students also expressed sympathy once they were briefed based on the facts but admit the Iranian regimes won’t stop such atrocities against the Baloch and other occupied nations because there is no democracy in Iran.
A Punjabi student from Lahore; after looking the all painful images of Baloch missing persons, families, extra judicially killed Baloch and Sabeen Mehumud’s image. Admitted He was completely unaware of Pakistan military’s atrocities in Balochistan due to lack of communication and Pakistani media Black -out. He said he only knew today through this campaign images and information about the ground reality of Balochistan. “It open my eyes,” he admitted.
A Jewish professor from Magill University and SFU and British citizen who examined the Balochistan map, he admitted that due to British colonial rule in the subcontinent, the Baloch nation and many other nations around the globe had lost their freedom. He appreciated that Baloch activist’s organized such awareness campaign in the SFU for the general public. He took the pamphlets and said that he wanted to know more about the current situation of Balochistan.
Another professor and researcher from the SFU environmental department expressed a keen interest regarding Pakistan’s nuclear tests in Balochistan and the consequences in the region. After looking the map the Chaghi district; he said, he definitely go through the nuclear test pamphlet and do some more research.
A Director for International Filed Initiative and Forensic Training (IFIFT) asked Aziz Baloch about the countless disappeared Baloch and in custody killings. He also asked if UN has done anything about the mass scale of disappearance in Balochistan so far. Aziz Baloch went through the detail of UN lack of actions. The professor said it was interested to know more about the custodial killings of Baloch activist and enforced-disappearances in Balochistan.
Baloch activists appeal through their world wide awareness campaign to the world citizens and human rights defenders. They have to let the United Nations and their respective governments to know this is their moral obligation to help stop the Pakistan army’s brutal military operations in occupied Balochistan and Iran summary execution of Baloch people. The Baloch nation wants an end to the occupation, colonization and further nuclear tests in Baluchistan because the Baloch want peace and freedom not nuclear bombs and war in their homeland.
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