WASHINGTON, Jun 17 : A prominent Kashmiri advocacy group Thursday announced that Kashmiris and their supporters will stage a protest rally near the White House on June 22 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Joe Biden in Washington, amid India\u2019s escalating atrocities in occupied Kashmir.<\/p>\n
The Secretary-General of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), Ghulam Nabi Fai, told APP that he was getting immense response from the community members as well as expressions of support from several other organizations in the effort to highlight India\u2019s brutal suppression of Kashmiri people.<\/p>\n
He said that people from all over the United States and Canada were expected to come to Washington to join the demonstration that will serve as a reminder that the U.N.-pledged right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir has still not been implemented and that they continue to suffer under Indian occupation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am confident that Kashmiris and their supporters will be there in full force,\u201d Fai said.<\/p>\n
He also said that WKAF has also hired three digital trucks that will flash messages like \u201cFascist Modi does not belong to White House\u201d as they pass by key buildings and landmarks in this capital city. Other digital messages include,\u201d Trade with India not fine when human rights are on decline\u201d; \u201cIndian democracy: Dead in Kashmir\u2019; \u201cKashmir at the brink of Genocide\u201d and \u201cModi guilty of crimes against humanity in Kashmir.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, according to reports, U.S Human Rights groups are planning to hold similar protests against Modi\u2019s US visit over the \u201cdeteriorating human rights situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Indian American Muslim Council, Peace Action, Veterans for Peace and Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition are also set to gather near the White House on June 22.<\/p>\n
The report said the groups have also added flyers that read \u201cModi Not Welcome\u201d and \u201cSave India from Hindu Supremacy.\u201d The groups have also planned an event in New York featuring a show titled \u201cHowdy Democracy\u201d, referring to 2019\u2019s \u201cHowdy Modi!\u201d rally in Texas featuring Modi and then-U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
This comes as two human rights groups decided to organize a screening of the controversial BBC documentary, \u2018India: The Modi Question\u2019. As per reports, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have invited policymakers, journalists and analysts next week to a screening in Washington the BBC documentary, whose screening was banned in India.<\/p>\n
Advocacy groups have also raised concerns over alleged human rights abuses under Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).<\/p>\n
They point to a 2019 citizenship law that the U.N. human rights office described as \u201cfundamentally discriminatory\u201d by excluding Muslim migrants; anti-conversion legislation that challenged the constitutionally protected right to freedom of belief; and the revoking of Muslim-majority Kashmir\u2019s special status in 2019.<\/p>\n
There has also been demolition of properties owned by Muslims in the name of removing illegal construction; and a ban on wearing the hijab in classrooms in Karnataka when BJP was in power in that state.<\/p>\n
The Indian government dismisses the criticism, saying its policies are aimed at the welfare of all communities and that it enforces the law equally. Modi remains India\u2019s most popular leader and is widely expected to remain in office after next year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n
The administration of then-President George W. Bush denied Modi a visa in 2005 under a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed \u201cparticularly severe violations of religious freedom.\u201d In 2002, when Modi had just become Gujarat\u2019s chief minister, at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots.<\/p>\n
Advocacy groups have also raised concerns over human rights abuses under Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).<\/p>\n
They point to a 2019 citizenship law that the U.N. human rights office described as \u201cfundamentally discriminatory\u201d by excluding Muslim migrants; anti-conversion legislation that challenged the constitutionally protected right to freedom of belief; and the revoking of Muslim-majority Kashmir\u2019s special status in 2019.<\/p>\n
There has also been demolition of properties owned by Muslims in the name of removing illegal construction; and a ban on wearing the hijab in classrooms in Karnataka when BJP was in power in that state.<\/p>\n
The administration of then-President George W. Bush denied Modi a visa in 2005 under a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed \u201cparticularly severe violations of religious freedom.\u201d In 2002, when Modi had just become Gujarat\u2019s chief minister, at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in communal riots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, Jun 17 : A prominent Kashmiri advocacy group Thursday announced that Kashmiris and their supporters will stage a protest rally near the White House on June 22 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Joe Biden in Washington, amid India\u2019s escalating atrocities in occupied Kashmir. The Secretary-General of the World Kashmir Awareness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-338293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n