Geelani asks people to boycott upcoming polls, tributes slain Pulwama militants

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani on Monday appealed for a complete and unanimous boycott of upcoming elections.
“Elections are integral part of any democratic process, but where there is not even the trace of any democratic values, where using deceitful veil of democracy we have faced only brutality and barbarism, where more than one million armed forces seem to be in sufficient to contain this helpless nation and for conducting this shame military exercise.
More than 100 battalion of forces have been added, making this globally designated highly militarized zone denser,” Geelani said in a statement issued on Monday. He said that such a vast and forceful military operation even if covered under the carpet of “elections”, can in no way hide its venomous character.
“No sane citizen of this state, belonging to any region or religion, is satisfied with the ground situation of this land. Death and destruction and political instability has led to such a chaotic scenario, of which, if elections would have been any remedy, which is in practice here for the last 71 years, but it is known to everybody, friends and foes, that with each passing day the graph of atrocities, denials and curbs have a alarming steep,” he said.
He said that “nation which has sacrificed more than a 100 thousand people, which is being slaughtered unabated, who’s womenfolk have been molested and raped irrespective of their age and status, who’s thousands of young and old and even women are languishing in jails for decades together, where not only barrel of gun is always starring every individual, but the blunt sward of investigation agencies are also hanging close to their chest, where, recently, every Kashmiri was hunted and lynched outside valley, where our emotions, our faith, our identity and ethnicity is shredded to maximum.
The nation is such a pathetic and suffocating situation, struggling for their existence, have no moral justification to take part in any electoral process.”
Some argue that despite boycott, people gets elected, to which Geelani said that “It is agreed beyond doubt that people have celebrated 2% voter turnout, but there is hell of difference between the crown of humiliation and crown of grace.” “How can we afford to be part of the house where laws and resolution are passed only to throttle and subjugate us,” he said.
Commenting on the luring of voters by the pro-Indian politicians, Geelani said that “our nation has the habit of forgetting and following blindly to the deceitful voices, but the recent memories are a fresh in the minds of people who still remember the fate of autonomy, by none other than its own creators, despite having 2/3rd majority in assembly.”
He said that ban of religious and pro-freedom organizations has irked and pained those who themselves not only banned these groups and locked their schools, offices and residences, but even their long beard workers burnt the Holy Quran in every nook and corner of the state in 1979.
Pro-freedom leader said that humiliating remarks of “milk & toffee” are still echoing in the minds of people and every curb and war on the people was assigned to the dreams of her father.
Arrogance of power was so intoxicating that in presence of mighty crutches of power, even the quires from media were not responded, but as the support withered away, they shamelessly started knocking the doors of people with a begging bowel.
Geelani said that it hardly matters who wins and who loses, but no conscious, sane and mindful person should be part of anybody’s win or loss.
He said that “democracy here has lost its values and that is why every cunning, corrupt and mean person tries to escape from any accountability or criticism, wearing the grown of politics and more loyal they are to this sick system, more they grow in size and wealth.
On the other hand pro-freedom people are threatened and caged in fictitious and false cases, but such maneuvering can never cow down the freedom loving nation.”
Paying tributes to slain of Lasipora Pulwama encounter, Geelani said that the Kashmir has become a dreadful battle ground were death and destruction has become a daily norm.
“Time and again we have raised our voice for justice to the people of Kashmir, but the Indian military might and its stubbornness is a major stumbling block in the way of a peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute, but India seems to be hell-bent upon forcing our youth to take the extreme steps,” he said.
“The people of Kashmir while raising their just and legitimate demand for a peaceful settlement of the said dispute as promised by the then Indian leadership and in turn get bullets, pellets and disgrace of every kind, at the hands of occupation forces,” Geelani added.