by Tessa Warrington, Waltham Forest Socialist Party
State repression in Pakistani-occupied Kashmir has sparked outrage. Thousands came to a solidarity protest in London on 30 July.
Coachloads came from Nottingham, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, and Luton, which all have large Kashmiri populations.
London Socialist Party members went down in support, and we were welcomed. People were angry and eager to show us online video footage of police killing civilians.
The repression comes after strikes and demonstrations over the past few years against the rising cost of living. Recently, the Pakistani-backed regional government declared the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a terrorist organisation, imprisoning dozens of supporters.
Part of the JAAC’s programme on the affordability crisis was abolishing the 12 out of 53 seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Kashmir living in Pakistan. These are seen as another attempt by the Pakistani state to rig its influence over the area.
Our leaflets were readily taken out of our hands. They called for an end to repression and the release of JAAC activists, for key aspects of the economy to be brought under Kashmiri workers’ control, and for the self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
Four people bought our Socialist paper, donating £11 to our fighting fund. Everyone I spoke to agreed with the need to appeal to the working classes of Pakistan, India, and China for solidarity – a joint struggle against the ruling elites of the region.
We also had discussions about the need to fight for Kashmiri national rights and socialism together, part of the same process.
A voluntary confederation of socialist states is needed. This would address affordable access to the most basic necessities of life, ending state repression and sectarian divide-and-rule, and support the freedom of the Kashmiri people to decide their own fate.