Indian Point is NOT radiologically ready for the Sixth Seal (Rev 6:12)

With Indian Point, are you radiologically ready?

By Thomas Slater Emergency Preparedness Coordinator

August 23rd, 2018 | News, News and Features

Just as there are plans in place for dealing with natural emergencies such as tropical and winter storms, readiness plans are developed for man-made emergencies, which includes radiological hazards.

Nuclear power plants operate in most states in the country and produce about 20 percent of the nation’s power.

Nearly three million people live within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone of an operating nuclear power plant, including West Point, which is situated between 7-to-9 miles from the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) in Buchanan of Westchester County.

Although the construction and operation of nuclear power plants are closely monitored and regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, incidents at these plants are possible—and planned for.

If an accident at IPEC were to result in the potential or actual release of radiation, warning sirens in the area would be activated. Commercial and West Point media sources would broadcast Emergency Alert System  messages to advise you on protective measures.

Depending upon the scope and scale of the emergency, protective actions may include “shelter-in-place” or “evacuation” advisories. As radioactive materials rapidly decay and dissipate with distance, the most likely scenario for West Point personnel would be to take shelter rather than trying to evacuate.

If you are instructed to shelter-in-place, the following steps will keep you and your family safe during the emergency.

• Shelter. Go inside your home or the nearest building; choose an inside room with as few windows or doors as possible.

• Shut. Shut and lock all windows and doors to create a better seal; turn off heating or cooling ventilation systems. If at home, make sure the fireplace damper and all ventilation fans are closed.

• Listen. Local officials are your best source of information. If in an office, monitor your computer, television and phones; if at home, listen to your radio or television until you are told it is safe to leave the shelter or to evacuate.

For more details, consult the Orange County Indian Point Emergency Guide, available at https://www.orangecountygov.com/DocumentCenter/View/2368/Indian-Point-Orange-Emergency-Guide-PDF, or call the West Point Emergency Manager at 845-938-7092.

Readiness, through education and preparation, is the best defense. Are you radiological ready?

Why Babylon the Great Can’t Beat the Iranian Horn

Five reasons why US ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran has backfired

Thu, May 14, 2020

IranSource by Barbara Slavin

Politics & Diplomacy

Two years ago, President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, promising that “maximum pressure” on Iran would lead to a better outcome than remaining within the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Sanctions imposed by the administration have contributed to a disastrous contraction of the Iranian economy, but they have failed to alter Iranian policies for the better; indeed, they have made things much worse.

Here are five ways in which the Trump approach has backfired:

1 In his speech to the nation on May 8, 2018, Trump promised that his new policy would help to “eliminate the threat of Iran’s ballistic missile program; to stop its terrorist activities worldwide; and to block its menacing activity across the Middle East.” However, Iran has continued its missile program and even launched a military satellite into orbit. It has become more aggressive regionally, with tensions in the Persian Gulf and Iraq having brought the US and Iran to the brink of war. Furthermore, this may even force the US to quit Iraq, leaving that country even more vulnerable to Iran.

2 After remaining compliant with the JCPOA for a year after US withdrawal, Iran, now, possesses sufficient low-enriched uranium for a single nuclear weapon and has resumed enrichment at the underground site at Fordow. If the US tries to “snap back” sanctions despite its own non-compliance with the deal, Iran may quit both the JCPOA and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, following the route North Korea took in 2003 towards developing nuclear weapons.

3 US policy toward Iran has deepened the divide with our closest allies in Europe, which have been trying to preserve the JCPOA. Experience has shown that pressure on Iran only works when it is multilateral and has realistic and achievable goals. European collaboration is essential for Iran sanctions and diplomacy to work.

4 By seeking to force other countries to join the “maximum pressure” campaign against their own policy preferences, the Trump administration has undermined sanctions as a non-kinetic tool of foreign policy. Sanctions, like antibiotics, lose efficacy if they are overused. Over time, nations will build workarounds. China, in particular, has the economic power to grow parallel international financial mechanisms. When the US really needs to impose sanctions in the future, it may find that they have minimal impact.

5 The US withdrawal from the JCPOA discredited the government of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and strengthened hardline forces that are virulently opposed to normal relations with the US. Next year, Iran is likely to elect a president whose cabinet will not be full of American PhDs. It will be harder to negotiate a “better deal” with such a government even if Joe Biden is president. Precious time—when talks could have proceeded on a JCPOA 2.0, regional conflict resolution, and other matters—has been squandered.

These deleterious consequences are unfolding at a time of global health emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a crisis could have provided the Trump administration with a justification to ease sanctions, if only, as a gesture to the long-suffering Iranian people.

However, despite assurances that food and medicine are not sanctioned, the US has failed to take steps that could have alleviated Iran’s predicament. It has sought to obstruct Iran’s request for an emergency $5 billion loan from the IMF and Iran’s access to funds frozen in foreign banks.

Apart from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a handful of Washington neoconservatives, the two-year anniversary of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA has found few defenders. Among US allies, only Israel has continued to cheerlead for a policy that is all pressure and no incentives.

Pompeo is now leading the charge to extend a UN embargo on conventional arms transfers to Iran that, under the JCPOA, expires in October. He is using a disingenuous and dubious argument that the US is still a “participant” in the deal despite its unilateral exit two years ago. If the UN Security Council fails to kowtow to US demands—almost a certainty given Russian and Chinese veto power—the US has threatened to snap back sanctions and blow up what remains of the JCPOA. This is an egregious misuse of a provision meant to keep Iran in compliance and will be difficult to restore in any future accord.

The losers in this strategy will be the rule of law and, ultimately, US leadership.

Around the world, many are already looking at our country with dismay as the death toll mounts due to the pandemic and as the federal government struggles to respond. The Trump administration has also disparaged the World Health Organization and threatened to starve it of funds when they are most needed.

On Iran, as on so many other issues—from climate change to conflict-resolution—the Trump administration is either AWOL or obstructive. No PhD in international relations is required to understand the consequences of such “malign” behavior: when the US makes demands in the future, fewer nations will follow.

Barbara Slavin is director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Follow her on Twitter: @BarbaraSlavin1.

The Russian Horn’s New Nuclear Weapons (Daniel 7)

Revision of Chinese military portal “Zhongguo tsuenwan” published a review of the new Russian nuclear weapons — torpedoes, launched from large nuclear submarines. The Chinese believe that the Arsenal of such missiles will allow Russia to put any opponent to the negotiating table.

Torpedoes will be equipped with underwater drones “Poseidon”, which can swim at great depths and at high speeds, moving from one continent to another. Battle of the shells will be about two megatons, they can be used against aircraft carriers and enemy ships.

According to the Chinese edition, the new nuclear submarine project 09851 “Khabarovsk” will be equipped with a drone carrier “Poseidon” and will go into service over the next few months. After this Russian military two years will be to test new weapons.

Plague Kills Tens of Thousands in Iran (Revelation 6:8)

Coronavirus Has Killed Over 41,200 People in Iran, According to MEK

News : Iranian opposition

Published: Thursday, 14 May 2020

While Iranian authorities downplay the real dimension of the coronavirus crisis, the number of the death toll of the COVID-19 disease is daily exceeding.

On May 13, the main Iranian resistance group, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), declared that the true number of the coronavirus’ victims in Iran is more than 41,200. The MEK announced it has obtained the stats through reports from hospitals, health centers, cemeteries, families, and relatives of victims, and official media in 317 cities across all Iran’s 31 provinces.

Simultaneously, the Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour announced that 6,783 persons have died of the novel coronavirus so far, which means less than a sixth of the real fatalities. The Iranian regime, of course, has a notorious history in offering false figures. For instance, authorities claimed more than 50 percent of eligible voters participated in polls in the February Parliamentary elections while evidence showed that the elections faced an unprecedented apathy from the public.

“The death toll in various provinces include 6,885 in Tehran, 2,535 in Mazandaran, 2,490 in Isfahan, 2,360 in Khuzestan, 1,465 in East Azerbaijan, 1,165 in Hamedan, 1,110 in Sistan & Baluchestan, 1,105 in Lorestan, and 350 in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces,” the MEK announced in its statement.

Also, the consequences of resuming financial activities and returning the people to contaminated workplaces are gradually appearing. The mullahs practically left ordinary people to opt between dying of hunger or the virus. Consequently, many people have to return to work without basic hygienic supplies.

This irresponsible policy triggered the second wave of the COVID-19 infection sooner than what was predicted by medical experts. On Wednesday, May 13, there were 1,985 new cases over 24 hours, setting the highest single-day rise in the past 33 days, according to Health Ministry.

In this respect, the head of Tehran’s Counter Coronavirus Task Force announced that 273 new coronavirus patients were bedridden in Tehran in the past 24 hours. He also described Tehran’s situation as fragile.

There are also worrying reports from other provinces including Khuzestan, Kerman, and Sistan & Baluchestan. On May 13, the acting dean of the Jondishapur Medical Science University Farhad Abol-Nejadian said told the state-run Hamshahri daily that the rest of hospitals in Ahvaz city has been allocated to coronavirus patients.

“There has been a significant increase in coronavirus cases across [Kerman] province,” the state-run Mehr news agency quoted deputy dean of the Kerman Medical Sciences University Vahid Ahmadi Tabatabai as saying on May 12.

On the same day, the deputy dean of the Zahedan’s Medical Sciences University Qassem Miri Aliabad told the state-run T.V. that there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Sistan & Baluchestan Province.

“The 42-case increase in the number of infected people with the coronavirus disease in the past 24 hours was a kind of unprecedented increase in the province,” Aliabad said.

On May 10, the supreme leader Ali Khamenei made a humiliating retreat on his previous coronavirus remarks. Earlier, he had claimed: “In my opinion, this is not that big of a misfortune. We’ve had bigger calamities. This is a temporary issue. It’s not extraordinary. These kinds of events happen in the country,” the state-run T.V. broadcasted Khamenei’s remarks on March 3.

The Antichrist’s Men: Iran’s forgotten terror proxy in Iraq

Thar Allah: Iran’s forgotten terror proxy in Iraq

It was a bold opening gambit from new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi. On the night of May 10, protesters gathered outside the offices of a little known militia organisation in Basra, Thar Allah.

When they were met with live fire, it seemed a typically brutal response from Iraq’s numerous Iran-backed militias, whom many hold responsible for killing hundreds of protesters.

What happened next surprised observers: Thar Allah’s offices were raided by security forces, although their leader, Youssef Al Musawi, was not present at the scene of the raid. Mr Al Kadhimi later tweeted that the raid had been executed on his personal orders and that “those who spill Iraqi blood will not rest.”

The new PM has promised to re-establish rule of law. This means reining in powerful elements of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), some of which are linked to Iran.

For now, the new policy could have some momentum following developments in recent weeks. PMF groups linked to Iraq’s religious authorities (sometimes called the Shrine PMF) have voluntarily moved towards stronger government control.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed groups such as the notorious Kataib Hezbollah continue to violate Article 9 of Iraq’s Constitution, which outlaws political activity in the armed forces and mandates strong civilian control of the military.

So does the Thar Allah raid mark a new era? The most important point to consider is that Thar Allah is not within the PMF and nowhere near as strong as Kataib Hezbollah. They have no direct connection to the Iraqi government but share the outlook of the late Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, the Iran-backed militia leader killed in a US drone strike on January 3.

According to PMF expert Inna Rudolf, the new Iraqi premier’s order for the raid could be, “a signal meant to discourage outsourcing of resistance activities, which would allow to keep the PMF statist and neat while others play spearhead and convey certain messages.”

The raid could therefore represent a warning to other, smaller militias, giving the PM some leverage by creating uncertainty surrounding the fate of those who do not follow government orders.

A fringe movement

Once a typical Iran-proxy, Thar Allah emerged from an array of exiled anti-Saddam Hussein opposition groups in Iran, such as the Badr Organisation, Iran’s oldest proxy in the country, and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI). Thar Allah ran with ISCI an election coalition in 2005, when ISCI was known as the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

After the US invasion in 2003, the group benefited from Iran’s early policy in Iraq of “betting on all the horses”. A 2005 leaked US army report mentions the group as being involved in the assassination of Sunnis in Basra, part of Iran’s ruthless strategy at the time to cement hegemonic control in Iraq’s south and wipe out any trace of their former foes, the Iraqi Baath party.

British soldiers reported in December 2003 finding a Thar Allah “torture chamber” in Basra.

Mustafa Al Kadhimi delivers a speech after being confirmed as the new Iraqi prime minister. EPA

Unsurprisingly, the group’s brutal tactics fanned the flames of civil war. This situation wasn’t helped by the fact that the British army initially thought the group was merely a local extremist organisation amid a much larger insurgency.

As late as 2007, Thar Allah received Iranian financial support, according to leaked State Department cables, alongside groups such as the now defunct Jaish Al Mahdi, followers of populist cleric Moqtada Al Sadr. By then, Basra was crumbling amid an array of rival militias, running mafioso style operations.

As the occupying British army lost control of southern Iraq, Thar Allah became embroiled in a vicious feud with the rival Shia Fadhila Party. Much was at stake, from controlling extortion rackets to oil smuggling.

In a desperate attempt to bring rival factions together, the Iraqi government and the British army agreed to have Al Musawi on a newly formed Basra Security Committee, despite his involvement in death squads.

Unsurprisingly, the effort quickly fell apart, but it is strangely absent from the official British inquiry into the Iraq war, the 6,000 page Chilcot Report. The report does however mention the failed Security Committee, described at the time by British Major General Sir Richard Shirreff as “no longer fit for purpose.”

It is around this time that the group appears to have over-reached, probably because Iran had become wary of seeing its proxies clash, undoing Tehran’s project of political hegemony in Iraq.

As former PM Nouri Al Maliki, himself a Shiite, sent Iraqi forces to retake Basra from the Jaish Al Mahdi in 2008, Youssef Al Musawi fled to Iran where he reportedly remained until 2014, when the PMF formed to fight ISIS. Little is known about his time there.

As pro-Iran militias mobilised for war, Iranian support was not forthcoming for Thar Allah, which was absent from the major battles with ISIS.

This led Al Musawi to remould himself as a modern, clean cut politician, cultivating an image more like an accountant than a warlord. His Facebook page shows glossy campaign material but the posts are very much on message with Iranian propaganda, blaming the US for protests across Iraq.

Al Musawi also appears to have tried to rebuild political connections, praising former Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader Ammar Al Hakim on the founding of his breakaway Al Hikma party. But these efforts were to no avail.

Cut off from political support, Thar Allah had become an easy target for the new government. The question now remains, is this a new era for rule of law in Iraq, as Mr Al Kadhimi promised, or a symbolic move that may not deter groups such as Kataib Hezbollah? Only time will tell.

Updated: May 15, 2020 03:14 PM

The Nations of Destruction Outside the Temple Walls (Revelation 11)

Israel And Palestinians: Architects of their own destruction

Alon Ben-MeirDr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.

By Alon Ben-Meir May 15, 2020

[Photo: Sebastian Scheiner, AP]

As Israel celebrates the 72nd anniversary of its independence, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to simmer as neither side seems to have learned anything from their seven decades-old conflict, and dramatic changes on the ground are readily dismissed. Charges and counter-charges against one another continue unabated as if everything was frozen in time. Israelis and Palestinians remain intensely distrustful of one another and blame the other for the lingering impasse. They now face a fateful crossroad and must reassess their positions. Israel must accept that the Palestinians are not a perpetual mortal enemy and that an agreement can be reached which guarantees its national security. The Palestinians must abandon some of their old and tired demands, which have proven to be fatal to all previous peace negotiations.

The Israeli right-wing political parties, led by Likud with Netanyahu at the helm, have been indoctrinating the Israelis through fear mongering with considerable success. They maintain that a Palestinian state in the West Bank will inevitably fall under Hamas and pose an existential threat to Israel. This argument which has seeped into the Israelis’ consciousness, especially since the second Intifada in 2000, is completely meritless as any peace agreement between the two sides must be based on stringent security arrangements that leave no room for errors and no recourse for the Palestinians.

To invoke Israel’s experience with Hamas as a justification for its refusal to allow for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank is contrived and disingenuous at best. Israel, which was led at the time by the most ardent right-wing prime minister, Shamir, brought about the rise of Hamas in 1987 by supporting its early leaders both financially and politically, who were ideologically opposed to the PLO. Avner Cohen, a former Israeli religious affairs official who worked in Gaza at the time, stated in 2009 that “Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation.” Israel’s strategy was to divide and conquer by splitting the Palestinians into two camps to counter-balance and weaken then-Chairman Yasser Arafat’s hand and prevent the Palestinians from uniting into a single body politic.

Prime Minister Sharon’s decision to withdraw Israeli forces almost overnight from Gaza in 2005 without any security arrangements with the PA to ensure long-term security was fatal. As a general, he knew full well that Hamas had greater military capability and was far more deeply entrenched in the Strip than the PA’s security forces. Sharon’s objectives were to deepen the PA-Hamas rift and to rid Israel of the responsibility to provide jobs, healthcare, and economic development to a densely Palestinian populated area that has no strategic importance to Israel.

What made matters worse was Israel’s refusal to accept the results of the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, which gave Hamas a clear victory over the PLO. Israel then imprisoned 33 of Hamas’s newly elected parliamentarians, accusing them of belonging to a terrorist organization. Finally, Israel did nothing to stop the fighting between Hamas and the PA which ended up, unsurprisingly, with the defeat of the PA, which sealed Gaza’s fate under Hamas in 2007.

The breakout of the second Intifada in 2000 was a turning point for the Israelis as well as the Palestinians. The 117 terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Israelis was convincing enough for many Israelis that the Palestinians are a mortal enemy, especially following the 1993 Oslo Accords, which was supposed to evolve into a permanent peace based on a two-state solution. However, Israel ignored the fact that the Palestinians in the West Bank also learned a bitter lesson. They did not forget that the second Intifada invited massive Israeli retaliations that destroyed much of their newly-built infrastructure, housing, and public institutions post-1993.

To suggest however that Israel is the sole culprit behind the lasting Israeli-Palestinian conflict is wrong and disregards the Palestinians’ continuing violent hostilities against Israel, as well as their repeated missed opportunities to reach a peace agreement.

The Palestinians rejected the 1947 UN partition plan, turned down Israel’s offer to exchange most of the territories captured in the 1967 war for peace, refused to join in the 1977 Israeli-Egyptian peace talks, scuttled the nearly-completed peace agreement at Camp David in 2000 over the right of return, and in 2009 failed to seize the opportunity to make peace over disagreements on the extent of the land swap. What made matter worse is the Palestinians’, especially Hamas’, refusal to recognize Israel and its continuing threats against its very existence while purchasing and manufacturing weapons, especially rockets, to give a tangible meaning to their threats.

None of this however, suggests that if and when a Palestinian state is established in the West Bank it will become, as many Israelis say, another Hamastan. The precipitous Israeli withdrawal from Gaza without any security arrangements and Israel’s subsequent treatment of Hamas are what has galvanized the rise of Hamas as a force and a significant player.

Thus, only a fool would advocate that Israel should withdraw from the West Bank without the most comprehensive security arrangements that address Israel’s real or perceived security requirements. Whether the Palestinians like it or not, if they want a state of their own, they must realize that their demands from decades ago are no longer applicable or doable and need to concede on a number of key sensitive issues:

The Palestinians must accept that the right of return of the Palestinians refugees be based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that called for a “just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem” which from my firsthand knowledge was understood by its framers to mean compensation and/or resettlement. They must also accept that much of Israel’s presence in the West Bank is permanent, as Israel will not under any circumstances relinquish all the settlements, especially the three blocks along the 1967 borders (although this can be resolved through land swaps, as was agreed upon in previous peace talks). Finally, the Palestinians have to agree that Israel will, at minimum, jointly administer East Jerusalem because of the Jews’ irrevocable historic and religious affinity to the holy city, and because of the interdispersement of Jews and Arabs in East Jerusalem and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Israel, on the other hand, must agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and to that end it should not annex any more Palestinian land. Approximately 80,000 Israeli settlers residing in a score of small settlements scattered throughout the West Bank must be relocated to allow for a contiguous land mass for the Palestinian state. Israel must also agree to negotiate with Hamas based on mutual recognition to reach a peace agreement jointly with or independently from the PA.

Hamas’ leadership knows that Israel is a formidable military power, and no matter how many rockets they accumulate they will be defeated soundly should they ever pose a real danger to Israel. Israel, however, also knows that Hamas in Gaza is there to stay, with frequent violent flare-ups and the terrible cost that Israel must bear to maintain security. Former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy stated that “Hamas can be crushed…[but] the price of crushing Hamas is a price that Israel would prefer not to pay.” Their choice is clear: maintain the status quo with the Israeli blockade in place from which the Palestinians in Gaza suffer the most, or reach a peace agreement that will free Israel from the heavy burden and Hamas’ continuing threats that unsettle many Israelis.

The complete lack of trust between the PA, Hamas, and Israel, and the existence of radicals in all three camps who still want to have it all, makes it imperative to establish a mutually agreed upon security apparatus that addresses Israel’s security in the West Bank in particular. This is indeed a prerequisite to any peace agreement, which the PA must agree to if they want an independent state of their own.

This includes extensive joint patrolling of the Jordan Valley to prevent infiltration of weapons and radicals from Jordan who oppose any agreement with Israel regardless of its nature, sharing intelligence to avert terrorist attacks, and establishing joint economic development projects. These and other joint programs will over time foster trust which is conspicuously lacking, as well as instill vested interests by both sides to maintain a collaborative and mutually gainful relationship.

Regardless of the violence and regional instability that may ensue, the new Israeli government is planning to embark on further annexation of Palestinian land by the beginning of July—while Trump is still in office and Israel can count on his support. For Trump, such a move by Israel, which is a central part of Trump’s “deal of the century”, will further enhance his political standing in the eyes of the evangelicals, whose support he must have if he stands any chance of winning the next election.

The Palestinians, on the other hand, have no real backers. Much of the international community, including their traditional supporters, the Arab states and the EU, are preoccupied with domestic and regional issues of major concerns. They are paying little or no attention to the Palestinian problem, and with the absence of a major power which can exert real pressure, Israel will not change its plans as long as the US continues to lend its full support.

If Israel proceeds with its plans of annexation and the Palestinians continue to hold onto their dead-end position, the result is all but certain. Continuing and escalating violent conflict will rob the Palestinians of a state of their own for the foreseeable future, which will exact a heavy toll on Israel while making it a pariah state that lives by the gun.

Time is of the essence; both sides must carefully reevaluate their positions before it is too late.

On the Verge of the First Nuclear War (Revelation 8 )

‘Kashmir Stands On Verge Of Nuke War Between India, Pakistan’

May 14, 2020 dp2019

DESPARDES — Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint as many observers say and it stands on the verge of a war between the nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan who have already fought four wars on the Muslim-majority disputed territory.

This week, an International Kashmir Virtual conference, titled, “Kashmir’s Double Lockdown and the Global Response” was held in Birmingham, UK, where a huge populace of the Kashmiri Diaspora live for decades.

It was organized by Tehreek-e-Kashmir, UK, and attended among others by academicians, researchers, social and civil rights activists. Attendees also included media personnel from Turkey, India, Pakistan, Azad Kashmir, United States, Canada, Middle East and several cities of Europe where there’s also a significant presence of Kashmiris.

Speaking to the virtual conference, Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who is also Chairman of the country’s Foreign Relations Committee said that Kashmir stands on the verge of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. According to him, he just resolution of the Kashmir conflict will bring peace and prosperity to the region of South Asia.

His candid observation dovetails the Bajwa doctrine: “enduring stability in the region”.

Recalling that the issue of Kashmir is a movement for self-determination inspired by a spirit for freedom and has its legitimacy in the United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Senator pointed out that the struggle remains alive and vibrant because the people of Kashmir want to chart their own destiny. “It is a pure people’s movement inspired from within which aims at regaining the freedom and economic justice that the foreign occupation has usurped,” the Senator said.

“It is vital for the world powers not to lose sight of the true objective in determining peace in South Asia, he added. “The settlement of the Kashmir conflict is central to the purpose of stability and security in the region”.

The Senator suggested the increasingly negative image of the Modi administration as extremist, sectarian, fascist, and communal should be highlighted at global level.

Fahim Kayani, the host and President of UK-based Tehreek-e-Kashmir said the webinar provides a platform to analyze the situation in Indian occupied Kashmir and suggest ways to resolve one of the longest-standing issues of the United Nations. Fahim added that the Kashmir dispute has resulted in heavy death and destruction in Kashmir simply because the Indian army was given immunity under draconian laws, like the “Public Safety Act” (PSA).

“Soldiers kill civilians with impunity. Indeed, Indian law grants virtual legal immunity to any type of war crime or crime against humanity perpetrated in Kashmir. The people of Kashmir have suffered long and needlessly because of this brutal conflict. They demand and they deserve peace,” Fahim reiterated.

Independent observers say there has been increasing violence in the Muslim-majority Valley and against Muslims in India. The Delhi riot in February — 50 Muslims lost their lives — put the growing polarity on PM Modi’s watch on the world map.

For the first time since 2004, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report released last month said it is recommending that India be included in U.S. State Department’s list of “countries of particular concern”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Mir, President, World Kashmir Awareness Forum said, Covid-19 has struck with fury. It has devastated all communities, particularly the vulnerable members of the society without distinction of caste, class, or country. In the case of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, it has had a particularly devastating physical, psychological, and economic impact on our people.

Dr. Mir explained that Occupied Kashmir is the most militarized state in the world—800,000 man Military and Paramilitary forces. And on top of it the Modi Govt brought around August 5, 2019, surreptitiously rushed in his 250,000  Hindutva militias. These voluntary Hindu radicals of RSS belong to Modi’s mother militant organization the RSS (Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh). Modi joined it as a young man and rose through the ranks. They are his bosom buddies.

An ongoing step by step genocide is in progress. You can call it ethnic cleansing or you can call it demographic engineering to make Kashmir a Hindu state. Call it whatever you will. But, the inescapable conclusion has to be that with Covid cover Kashmir is one step closer to the last phase of genocide. Indians did it to Native Dravidians, the Buddhists and they are doing it to Indian Muslims. They sure can do it to Kashmiris.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary-general, World Kashmir Awareness Forum said that the situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has dramatically changed, particularly since August 5, 2019, and it will not be an exaggeration to say that the people of occupied land are facing an existential threat. We have come to a juncture in the history of our freedom struggle where we all have to decide once and for all as to what role we can play in this difficult but a noble endeavor.

Fai suggested that extensive use of social media, especially webinars, videos, will become instrumental in highlighting the struggle of people of Kashmir. And an effective outreach campaign on Kashmir dispute towards the peace-loving sections of the world community, including Indian civil society and diaspora is the need of the time.

India may be ‘the largest democracy’ but its policy towards Kashmir has been uniformly brutal and deceitful. The impartial and neutral agencies of the world testify that when it comes to Kashmir, India is nothing but an occupier. Huffington Post wrote on August 5, 2019. ‘As Kashmir Is Erased, Indian Democracy Dies In Silence.’

“The United Nations has the opportunity to affect a positive resolution to the conflict and resulting humanitarian situation by promoting the conditions of the original mandate. It is only through international recognition and inclusive representations that a genuine and lasting peace can ensue. The risks of maintaining the status quo – for Kashmir, South Asia and the world – are too great to ignore,” Fai added.

Abdul Rashid Turabi, Member, Azad Kashmir Assembly said, the self-determination of the people of Kashmir and international peace and security are inter-related. The denial of this right has brought both nuclear countries of India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. It is in the interest of world peace that India and Pakistan need to resolve the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Turabi cited the example of the widespread human rights violations by the Indian military and para-military forces in the disputed territory of Jammu & Kashmir.  He reiterated that since, 1990, the Indian forces have been engaged in a sustained campaign of slaughter, rape, arson and destruction. This state terrorism has resulted in more than 100,000 deaths.

Ms. Julie Ward, a British parliamentarian said that people of Kashmir deserve to be granted the right of self-determination. She said that she was convinced that the people of Jammu and Kashmir constitute the principal stakeholders and should be an integral component of any future peace process along with India and Pakistan. She suggested that the labor party head cannot change the party policy on Kashmir. Our policy has to be that world powers must intervene and bring peace to the region of South Asia and help resolve the conflict over Kashmir which is pending for the last 72 years.

Mr. Sikandar Siddique, Member of the Danish Parliament said, the knowledge of the average European regarding Kashmir is insignificant. The sentiments and aspirations of the people of Kashmir are overshadowed by the commercial interests and business deals of the world powers. We must educate the European populations and must do that in their own languages.

The community of nations must seize this opportunity to promote an initiative towards bringing about conditions necessary for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute., Mr. Siddique added.

Mr. Mejbel Alshrika, Director, The Center for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at Kuwait Bar Association said that nothing better can be said about human rights in Kashmir.  Every human rights group that has examined the convulsed scene in Kashmir has reported harrowing human rights violations. The vandalism is used to terrorize Kashmiris.  Mobs of soldiers routinely go through neighborhoods breaking windows with large stones, upending autos and motorcycles, setting fire to trucks, and anything else left vulnerable to their attack.  Occasionally they will shoot at the people inside, and many have been killed or injured with buckshot right in their own homes.  Children and housewives have frequently been victims.

Mr. Alshrika emphasized that it is the people of Kashmir who suffer. Their calls for self-determination have been brutally suppressed by the Indian armed forces. These troops have unleashed a reign of terror on the civilian population.

He said the main priority of everyone should be to attract attention to the issue and to put India in a position where it has to heed to popular will.  We will have to expose the terror unleashed by RSS against the Muslims of India and the people of Kashmir.

Ms. Dalal Al-Ajmi, Lawyer and Member of Human Rights Committee at Kuwait  Bar Association said it was our duty to support the people of Kashmir who are struggling for their right to self-determination. Our objective is to draw the attention of the world powers to the situation in Kashmir and to exert pressure on the government of India and to resolve the dispute over Kashmir and help stop human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir.

She expressed her unconditional moral support to the people of Kashmir for a just and peaceful solution to the long-standing dispute. She said that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Kashmiri brethren. Shee said that defying all odds, the brave desire and aspirations of the Kashmiris for liberty and justice remain strong forever.

She emphasized that the  Indian army is responsible for many untold atrocities but one thing is quite clear that she could not break the will of the people for their right of self-determination.

She also emphasized that Kashmiris are giving huge sacrifices for attaining freedom and it is the obligation of the diaspora and all other people who share their sentiments to educate the masses in the world and other countries about Kashmir problem and ongoing atrocities in that region.

India is using Covid 19 to reoccupy Kashmir. Narendra Modi should know that his actions in Kashmir cannot stand, she declared.

Nazir Qureishi, Senior Vice President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement, London said, what is happening in Kashmir is not abnormalities and weaknesses of the local government but an institutionalized and well-planned policy of the BJP Government.

“The lack of unity among the different advocacy groups is an impediment. The demand of the day is a ‘Grand Unity’ among Kashmiri diaspora. This does not necessarily mean unity as there would always be different shades of opinion but we should have clarity of our ideas, i.e., that the people of Kashmir want the right to self-determination,” Mr. Qureishi reiterated.

Anser  Manzoor Hussain, President, Tehreek-e-Kashmir, Denmark said, “Kashmir continues to bleed. We see the horrendous brutality, unstopped and unpunished barbarities unleashed against the defenseless population.

The only way for this carnage to end is for the world powers to bring pressure to bear on the Indian Government to cease its human rights abuses and seek a peaceful negotiated settlement to the crisis. The world powers should work to bring all parties to the dispute to the peace table to end the abuses and effect a genuine and lasting peace.

Anser warned that the overwhelming presence of 800,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces serves as a constant reminder to Kashmiris that they are a people subjugated and enslaved against their will. Every person has one or more tales of weeping and sobbing to recount. And their pain is compounded by the silence and indifference of the international community, especially from the United States, that beacon of human rights and civil liberties.

Mr. Hussain suggested to initiate a global campaign to boycott the Indian good.

Yahya Akhter, community activist and the emcee of the webinar said the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) has issued its “Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir.” The report contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir. This is a significant step towards greater international recognition of the serious abuses committed against Kashmiris at the hands of Indian army. This report takes the veil of secrecy off of India’s crimes against humanity. Perhaps now the global community can share the outrage felt by the people of Kashmir.