PPF also remind the international community to consider the plea of Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden to take care of the over 700 mudrassas (religious schools). PPF propose that these madrassas should be converted to the ‘Bacha Khan Peace Schools’ to avoid war and bring sustainable peace.

TV interview with Baloch rights campaigner, Mehran Baluch

Baloch representative at the UN Human Rights Council

Balochistan freedom struggle - Pakistan colludes with Taliban

London - 24 November 2008

In the light of the current terrorism trial in London of Baloch human rights campaigners Hyrbyair Marri and Faiz Baluch, you may be interested to watch this online TV interview with Mehran Baluch, the Baloch representative at the UN Human Rights Council.

Mehran is the brother of Hyrbyair Marri, who is on trial in London.

The interview discusses the Baloch people's struggle for liberation from Pakistani military occupation and oppression.

It was conducted by British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell last year, while the Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf was still in power.

The interview was recorded and first broadcast on 3 July 2007, as part of the Talking With Tatchell online TV current affairs series.

You can watch the programme here:

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v15574249Ka8gKRt6

Background to the current situation in Balochistan:

Pakistan invaded and annexed the newly-independent state of Balochistan in 1948. But the Baloch people have never given up their struggle for self-rule.

After six decades of occupation and bloody repression, and despite the new democratic government in Islamabad , the Pakistan military continues to wage war against the people of Balochistan, detaining without trial thousands of Balochs and resorting to torture, detention without trial, disappearances and extra-judicial killings .

Because Britain and the United States want Pakistan as an ally in their so-called "war on terror" they armed Pakistan and have acquiesced with its suppression of the Baloch people.

Pakistan's war against non-fundamentalist Balochistan and its moderate nationalist forces has strengthened the position of the Taliban who have exploited the situation to establish bases in the region. From these bases, they launch terror attacks against the Baloch people and seek to enforce the Talibanisation of Balochistan.

The Pakistani military colludes with the Taliban's murderous campaign, on the grounds that it helps to crush the Baloch people and their struggle for self-government.

Many of the Taliban leaders hide out in Balochistan, from where they plan and launch their military operations to overthrow the flawed but democratically-elected government of Afghanistan.

Their campaign to usurp power in Kabul is taking place with the tacit collusion of key figures in the Pakistani military and intelligence services. Pakistani sympathisers are allowing the Taliban to use Balochistan as a base for their war against democracy and human rights .

Meanwhile, the international community is looking the other way, allowing the Baluch people to be suppressed and ignoring their right to self-determination.

ENDS

If you want to contact Peter, please email him at his NEW email address - peter@petertatchell.net

Peter Tatchell is the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East
www.greenoxford.com/peter and www.petertatchell.net

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