[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 13, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1521]]



        DECLARE A NONVIOLENT AND DIPLOMATIC WAR TO SAVE KASHMIR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 1999

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, recent violent developments in Kashmir, the 
disputed territory between Pakistan and India, have highlighted a very 
dangerous blunder of neglect in U.S. and international diplomacy. The 
failure of the world community under the auspices of the United Nations 
to demand a self-determination referendum for Kashmir has resulted in a 
festering stalemate with very serious potential consequences for that 
region and the entire Earth which would have to absorb radioactive 
contamination from any full scale war between two recently declared 
nuclear powers.
  Now, before the temperature rises any further, it is imperative that 
we maximize the effort to achieve a nonviolent solution to this crisis 
that has persisted for much too long. The honorable and civilized 
solution is a very simple one. Let the people of Kashmir vote to 
determine their own destiny. Pressure both Pakistan and India to allow 
for a Democratic solution, the ballot box and not the gun--or nuclear 
bombs.
  It is a well-known fact that India refused to accept a self-
determining referendum. The nation that has proclaimed itself as the 
world's largest democracy has doggedly refused to permit the Kashmir 
people to vote. To placate India it has been proposed that a referendum 
be held which does not offer the option for Kashmir to become a part of 
Pakistan. A vote would be for statehood within India or for an 
independent Kashmir nation.
  The speculation is that Indian officials fear that the predominantly 
Muslim population of Kashmir will not vote to become a state within the 
predominantly Hindu nation of India. It would indeed be ignoble for the 
international community to allow India to continue with this inhumane, 
anti-democratic stranglehold on Kashmir because it fears the outcome of 
a vote for self-determination.
  A studied neglect of the Kashmir question by the world powers is no 
longer possible. The recent outbreak of warfare demonstrates the 
impossibility of the two nations of India and Pakistan ever resolving 
the issue through bilateral negotiations. The Chinese who have borders 
with both countries and a direct involvement in the Kashmir dispute 
will also not be very helpful in resolving the conflict. The problem of 
Kashmir must be immediately placed on the high priority agenda of the 
United Nations Security Council.
  Surely the Kosovo tragedy has shown the citizens of the world who are 
not indifferent to human suffering that the failure to pursue 
aggressive nonviolent actions and intense diplomacy will result in an 
inevitable catastrophe.

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