Stand by India in fight on terror: EU MPS
‘If we talk about Article 370, it is India’s internal matter. What concerns us is terrorism which has become a global menace’
The delegation of European Union (EU) parliamentarians visiting Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Wednesday termed Article 370 an internal issue of India and said they stand by the country in its fight against terrorism.
The 23 members of the European parliament, who flew into a restive Kashmir valley for a two-day visit on Tuesday, also condemned the killing of five migrant labourers from West Bengal by terrorists in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
“What concerns us is terrorism, which is a global menace, and we should stand with India in fighting it. There was an unfortunate incident where five innocent labourers were killed by terrorists. We condemn it,” said France’s Henri Malosse.
Malosse, a former president of the European Economic and Social Committee, said the team got a briefing from the army and the police, as well as young activists and exchanged “ideas of peace”.
The two-day trip, to assess the situation in J&K, is significant for more than one reason.
It is the first high-level foreign visit to Kashmir after the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 and bifurcate it into two union territories. On Thursday, the state will be bifurcated into the union territories of J&K, and Ladakh.
An MEP from Poland, Ryszard Czarnecki said the international media coverage on Kashmir seems biased. “Once we go back to our countries, we will inform them of what we saw,” the leader from the Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc party said.
Newton Dunn from the Liberal Democrat party in the UK described the visit as an “eyeopener”.
“We belong to a place which is peaceful after years of fighting. We want to see India become the most peaceful country in the world. For that, we need to stand by India in its fight against global terrorism.
This visit has been an eye-opener and we would definitely advocate what we have seen on ground zero,” he told reporters.
Thierry Mariani, a member of the Rassemblement National party in France, told the media this visit was not to interfere in the internal matter of India but to get a firsthand knowledge of the ground situation in Kashmir.
“Terrorists can destroy a country. I have been to Afghanistan and Syria and I have seen what terrorism has done. We stand with India in its fight against terrorism,” he said.
The visit is also under stringent attack from the opposition and BJP ally Shiv Sena, with several leaders not being allowed to go beyond the Srinagar airport from August 5 onwards. The team originally comprised 27 parliamentarians but four did not travel and reportedly returned to their respective countries, officials said, without divulging any reason.