Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) leader Hyrbyair Marri’s recently published Balochistan Liberation Charter is making waves in the media.
Crossing barriers of language, the charter, which calls for Balochistan's immediate independence from Iran and Pakistan, has appeared in both English and regional language dailies across India.
Brighter Kashmir (BK), a popular daily in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), has given prominence to this charter in its Op-Ed page this week, drawing the attention of other media publications both within the UT and beyond.
In its special opinion piece of four columns, BK has highlighted how Hyrbyair Marri’s leadership of the past 32 years continues to inspire Balochis to strive for their right to self-determination.
The article titled, “Liberation Charter: A Road Map for a Democratic Balochistan” has been published in two parts (1 & 2), and brings out quite vividly not only the background and pedigree of Hyrbyair Marri, but also, his driven spirit to deliver to the Baloch people a free and democratically-run Balochistan, free from the political clutches of both Iran and Pakistan.
The BK article further highlights his burning desire to deliver to the men and women of Balochistan all of their just fundamental rights, protections and freedoms in all spheres of society on an equal footing.
In the special op-ed piece, Marri comes across as a champion determined to prevent both Pakistan and Iran from “pursuing a slow-motion genocide against the Baloch people.”
Marri’s specific charge against both Islamabad and Tehran is that both are guilty of fanning feelings of "Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic genocide” not only in Balochistan, but in other parts of the world too.
The BK op-ed piece article charges majority “Persians and Muslim Punjabis of working against the people of occupied Balochistan."
Marri’s two-part charter relates to Balochistan's independence and the restoration of a democratic political system on the principle of “one person one vote” after independence.
It is also emphatic on its commitment to introduce more amendments to facilitate development and ensure the socio-economic prosperity of the Baloch people.
The charter, as published by Brighter Kashmir, and picked up by various media outlets in India and abroad in Europe and the United States for instance, speaks of how the Islamic-dominant regime of Iran can be toppled easily, but only “with the help of ethnic groups” like the Baloch.
It talks about the urgency of ending repression in Balochistan and restoring stability to the region and its people, breaking the “chains of slavery for which the Baloch people have made enormous sacrifices over the decades.”
It talks of how the people of Kurdistan and Ahwaz are facing a similar plight and having a similar desire to end Islamic fundamentalist rule over them.
Brighter Kashmir has been one of the media publications that has given a voice to Balochistan Liberation Movement leadership and its Charter in the Indian subcontinent.