Protest demo to express solidarity with quake affectees
- October 14, 2013, 9:48 pm
- National News
- 78 Views
Islamabad, 14th October (Online): Scores of political workers, students and trade unionists held a protest demonstration outside the National Press Club on Monday to express solidarity with the Balochistan earthquake affectees and condemn the state’s inadequate, authoritarian and non-transparent response to the disaster. The demonstration was organized by the Awami Workers Party (AWP).
Speaking on the occasion, AWP Islamabad organizer Nazish Zahoor denounced the federal and provincial governments for their sluggish and indifferent response to the earthquake in which thousands had been left homeless.
He also singled out the military in particular for using the earthquake as an excuse to strengthen its position and conduct operations in the province under the guise of relief efforts.
Nazish Zahoor said that the military’s insistence on banning on humanitarian organizations and media personnel from the affected areas is not only keeping the world from discovering the truth of the state’s historical neglect of the region but also badly hampering relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Aasim Sajjad, (Secretary-General, AWP Punjab), demanded that control of the humanitarian operation should be taken from the military and handed over to civilian institutions that are accountable to the people.
He also said that there was clear duplicity in the state’s attitude inasmuch as religious organizations close to the establishment such as the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation are being allowed to operate freely whereas even international organizations such as Doctors Without Borders are prevented from coming in.
This is also the case with media organizations with only that segment of the press allowed access to the quake-affected zone that is willing to tow the establishment’s line.
Other speakers including Farzana Bari, Shehak Sattar, Ammar Rashid, Amna Mawaz, Alia Amirali said that the widespread destruction caused by the earthquake was a symptom of the longstanding neglect of Balochistan’s infrastructure by the state, despite its sustained exploitation of the province’s resources.
They said that the government’s response to the disaster was also reflective of the apathy and cruelty with which the state had treated the Baloch people for decades. The government and military response to the earthquake can not be seen independently of the politics of the region.
There is clear evidence that the military was increasing its troop deployment in Southern Balochistan under the cover of relief operations. Given the simmering resentments of the people of the affected areas against the military, it is completely non-conducive and counter-productive to let the military handle relief and reconstruction efforts.
