SRINAGAR- The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that genuine movements cannot be crushed through military might and meaningless elections, stating that Crimea’s freedom from Ukraine will prove a morale-booster for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a media interview in Srinagar said, “New Delhi must learn a lesson from Crimea and shun its stubborn approach and allow the people of Kashmir to decide their fate. We should be given our birth right to choose our future the way Crimea did,” Mirwaiz said. “The Crimea’s decision would also help the Hurriyet leadership project its cause in a more structured way at the international forums and make the world community understand as to how genuine voices in Kashmir are being muzzled through force by New Delhi,” he added. “We are sure that Kashmir will see the dawn of freedom one day as Crimea has proved that aspirations can’t be crushed through military might. History bears testimony to the fact that wherever there were genuine movements across the globe, they reached logical conclusion. Kosovo and East-Timor are some recent fresh examples,” Mirwaiz said. He said Crimea’s decision should be an eye-opener for New Delhi, which is suppressing the genuine struggle. “Making claims before the international bodies that India is world’s largest democracy is not going to make any impact unless the core issue of Kashmir is resolved.” “Russia had been vetoing Kashmir’s resolution especially right to self determination. We hope to see a change in Russia’s stance vis-à-vis Kashmir from now onwards,” he said. “We reject elections as they are farce and can never be a solution to the Kashmir issue. World community should take note of the fact that there is no truth in selling elections as a referendum. The fact remains that Kashmir is a dispute which needs to be resolved, earlier the best for New Delhi,” Mirwaiz warned. Meanwhile, the forum led by the veteran Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Gilani in a statement said that the Crimea’s independence from Ukraine through a referendum would inspire the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their freedom struggle against India.