Orlando, FL August 15, 2019 – Several American Muslim groups in Central Florida organized a demonstration themed Show of Unity past Saturday at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando.
Organizers say the gathering of over 300 demonstrators was to #StandwithKashmir and to raise awareness about how residents of the disputed territory in India are having their human rights trampled on, in violation of adopted United Nations Resolutions.
ICNA Council for Social Justice, a national human rights organization, worked with several Central Florida American Muslim organizations to organize the event. Demonstrators wore red as a show of solidarity with the residents of Kashmir, currently being persecuted. About two thousand people took part in this demonstration.
Kashmir residents and their supporters around the world claim the Indian Government is trying to dilute the demographics of the Muslim majority there and to replace Muslim residents with Hindu settlers. Opponents of this change also claim the Indian Government has put strong restrictions on the use of cell phones, and access to television and the Internet in the Kashmir region.
“When people ignore the repression of human rights in any place, it emboldens dictators and undemocratic governments to repress people everywhere. We will send a message from Orlando around the world that the Indian Government cannot violate the human rights of the citizens of Kashmir,” said Syed Yousuf, a spokesman for ICNA Council for Social Justice. “We encourage people around the world who want to stand up for Democracy everywhere in the world to #StandwithKashmir.”
