VBMP presents memo: Mama Qadeer ‘satisfied’ with UN response
Says they have been assured that they will be at peace very soon.
Says they have been assured that they will be at peace very soon.
ISLAMABAD:
After covering thousands of kilometres on foot, the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) long march participants reached the UN country office in Islamabad on Monday morning to present a memorandum.
VBMP leader Mama Qadeer Baloch, who seemed satisfied with the UN’s response, said they now planned to return home after presenting their plea to world’s largest representative body.
Having been welcomed by hundreds of people along the way, just two of the marchers — Mama Qadeer and Farazana Majid Baloch — were allowed to enter the UN office in Islamabad. They had a meeting which lasted for an hour-and-a-half.
After submitting the memo, Qadeer seemed relieved and had a big smile on his face. He sounded relaxed, yet anxious. He felt that submitting the document to the UN was just the first step.
He has now begun counting time till when the “real action” will start to provide answers to their unanswered questions.
“They have said that very soon we will be at peace. But, how soon is that time, we have yet to learn. This is our last resort,” he said.
“Where are these missing people? We fail to believe the government. We have failed to get answers from them. The positive response from the UN today gave us a hope,” said Qadeer.
“They said that they will take care of us, so now we will wait and see,” he added.
Qadeer said that the four page document submitted narrates issues being faced by the people of Balochistan.
The document demanded to investigate issues of missing persons, target killings, enforced disappearances, alleged involvement of agencies in heinous crimes, and a UN fact-finding mission to investigate mass graves and international standard DNA tests to identify bodies.
United Nations Information Centre Director Vittorio Cammartoa, who was also a part of the meeting, told The Express Tribune that UN Resident Coordinator Lola Castro, and ILO Country Representative Francesco d’Ovidio, who is also chair of the Human Rights Task Force, were part of the meeting.
Cammartoa said that the concerns of the marchers were handed over in the form a petition which was addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“The petitioners were assured that their request will be promptly forwarded to Secretary-General’s office in New York and to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva for follow up,” said Cammartoa.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch said that a total of 2,825 were registered missing persons and around 1,500 persons have allegedly been killed.
The marchers started their journey from Quetta in October last year with 22 participants including 12 women and three children.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2014.
After covering thousands of kilometres on foot, the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) long march participants reached the UN country office in Islamabad on Monday morning to present a memorandum.
VBMP leader Mama Qadeer Baloch, who seemed satisfied with the UN’s response, said they now planned to return home after presenting their plea to world’s largest representative body.
Having been welcomed by hundreds of people along the way, just two of the marchers — Mama Qadeer and Farazana Majid Baloch — were allowed to enter the UN office in Islamabad. They had a meeting which lasted for an hour-and-a-half.
After submitting the memo, Qadeer seemed relieved and had a big smile on his face. He sounded relaxed, yet anxious. He felt that submitting the document to the UN was just the first step.
He has now begun counting time till when the “real action” will start to provide answers to their unanswered questions.
“They have said that very soon we will be at peace. But, how soon is that time, we have yet to learn. This is our last resort,” he said.
“Where are these missing people? We fail to believe the government. We have failed to get answers from them. The positive response from the UN today gave us a hope,” said Qadeer.
“They said that they will take care of us, so now we will wait and see,” he added.
Qadeer said that the four page document submitted narrates issues being faced by the people of Balochistan.
The document demanded to investigate issues of missing persons, target killings, enforced disappearances, alleged involvement of agencies in heinous crimes, and a UN fact-finding mission to investigate mass graves and international standard DNA tests to identify bodies.
United Nations Information Centre Director Vittorio Cammartoa, who was also a part of the meeting, told The Express Tribune that UN Resident Coordinator Lola Castro, and ILO Country Representative Francesco d’Ovidio, who is also chair of the Human Rights Task Force, were part of the meeting.
Cammartoa said that the concerns of the marchers were handed over in the form a petition which was addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“The petitioners were assured that their request will be promptly forwarded to Secretary-General’s office in New York and to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva for follow up,” said Cammartoa.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch said that a total of 2,825 were registered missing persons and around 1,500 persons have allegedly been killed.
The marchers started their journey from Quetta in October last year with 22 participants including 12 women and three children.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2014.