Drop all charges against Marri and Baluch, Protest at london

Drop all charges against Marri and Baluch
Stop abusing the anti-terror laws
Human rights campaigners are not terrorists
London – 1 December 2008On Monday 1 December, the Baloch ‘terrorism’ trial resumed in London.Friends and supporters of the defendants, Hyrbyair Marri and FaizBaluch, staged a protest outside the court, calling for the trial tobe halted and the charges dropped.
Although the police and court officials were needlessly bullying,forcing the protesters to leave the court grounds, the supporters ofthe defendants made their point and were seen by court staff and byeveryone who came to the court and who passed by it.
The Balochistan human rights campaigners Hyrbyair Marri and FaizBaluch are being prosecuted on terrorism charges, which are widelybelieved to have been concocted by Pakistani intelligence.
Monday’s protest was supported by Baloch and Sindhi rights campaignersfrom Pakistan and by members of CAMPACC, the UK Campaign AgainstCriminalising Communities, which opposes abuses of the anti-terrorlaws.
Mr Marri and Mr Baluch are represented in court by two of the UK’sleading human rights barristers, Henry Blaxland QC and Dame HelenaKennedy QC.
Mr Marri is a former MP and government minister in the regionalassembly of Balochistan – a previously independent state, which wasinvaded and annexed by Pakistan in 1948, and which has ever since beenunder illegal Pakistani military occupation . Mr Baluch is his campaignassistant.
“The Pakistan High Commissioner , speaking on behalf of the newdemocratic government of Pakistan , says his government wantsreconciliation in Baluchistan and opposes the prosecution, effectivelycalling for the charges to be dropped,” says human rights campaignerPeter Tatchell , who helped coordinate Monday’s protest.
“Previously, the acting Interior Minister of Pakistan, Rehman Malik,announced that terror charges against Mr Marri in Pakistan have beencancelled; stating that the case against him had been politicallymotivated by the Musharraf dictatorship. This discredits the wholebasis on which Marri and Baluch have been charged in London.
“The trial is another abuse of the anti-terror laws, wherebylegitimate human rights campaigners end up on trial.
“It appears that the UK government has been blackmailed into arrestingthese men and harassing other Baloch exiles and refugees. It isreported that Pakistan’s military and intelligence services havethreatened to end all cooperation with the UK government in the ” waron terror ” unless critics of its war in Balochistan are silenced andjailed. That is probably why Marri and Baluch are on trial.
“The UK authorities seem to have decided these men are expendable forthe sake of the ‘greater good’ of tackling terrorism by maintainingclose relations with the Pakistani military and intelligence services.
“Marri and Baluch have campaigned for self-determination forBalochistan and helped expose Pakistan’s annexation and oppression ofthe Baloch nation. They are defending their people against militaryoppression and economic exploitation. Pakistani military chiefs wantthem prosecuted because they have been such effective campaigners,exposing to the world Islamabad’s tyranny in Balochistan.
“For nine years, the UK’s Labour government aided and abetted theillegal dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf , selling him militaryequipment that was used to prosecute Pakistan’s illegal war inBalochistan – a war that has involved the perpetration of war crimesand crimes against humanity and which has been strongly condemned byinternational human rights groups,” said Mr Tatchell.