Timor Leste Model for Kashmir?
A few weeks back, a thought provoking article was published in Jakarta Post (Indonesia’s largest English daily) in which the author compared East Timor dispute to Kashmir.
Soon after getting its independence from Portuguese in 1975, East Timor was occupied by Indonesian forces. The conflict continued for 24 years leaving hundreds dead. In 1999, a UN sponsored referendum took place where the overwhelming majority voted for Independence from Indonesia.
September 11, 2001 (famously known as nine-eleven) changed the world profoundly – The quantum shift in global priorities forced Pakistan onto a vastly different track especially with regards to its foreign policy. One of the apparent casualties due to this transition has been the dilution of Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir conflict coupled with the steep slip of this priority from the agenda of other global power houses.
It is surprising (if not disappointing) to notice that despite Pakistan’s prominence on the global stage (Thanks to war on terror), world powers are not too keen to discuss, negotiate, initiate or even participate in the resolution of Kashmir conflict – A longstanding dispute between the two rivals which has claimed thousands of lives over a span of 60 years!
The Author in the article has used East Timur (and its transition to Timor Leste) as an example/role model for Pakistan and India towards the resolution of this issue.
As the author mentioned in the article … Is there something that India and Pakistan can really learn from Indonesia? Would this be an acceptable and viable solution? Will there be a solution for Kashmir ever?
source: http://pkpolitics.com/2009/09/22/timor-leste-model-for-kashmir/
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