{"id":1589,"date":"2013-09-03T10:44:22","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T05:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/?p=1589"},"modified":"2013-09-03T10:45:56","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T05:15:56","slug":"german-ambassdor-dabbles-in-kashmir-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/editors-take\/german-ambassdor-dabbles-in-kashmir-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"German Ambassdor Dabbles in Kashmir Politics?"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/fb:like>
<\/h6>\n

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The event -after all – is in conflict with Kashmir narrative<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Z.G. MUHAMMAD<\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Steiner will be the first German who will make it to the footnotes of contemporary Kashmir history. If it could be for good or bad reasons, judgment may be left to history. During the past sixty-five years, he is the first German Ambassador in South Asia who for his \u201ccontentious\u201d activities in Kashmir- an internationally recognized nuclear flashpoint and \u201coldest dispute\u201d on UNSC agenda, has made it to the headlines in the Srinagar press and caused editorials and number of opinion columns in newspapers.
\nHistorically American, British and Russian ambassadors and diplomats in New Delhi so far enjoyed the privilege of making to the headlines in the Srinagar press and becoming part of the peoples discourse.\u00a0\u00a0 Diplomats of these countries became part of the public debate in Jammu and Kashmir for their\u00a0\u00a0 involving directly and indirectly in the Kashmir dispute by issuing statements, reiterating the stand of their countries on the dispute and holding one to one meetings with the Kashmir leaders.\u00a0 Exchanging notes on possible resolution of the Kashmir problem and on occasion playing mediatory role for one or other party to the dispute. Some meetings not only caused controversies but also changed the course of history and politics of the state.\u00a0 Some diplomats endeared themselves to people for voicing their concerns about human rights violations in the state. Nevertheless, these very envoys became b\u00eate noire for the power centers in New Delhi.
\nInitially, at the time of partition of India, the United States and its people were \u2018profoundly\u2019 ignorant about the dynamics of Kashmir problem.\u00a0 It was averse to the idea of independent Kashmir piloted by Maharaja of Kashmir. It had cautioned its officials not to do anything that would suggest further balkanization of the sub-continent. The United State interest in Kashmir developed only after India took Kashmir to the United Nations. Moreover, from that day British and American diplomats started working in tandem on Kashmir. \u201cWashington, the US mission to the United Nations and the American Embassy in New Delhi and Karachi became deeply involved in Kashmir issue. The point man for America was Warren W. Austin.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, Austin was the man who encouraged Sheikh Abdullah when during his visit to the Security Council as a part of Indian delegation mooted the idea of Independent Kashmir. Abdullah mooted the idea of Independent Kashmir in\u00a0\u00a0 two subsequent meetings with US Ambassador in India Loy Henderson. In fifties Russian diplomats visited Kashmir ostensibly for promoting culture and intentions of such visits became clear only in 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin visited Kashmir and announced\u00a0 that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had already decided their future by joining with India. The conventional welcome accorded to the guests by taking them through the city in a river procession and cultural shows organized\u00a0\u00a0 by schoolchildren and professional artist was presented internationally as support to the Soviet stand of using veto against resolution of Kashmir through democratic referendum. In 1996, when priorities of Washington in the region had changed and tilted towards India, USA Ambassador in India, Frank Wisner by asking Hurriyat Conference to participate in the elections played New Delhi\u2019s card in the state. His move proved counterproductive and resulted people overwhelmingly boycotting these elections.
\nIt may not be possible in this column to recap the role played by American, British, Russian and diplomats of other countries during their visits to Kashmir. And how on many occasions even their innocuous and apolitical moves ran counter to the political urges and aspirations of overwhelming majority of people. The idea behind quoting Loy Henderson\u2019s meeting followed by two luncheon meetings with Sheikh Abdullah that ostensibly had caused his dismissal and arrest or the visit of Russian leaders to Kashmir or Frank Wisner\u2019s role is only to suggest\u00a0 that role of all diplomats irrespective of their positions in respective embassies has\u00a0\u00a0 always been political. Even under the fa\u00e7ade of culture.
\nMichael Steiner has been representing his country Germany in India for\u00a0 past seventeen months. Not much was heard about his diplomatic activities in New Delhi vis-\u00e0-vis Kashmir before he made a history of sorts in diplomatic world by donning himself as a cultural activists and announcing organizing of first ever-international musical concert in Kashmir. The German Ambassador has been working on the idea of organizing the international event, in which Bombay based international music icon Zubin Mehta, \u2018director for life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducting Munich-based Bavarian State Orchestra.
\nPerforming in Kashmir has been an old wish with music maestro as he told in an interview with New Delhi based magazine he will traveling with message of peace to this land:
\n\u2018I have wanted to make music there a long time. Nevertheless, I had to take into consideration the continuing crisis there. It breaks my heart. Recently, when Indian military personnel were killed at the LoC, I was so upset. It was so unnecessary. Sending message of peace is the only thing that we want out of this performance.\u00a0 We want people to understand how sincere we are in transmitting this message.\u2019
\nMusic maestros\u2019 statement is not different from the stated position of government in New Delhi on Kashmir.\u00a0 However, German Ambassador seems highly passionate about the event. During past one year, he visited Srinagar seven times and perhaps many more times to Munich. And looking at the workload involved in organizing such a mega event it seems that he has taken it as full time job. Is it ambassador\u2019s passion for music behind organizing ninety minutes event or he is pursuing some hidden agenda. More than once, he has described the event as purely apolitical and cultural. But, the event in itself is a collage of question marks and contradictions.\u00a0 On the one side, Germany as a\u00a0 founding member of the European Parliament is signatory to many\u00a0 resolutions on human rights situation Kashmir including the one that was passed one on 24 May 2013\u00a0 and on\u00a0 the other side, it is sending a message around the globe by beaming the event fifty countries\u00a0 that everything is hunky-dory in Kashmir. Seen in right perspective the event\u00a0\u00a0 is in conflict with Kashmir narrative<\/p>\n<\/fb:like><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 
\nThe event -after all – is in conflict with Kashmir narrative
\n <\/p>\n

 
\nZ.G. MUHAMMAD
\n\u00a0
\nMichael Steiner will be the first German who will make it to the footnotes of contemporary Kashmir history. If it could be for good or bad reasons, judgment may be left to history. During the past sixty-five years, he is the first German Ambassador in South Asia who for his \u201ccontentious\u201d activities in Kashmir- an internationally recognized nuclear flashpoint and \u201coldest dispute\u201d on UNSC agenda, has made it to the headlines in the Srinagar press and caused editorials and number of opinion columns in newspapers.
\nHistorically American, British and Russian ambassadors and diplomats in New Delhi so far enjoyed the privilege of making to the headlines in the Srinagar press and becoming part of the peoples discourse.\u00a0\u00a0 Diplomats of these countries became part of the public debate in Jammu and Kashmir for their\u00a0\u00a0 involving directly and indirectly in the Kashmir …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editors-take"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1592,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589\/revisions\/1592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}