JAMMU: The right to dissent is the essence of a democratic structure and any state that is scuttling this right is merely aping the policies of neo-American imperialism, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Syed chairman Ali Shah Geelani said on Thursday.

In a public address disrupted by Dogra Liberation Front (DLF) activists, Mr. Geelani said: "Within society, there are differences in opinion and political ideology. That doesn't mean that we should not respect the ideas of other people. Any state that oppresses people mentally or physically has no right to be called democratic. Power should make the person humble and compassionate rather than ruthless or dictatorial."

On the recent charge of sedition filed against him by the Jammu and Kashmir police, Mr. Geelani said: "I have not said anything wrong. My consistent argument is that the future of the Jammu and Kashmir State should be decided by its people. By what logic does this statement cause someone harm?"

On Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's recent remark on territorial claims over Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Geelani said, status quo had never been the solution. Any person with the required understanding of the State's history would know that people always rejected the proponents of status quo. "The disputed nature of the State does not change by the change in the statement of one person or party. It is the issue which primarily deals with the future of people of the State on both sides of the Line of Control. Opposing the reorganisation of the State as a solution, Mr. Geelani said: "We won't allow anyone to divide the state of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The State is one geographical entity and will continue to retain its status."

Condemning the 9/11 attack in the United States, Mr. Geelani said: "It was unfortunate that 3,000 people were killed in the attacks. But the way the U.S. reacted was unjust and irrational. In the aftermath of the attacks, the U.S. killed millions of people in Afghanistan and now in Iraq. Of the people killed in Afghanistan 95% were civilians and by saying that the people killed were Taliban, Americans cannot justify the bloodbath. It is our duty to voice our sentiments against the injustice and brutality done by America."

Mr. Geelani criticised the DLF activists' move to disrupt his speech.

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