The white-bearded and red-skinned Marri believes that the present Baloch movement is far more mature than the ones waged in the past. The Baloch have been under suppression of the State for the past sixty years. Every ruler, he said, tried his utmost to muzzle the dissenting Baloch voice. Today, the Baloch have, nonetheless, become cognisant of their future. One can see maturity in Baloch politics, the guerilla warfare tactics and availability of more information.
"Our movement has constantly been making headway. We are unlikely to compromise on any thing less than the freedom of the Baloch nation. We are optimistic to achieve our goals, though gradually," said the veteran nationalist leader.
The hardliner Baloch said none of the present day political parties in Balochistan qualified as a true 'Baloch nationalist party' because they did not have what it took to be 'a true son of the soil.'
In his views, when the Baloch parties begin operating like the Tamil Tigers, Hamas or the Irish Republican Army then they truly qualify as nationalist parties. The only force in Balochistan which today qualifies as a nationalist more than the others is the Balochistan Liberation Army.
"I am pleased with the BLA. It expresses the desire of the oppressed people. They (the BLA) are truer and 'better sons of the soil' than many others because they are sacrificing their lives for the Baloch freedom," he remarked, adding that the Balochistan National Party (BNP) of Sardar Akhtar Mengal was merely a political party but it was not right to bill it as a Baloch 'nationalist' party.
"The BNP only talks of Balochistan, which is today a province of Pakistan, while a nationalist party should speak of Baloch people as a whole. The Baloch live in Iran and Afghanistan as well. How can you ignore them and only talk of the rights of a Baloch land controlled by Pakistan?"
Image: An undated picture of Khair Baksh Marri's son Balaach Marri, identified by Pakistani authorities as the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army in Kholo. Security forces killed Marri, blamed for the insurgency in Balochistan, a spokesman for the group, said November 21, 2007. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
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