Poonch Brigadier ‘attached’ pending probe into civilians deaths, torture videos. New officer takes over
Showing posts with label Fake Encounters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fake Encounters. Show all posts
Monday, December 25, 2023
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Omar Abdullah addresses a public meeting in Jammu
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah addresses a public meeting in Doda
More info : https://www.facebook.com/watch/live?ref=watch_permalink&v=685810009040418
Monday, May 7, 2012
Kashmir Is Killing India’s Military and Democracy
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More details: http://www.bloomberg.com
In July 1995, an Islamic fundamentalist group called Al Faran kidnapped six foreign tourists, including two Americans, in Kashmir. For a few weeks, the world’s attention was fixed on the Himalayan valley as the allegedly Pakistan-backed militants negotiated with Indian security officials and foreign diplomats.
Eventually, one of the Americans escaped. Another hostage, a Norwegian, was beheaded. The other four were never found.
“The Meadow: Kashmir 1995 -- Where the Terror Began,” a staggeringly well-researched new book by two respected journalists, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, concludes that the hostages were killed by local mercenaries funded and controlled by Indian army and intelligence.
The authors argue that the drawn-out negotiation, during which Indian intelligence allegedly knew the hostages’ whereabouts, was a charade, part of India’s larger effort to portray Pakistan as a sponsor of Islamist terror, thereby delegitimizing the Kashmiri struggle for freedom.
Certainly, India today no longer needs to highlight the role of the Pakistani army and intelligence in sponsoring extremist groups. It has also succeeded in shifting international attention away from the appalling facts of its counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir -- tens of thousands killed, and innumerable many tortured, mutilated and orphaned. The tallying in 2009 of 2,700 unmarked graves containing the remains of people (often buried in groups) killed by security forces barely provoked any comment in the international media, let alone expressions of concern by Western leaders.
Killers in Khaki
But India’s diplomatic and public relations success has been achieved at considerable costs: the rise of militaristic nationalism, the assault on civil liberties, and a dangerously enhanced role in politics for men in uniform.
Most of the million-plus men and women in the Indian military still manifest what Shashi Tharoor once described as “increasingly rare” qualities in India: “high standards of performance, honesty, hard work, self-sacrifice, incorruptibility, respect for tradition, discipline, team spirit.” As a child, I had myself wanted, like many Indians of my generation and class, to acquire the virtuous glow of an army officer’s uniform, and even attended a military school.
It was therefore shocking and demoralizing to encounter, during a visit to Kashmir in 2000, accounts of extrajudicial killings and torture and rape by Indian soldiers -- stories that, though commonplace in Kashmir, were largely kept hidden from the Indian public by a patriotic media.
But to those who reported from Kashmir in the past decade and a half -- as opposed to the many more who were content to disseminate briefings from Indian army and intelligence officials -- “The Meadow” presents a disturbingly familiar picture.
I was there when, during Bill Clinton’s visit to South Asia in March 2000, Indian army officers allegedly kidnapped and killed five Kashmiri villagers and presented their mutilated corpses to the international news media as the Pakistani killers of the 35 Sikhs who had been murdered by unidentified gunmen just hours before Clinton’s scheduled arrival in India. It has taken 12 years for India’s legal system even to acknowledge this well-documented atrocity: Last week, the Supreme Court gingerly asked the army how it wishes to prosecute the officers suspected of the coldblooded murder.
Since 2000, the number of armed militants has steadily decreased in Kashmir. But the human rights situation has not improved. Under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in effect in Kashmir and the northeastern states (where the Indian army was first deployed in counter-insurgency), soldiers can kill on the basis of mere suspicion while continuing to enjoy near-total legal immunity.
Regime of ImpunityThe result is a regime of impunity. A coalition of Indian human rights groups in a report to the United Nations this year documented 789 extrajudicial killings in the northeastern state of Manipur alone between 2007 and 2010.
In recent years, the army has also been dragged into Operation Green Hunt, the Indian state’s extraordinarily big, armed offensive against Maoist insurgents in central India. Predictably, the use of scorched-earth tactics once deployed in border areas has undermined the general rule of law in the states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and West Bengal.
The widened powers of the military against the new electronic media’s background chorus of hypernationalism have given army officers a public role they never had. Breaking with old protocols, the previous army chief openly speculated about a “limited” war under a “nuclear overhang” with Pakistan.
It is also not at all clear if there is any proper governmental oversight of the Indian intelligence agencies, which, mimicking the doomed Pakistani quest for “strategic depth,” have been trying out potentially useful proxies in Pakistan’s Balochistan province as well as Afghanistan. These adventurist spies and the perennially belligerent men in uniform now seem to constitute as formidable a lobby against peace between India and Pakistan as the Islamic zealots on the other side of the border.
Backed by Hindu nationalist leaders, they even dare to overrule elected politicians such as Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s chief minister, who has been pleading in vain for a withdrawal of the much-despised special powers act.
Their jingoism, echoed by hawkish think tanks and websites (India’s own military-intellectual complex), goes necessarily together with dubious arms purchases. India is now the world’s biggest arms market; a series of scandals have not stopped spending sprees that, as the recent outbursts of the outgoing army chief reveal, do little to prepare India for any conceivable war.
No Banana Republic
Things are about to get worse. The next Indian army chief comes into office later this month, trailed by allegations of his involvement in an extrajudicial killing in Kashmir. He was also in charge of Indian peacekeeping soldiers accused in 2008 of sexual misconduct in the Congo.
Unlike its Pakistani rival, the Indian army remains firmly under civilian control. A sensationalist recent story in a major Indian newspaper claimed that unauthorized movements of soldiers near New Delhi earlier this year had “spooked” the government. But it is hard to imagine the foolhardy army officers who would attempt a coup in India. Although beset by internal wars and draconian laws and chaotic governance, India is very far from degenerating into, as an exasperated Ratan Tata feared last year, a “banana republic.”
Yet there are plenty of reasons for alarm and dismay over a process that, starting in obscure battles in the northeastern states in the 1960s, was accelerated during the two previous decades in the valley of Kashmir. Levy and Scott-Clark’s book mainly excavates one of the many murky incidents of the 1990s. But its revised draft of history also sheds light on the present -- how a democratic state’s addiction to colonial-style dirty wars has damaged not so much the Kashmiri cause of freedom as India’s frail democracy and one of its last uncompromised institutions.
(Pankaj Mishra, whose new book, “From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia,” will be published in August, is a Bloomberg View columnist, based in London and Mashobra, India. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Today’s highlights: the View editors on bank-capital rules and force-placed insurance; William D. Cohan on e-mails from the fall of Lehman; Albert R. Hunt on congressional elections; Michael Ross on Vladimir Putin’s oil-money machinations.
About Pankaj Mishra
Pankaj Mishra is the author of "Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet and Beyond," "The Romantics: A Novel" and "An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World."
To contact the writer of this article: Pankaj Mishra at pmashobra@gmail.com.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Human rights body demands probe on Kashmir mass graves
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Srinagar: September 16: Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission (JKHRC) today recommended investigation by an independent "representative structured" body empowered to probe all aspects of unmarked graves in the Valley.
"An independent duly representative structured body having due credibility and weight, fully empowered to go in (to) all questions (and) aspects regarding unmarked graves, disappeared persons ... be constituted and put in place in time," a division bench of the JKHRC said.
The bench, comprising Chairperson Justice (retd) Syed Bashiruddin Ahmad and Member Javaid A Kawoos, in its six-point recommendation sought DNA profiling of the bodies in the unmarked graves in a cluster of villages at various places in north Kashmir's Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara districts.
The investigative wing of the JKHRC, on the instructions of the bench, had earlier reported that more than 2,000 unmarked graves existed "beyond doubt" at 38 sites across north Kashmir.
"The bodies in unmarked graves...shall be identified by all available means and techniques like DNA profile, physical description, dental examination, distinctive medical characteristics, finger prints, carbon dating and forensic pathology (as may be applicable), so that even the identity of dead, in these unmarked graves is possible with the claimed disappeared persons," the bench said.
The bench also recommended prosecution of those found involved in the perpetration of "crime" including culpable homicide.
Meanwhile, the JKHRC took cognisance of an application filed by Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), which claimed existence of over 3,844 unmarked graves at 208 sites in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu region
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Human rights group makes startling disclosures on unmarked graves
Rameez Makhdoomi/Ajaz Ahmad War/Sheikh GulzaarSrinagar : In a startling disclosure made by the International Forum for Justice/Human Rights Forum J&K, Mohammad Ahsan Untoo, Chairman, with reference to letter written to JK Human Rights Commission has disclosed with list that the Police Investigation Wing of Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission (JKHRC) has only visited 38 graveyards across north Kashmir and found 2730 graves, out of which 2156 are still unidentified. But the fact of the matter according to this forum is that in Lolab area alone there are more than 38 graveyards which have unmarked graves and mass graves.
Another startling disclosure made by the International Forum for justice/ Human Rights Forum J&K is that the security agencies in the last 22 years have been responsible for killing many civilians in fake encounters. In Devar village of Lolab area, the said human rights forum states that they have documented 37 cases of fake encounter killings, where according to International forum for justice human rights j&k ,33 local civilians were killed in fake encounters and branded as foreign militants. Also 4 local Kashmiri militants from Devar have been killed in fake encounters and branded as foreign militant.
Another ground breaking disclosure made by this human rights group is that amongst the victims of fake encounter killings one of the striking cases is of Kareem War (65) S/O Aziz War R/O Dilbagh, Devar, Lolab, who was killed in a fake encounter by 18 Rashtriya Rifles (8 Sector – Cherkoot) and Special Operations Group of J&K Police and was branded as Afghani militant. Shockingly, three of his sons Baktiyar War (24), Mohammad Shareif War (21), Lateef Ahmed War (27) were also killed by the same agencies. Mohammad Shareif War was branded as Bangladeshi militant, Lateef War was branded as Pakistani militant and Baktiyar War was claimed as unidentified militant. Four members of this family have been killed in fake encounters and branded as nationals of 3 different countries. The father and his three sons who have been killed in the fake encounters, is not the only injustice which has happened to the family, but Kareem War’s other son Sharief ud Din War was disappeared by army in 1998. According to International forum for justice human rights forum J&K,the family members of Kareem War are still awaiting justice, even after truth has been established according to the information gathered by International Forum for justice human rights J&K.
The revelations made by this human rights group certainly are quiet sensational and will demand answers from those who are at helm of affairs.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Kashmir’s ‘missing girls’
SRINAGAR, India’s only Muslim-majority state is seizing ultrasound scanners and enlisting religious leaders in an effort to save unborn baby girls from a shocking rise in female foeticide, reports AFP.
The issue has united politicians, clerics and social activists in Jammu and Kashmir, a state best known for the deep, blood-stained divides caused by a 20-year-old Muslim separatist insurgency against Indian rule.
Provisional 2011 census data released at the end of March painted a bleak picture of India’s gender imbalance, with a national child sex ratio of just 914 females to 1,000 males, the lowest figure since independence in 1947.
By far the most dramatic decline was in Jammu and Kashmir, where the ratio plunged to 859 girls for every 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group, down by 82 points from 10 years ago.
“We never expected such a drop,” admitted Yashpal Sharma, the Kashmir head of the National Rural Health Mission.
The global sex ratio is 984 girls to every 1,000 boys, according to United Nations population data.
But married women in India face huge pressure to produce male children, who are seen as breadwinners while girls are often viewed as a financial burden as they require hefty dowries to be married off.
The sharpest declines in the ratio were in the towns of the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, heartland of the armed insurgency against Indian rule that began in 1989.
“It is a matter of shame that Kashmiri Muslims are aborting their girl children,” said Kashmir’s top cleric, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads an alliance of moderate political separatists.
Stressing that the practice was profoundly “un-Islamic” Farooq said everyone in the valley had to be conscripted in the battle against this “moral corruption.” Yasin Malik, head of the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, was equally forceful in denouncing an “undesirable and unethical trend” which he said was dragging the region back into the Stone Age.
“According to the Koran and traditions of Islam, foeticide is a grave unpardonable sin equivalent to murder. We cannot claim to be Muslims while indulging in this heinous crime,” he said.
The first reaction of the Kashmir authorities to the census figures was a crackdown on the unlicensed use of ultrasound scanners.
Determining the sex of a foetus is illegal in India, but many clinics offer the service for a small fee, fuelling the demand for sex-selective abortions.
Lightweight, portable ultrasound machines mean tests can be carried out even in the most remote villages.
Sharma said close to 100 scanners had been seized in the initial crackdown, but added that long-term solutions were also needed.
“We are roping in religious and community leaders in our campaign. We have already sent 700 letters to various leaders – both Muslims and Hindus,” Sharma said.
Kashmir’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, promised harsher penalties for anyone aiding or abetting female foeticide.
“It is civil society as a whole, and religious, political and social activists in particular, who have to play their part and make the people aware of this crime,” he said.
But Nusrat Nazir, a college lecturer, said efforts to empower women and overcome the social bias towards sons were often undermined by the dowry system, which brought a stark financial factor into the equation.
“These are not issues of governance but ethos, culture and values that our society holds. We have to make efforts to change society, for the better,” Nusrat said. “Dowry is a resident evil.”
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Assassination of Sheikh Osama bin Laden
Whose gain, whose loss?
THE MISSION OSAMA
THE MISSION OSAMA
BUT THE BIGGER QUESTION IS THIS. WAS OSAMA WORTH TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS US SPENT ON TRACKING HIM DOWN AND THOUSANDS OF INNOCENTS KILLED IN THE PROCESS, reports SHOAIB SHAH
Obama announces Osama dead. Congratulations America, Congratulations Obama. You have done it. Good Job. And here does the American and others celebrate the death for most of the people of the world this day marks as an end of the terrorist activities to a very significant level. All accepted, but do we realize what Americans have lost and what exactly they have gained. The US president applauded his team who were involved in the killing of Osama Bin Ladin but here should we not understand that Osama was just an ordinary man, an individual whom the US itself projected as the world’s most wanted and the number one threat to the American race inspite of the fact that no concrete proof was established for his involvement of the September 11 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Opinion Research Business published an update to the survey on 28 January 2008, indicating the death figures in Iraq Conflict crossing 1,033,000 and an estimated cost of three Trillion Dollars. The result of the three Trillion dollar war is just a mere assassination of an individual called Osama. Was Osama’s life worth killing millions of innocents and spending trillions of dollars? Similar persons who are involved in the killing of innocents through fake encounters wander freely here in the Kashmir and they are no other than the top officers of the Indian army and paramilitary persons, whom the government have given medals and mementos for the killings and when the government acquire the proof for their involvement in the innocent killings, the officials are either retired as top brass commanders and majors enjoying a luxurious life in some foreign country or are either dead. No doubt that these officials are not involved in such huge magnitude of slaughter as that of the Sep 11 2001 massacre but Islam says if a person kills even a single innocent; it amounts as to the murder of the entire mankind.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 resulted in 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. To seek revenge, the US adminstration started tracing Osama and ultimately started a massacre by entering into war with Afghanistan and Iraq. Every conscious human might be aware of the fact that when the US entered into the war, the super power had not known its trajectory before they launched the attack. The Iraq War, referred to as the Second Gulf War, a military campaign began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States under the administration of President George W. Bush and the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Tony Blair and till this date there seems to be no end to it. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) got access by Iraq under provisions of the UN resolution but found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that the US had claimed to be in procession of the Iraq. Notwithstanding the verification, ultimately US entered in war with Iraq and killing innocents under the cover of tracing the WMD, which till date the US has failed to locate any. Accusing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, with no evidence of a meaningful connection resulted in the most inhuman act of violence and terrorism, when lacs of innocent, including Saddam Hussain and family got killed ruthlessly. This is how the US refers to their efforts of protecting innocent lives. Finally Obama announced an 18-month withdrawal window for combat forces, but with approximately 50,000 troops remaining in the country on the pretext of advising and training Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence and surveillance after claiming that the security and economic indicators had began to show signs of improvement, again a mere statement that till date has not been achieved. Instead of the stiff opposition to the initiation of the war with Iraq, the US and the NATO country officials ignored the call and start the bloody massacre. Not contended with the bloody massacre the US simultaneously started yet another fresh brutal carnage of the innocents by the infliction of the war in Afghanistan in an effort to dismantle Al-Qaida and the end to the Taliban Regime. The George W. Bush administration dared to state that, as policy, it would not distinguish between terrorist organizations and nations or governments that harbor them, thereby giving his uniformed men open access to start homicide of the innocent poor illiterate public of the Afghanistan. The war inflicted on poor helpless Afghans rendered thousands homeless, in addition to the hundreds and thousands of people being slaughtered at the hands of the force. Not contended, Barack Obama announced in dec 2009 a deployment of an additional 30,000 soldiers over a period of six months apparently, I guess in order to complete the massacre that the former US president had given birth to. He also set a withdrawal date for the year 2014, envisaging that the Afghan race would have been erased out by then thereby safeguarding the people of America. An estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as per the Center for Defense Information is tabled below.
Spending such a huge amount of dollars on arms and armies is purely inherently undesirable and unwarranted. Even if it seems necessary, it constitutes a misappropriation of already scarce resources. America has been diverting social capital from productive to destructive purposes, war and the preparation for war deplete, rather than enhancing its strength. Assertion of military necessity might camouflage the costs entailed, but the US can never negate them altogether. The amount that the US had spend on these wars could have been utilized in a constructive purpose rather than destructing the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. Every artillery or firearm that is made, every warship launched, every missile fired signifies, in the concluding sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed and as such any nation that diverts its treasure into the purchase of weaponry is ultimately spending more than mere money. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the dreams of its children. As a matter of fact, the cost of one modern heavy bomber equals to that of constructing a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. For a single destroyer that the US fires, it spends more money than that could have constructed new homes catering more than 8,000 people. Americans face a sustained period of 10% unemployment nationwide, and still the US administration wasted $100 billion and probably more on an un-winnable war. Can Obama afford to spend on building more prisons and bases, or occupy another country by bombarding Libya or Syria. Rather should it focus on investing in America’s future? Inspite of all these facts, the US admin thinks that getting Osama was its priority and a hurdle in the achievement of a peaceful America.
In addition, there have been other incalculable costs: the death and trauma of U.S. soldiers and Afghan civilians and similar hidden costs. The costs are too high, and the mission had never been clear enough. Senior security personals of America, who have served for their country and spend sufficient time in these countries, believe that they (Al-Qaida) have only a few people in Afghanistan. A recent assessment on veteran suicide rates demonstrated that for the second year in a row, the U.S. military lost more troops to suicide in 2010 than it did to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The services reported 468 suicides by personnel on duty in 2010 which exceeds the total number of personnel lost in combat (462). These statistics do not only draw attention to the alarming inflating rates of suicides in the military, they demonstrate something more and Obama should have the answer for them. He thinks he has given America something to celebrate, but in real sense he has brought a huge loss to his own people.
Author can be reached at : shoaibshah19@gmail.com
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 resulted in 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. To seek revenge, the US adminstration started tracing Osama and ultimately started a massacre by entering into war with Afghanistan and Iraq. Every conscious human might be aware of the fact that when the US entered into the war, the super power had not known its trajectory before they launched the attack. The Iraq War, referred to as the Second Gulf War, a military campaign began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States under the administration of President George W. Bush and the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Tony Blair and till this date there seems to be no end to it. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) got access by Iraq under provisions of the UN resolution but found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that the US had claimed to be in procession of the Iraq. Notwithstanding the verification, ultimately US entered in war with Iraq and killing innocents under the cover of tracing the WMD, which till date the US has failed to locate any. Accusing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, with no evidence of a meaningful connection resulted in the most inhuman act of violence and terrorism, when lacs of innocent, including Saddam Hussain and family got killed ruthlessly. This is how the US refers to their efforts of protecting innocent lives. Finally Obama announced an 18-month withdrawal window for combat forces, but with approximately 50,000 troops remaining in the country on the pretext of advising and training Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence and surveillance after claiming that the security and economic indicators had began to show signs of improvement, again a mere statement that till date has not been achieved. Instead of the stiff opposition to the initiation of the war with Iraq, the US and the NATO country officials ignored the call and start the bloody massacre. Not contended with the bloody massacre the US simultaneously started yet another fresh brutal carnage of the innocents by the infliction of the war in Afghanistan in an effort to dismantle Al-Qaida and the end to the Taliban Regime. The George W. Bush administration dared to state that, as policy, it would not distinguish between terrorist organizations and nations or governments that harbor them, thereby giving his uniformed men open access to start homicide of the innocent poor illiterate public of the Afghanistan. The war inflicted on poor helpless Afghans rendered thousands homeless, in addition to the hundreds and thousands of people being slaughtered at the hands of the force. Not contended, Barack Obama announced in dec 2009 a deployment of an additional 30,000 soldiers over a period of six months apparently, I guess in order to complete the massacre that the former US president had given birth to. He also set a withdrawal date for the year 2014, envisaging that the Afghan race would have been erased out by then thereby safeguarding the people of America. An estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as per the Center for Defense Information is tabled below.
Spending such a huge amount of dollars on arms and armies is purely inherently undesirable and unwarranted. Even if it seems necessary, it constitutes a misappropriation of already scarce resources. America has been diverting social capital from productive to destructive purposes, war and the preparation for war deplete, rather than enhancing its strength. Assertion of military necessity might camouflage the costs entailed, but the US can never negate them altogether. The amount that the US had spend on these wars could have been utilized in a constructive purpose rather than destructing the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. Every artillery or firearm that is made, every warship launched, every missile fired signifies, in the concluding sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed and as such any nation that diverts its treasure into the purchase of weaponry is ultimately spending more than mere money. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the dreams of its children. As a matter of fact, the cost of one modern heavy bomber equals to that of constructing a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. For a single destroyer that the US fires, it spends more money than that could have constructed new homes catering more than 8,000 people. Americans face a sustained period of 10% unemployment nationwide, and still the US administration wasted $100 billion and probably more on an un-winnable war. Can Obama afford to spend on building more prisons and bases, or occupy another country by bombarding Libya or Syria. Rather should it focus on investing in America’s future? Inspite of all these facts, the US admin thinks that getting Osama was its priority and a hurdle in the achievement of a peaceful America.
In addition, there have been other incalculable costs: the death and trauma of U.S. soldiers and Afghan civilians and similar hidden costs. The costs are too high, and the mission had never been clear enough. Senior security personals of America, who have served for their country and spend sufficient time in these countries, believe that they (Al-Qaida) have only a few people in Afghanistan. A recent assessment on veteran suicide rates demonstrated that for the second year in a row, the U.S. military lost more troops to suicide in 2010 than it did to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The services reported 468 suicides by personnel on duty in 2010 which exceeds the total number of personnel lost in combat (462). These statistics do not only draw attention to the alarming inflating rates of suicides in the military, they demonstrate something more and Obama should have the answer for them. He thinks he has given America something to celebrate, but in real sense he has brought a huge loss to his own people.
Author can be reached at : shoaibshah19@gmail.com
Monday, April 11, 2011
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) Kashmir
Srinagar, April 28 : In disputed state of Kashmir, the activists of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) held a monthly sit-in at Municipal Park in Srinagar demanding the whereabouts of their dear ones disappeared in custody.
A spokesman of the APDP talking to media men demanded an international, independent investigation into all fake encounters and human rights violations by Indian troops in the Jammu and Kashmir.
A spokesman of the APDP talking to media men demanded an international, independent investigation into all fake encounters and human rights violations by Indian troops in the Jammu and Kashmir.
He pointed out that history of Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir stood testimony to the fact that it had never cooperated with the police, judiciary or civil administration in investigations of human rights violations perpetrated by the troops.
The APDP was founded in 1994, when large number of parents used to visit the High court to file or to pursue the Habeas Corpus petitions. The relatives used to take the individual efforts in a disorganised manner.
Finally the Patron, a practicing
lawyer and a Human Rights activist with the help of chairperson, herself
the victim of Enforced disappearances put them on collective forum for
collective efforts. The APDP technically is not a human right group but
the association of the sufferers wronged by the functioning of the
state, who are campaigning for knowing the whereabouts of their missing
relatives. Any person victim of the disappearances could be the member
of the association.
The association has no political affiliations or political positions. It is an independent group seeking justice from the state
“In last 20 years army has forced the police to file its version in the FIRs and Macchil fake encounter is one of the recent expose of human rights abuses by the army as well as of how the police are forced to register false FIRs. Despite the media expose army continues to refuse cooperating with the police and civil administration in the investigations,” he deplored.-KMS
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Kashmir: 'It's a very dangerous situation for India'
In an interview with rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa, Schaffer says if Delhi continues to be in denial, and Islamabad is tempted to stoke the fires as it always has, the Kashmir situation could unravel fast.
What is your take on the flare-up in Kashmir? Is it the so-called 'intifada' of two decades ago all over again?
It's a very dangerous situation for India because I believe this is a very genuine expression of thorough dissatisfaction with Kashmir's connection to India, launched by young people who can remember only conflict in their lives -- when you consider that the conflict began just about 20 years ago with the outbreak of the insurgency and the people who are involved in it now cannot remember any kind of stable situation.
And, they are convinced from various points of view -- the economic, political and cultural -- that they have no future as part of India, that their economic futures look very dim. Obviously, they don't trust the Indian authority and they seem to have turned their backs on all of the political leadership, both in the pro-India parties, which are taking part in the political process, and on the Hurriyat group because the Hurriyat people, it seems to me, seem to be sidelined and they are in the situation of leaders who are hastening to catch up with their followers.
I hope that India will follow through with the political efforts that have now been undertaken following the visit of that all-party group to the state a week ago. But what's very important is this -- that the record would indicate that India announces efforts to reform and then these peter out when the situation in the valley calms down. I hope that won't happen now.
Twenty years ago, too, when the insurgency first began, it was an indigenous movement; but then it got contaminated?
Yes, then too, 20 years ago, it started as an indigenous movement. The Indian side admitted that it was an indigenous movement but the Pakistanis moved to take it over. And, their efforts to take it over were quite brutal because people to who they looked for support and whom they supported turned on -- at Pakistani direction -- those who favoured independence and not an amalgamation with Pakistan. Now, so far at least, no evidence, credible to me, has been brought to light that the Pakistanis are involved. But the ISI will be strongly tempted to fish in these troubled waters, just as they did 20 years ago.
What is the distinct difference between then and now? As you said, these are young guys who grew up -- as you say -- knowing nothing but conflict, suppression, repression, etc. But you still find the old guard like Syed Ali Shah Geelani making the tough provocative statements as if he calls the shots and is pulling the strings?
I don't believe so for all his talk, because as I said, I believe the Hurriyat leaders have not been at the centre of things. They've been completely sidelined, (but) they've been trying to get back into controlling position. You hear interviews with these young people and they are seemingly acting on their own. Now Geelani is trying; he declares boycott days, shutdown days, but I think the difference to me is that this seems to be a very spontaneous movement by people without solid political background.
Why is it so dangerous? Couldn't the argument be made that this is a bunch of kids who started pelting stones at the Indian troops who probably overreacted?
It's dangerous for the reason that the Pakistanis will again be tempted to intervene and -- coming at a time when India-Pakistan relations continue to be tense in the wake of the Mumbai attack -- that this could create the possibility of another confrontation.
You indicated that the Indian government seems to have made the right moves, with the all-party delegation giving pretty much an objective report to Delhi and there being some genuine efforts to address some of the grievances?
I believe the Indian response has been useful although it is very belated. After all, the troubles began on June 11 and it wasn't until mid-September that the Indians recognised that the situation was serious enough to lead them to take what was an unprecedented step of sending an all-party group to Kashmir. Obviously, they wanted to diffuse the responsibility and the blame among other political parties in India.
Now, some of the steps that have been taken are good ones, but it is much too early to make a judgement as to how far the Indians will be prepared to go to offer concessions that will be meaningful to the Kashmiris. They have once again talked about economic efforts, but these things have happened repeatedly in the past and the Indians will tell you quite rightly that India has invested a lot of money in Kashmir. But the trouble has always been that the money has gone into the wrong pockets.
As far as political changes go, we have to see what they are going to do about the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. It's good that they are releasing a bunch of youngsters from jail, that they are going to try to be less combative in dealing with these stone-throwing incidents, that people who have not committed serious crimes will be let off.
These are all good things, but again, we've got to see where it all leads to. And, the problem remains that -- and polling confirms this and this is incredible -- after 63 years as part of India, Kashmiris remain alienated and want to be outside of India. They no longer are interested in joining Pakistan. I mean, who would be interested in joining Pakistan?
But it is amazing that so much time has passed and so many Indian efforts have been announced but this sense of alienation continues all the way through society among Muslims in the valley.
What is your take on the flare-up in Kashmir? Is it the so-called 'intifada' of two decades ago all over again?
It's a very dangerous situation for India because I believe this is a very genuine expression of thorough dissatisfaction with Kashmir's connection to India, launched by young people who can remember only conflict in their lives -- when you consider that the conflict began just about 20 years ago with the outbreak of the insurgency and the people who are involved in it now cannot remember any kind of stable situation.
And, they are convinced from various points of view -- the economic, political and cultural -- that they have no future as part of India, that their economic futures look very dim. Obviously, they don't trust the Indian authority and they seem to have turned their backs on all of the political leadership, both in the pro-India parties, which are taking part in the political process, and on the Hurriyat group because the Hurriyat people, it seems to me, seem to be sidelined and they are in the situation of leaders who are hastening to catch up with their followers.
I hope that India will follow through with the political efforts that have now been undertaken following the visit of that all-party group to the state a week ago. But what's very important is this -- that the record would indicate that India announces efforts to reform and then these peter out when the situation in the valley calms down. I hope that won't happen now.
Twenty years ago, too, when the insurgency first began, it was an indigenous movement; but then it got contaminated?
Yes, then too, 20 years ago, it started as an indigenous movement. The Indian side admitted that it was an indigenous movement but the Pakistanis moved to take it over. And, their efforts to take it over were quite brutal because people to who they looked for support and whom they supported turned on -- at Pakistani direction -- those who favoured independence and not an amalgamation with Pakistan. Now, so far at least, no evidence, credible to me, has been brought to light that the Pakistanis are involved. But the ISI will be strongly tempted to fish in these troubled waters, just as they did 20 years ago.
What is the distinct difference between then and now? As you said, these are young guys who grew up -- as you say -- knowing nothing but conflict, suppression, repression, etc. But you still find the old guard like Syed Ali Shah Geelani making the tough provocative statements as if he calls the shots and is pulling the strings?
I don't believe so for all his talk, because as I said, I believe the Hurriyat leaders have not been at the centre of things. They've been completely sidelined, (but) they've been trying to get back into controlling position. You hear interviews with these young people and they are seemingly acting on their own. Now Geelani is trying; he declares boycott days, shutdown days, but I think the difference to me is that this seems to be a very spontaneous movement by people without solid political background.
Why is it so dangerous? Couldn't the argument be made that this is a bunch of kids who started pelting stones at the Indian troops who probably overreacted?
It's dangerous for the reason that the Pakistanis will again be tempted to intervene and -- coming at a time when India-Pakistan relations continue to be tense in the wake of the Mumbai attack -- that this could create the possibility of another confrontation.
You indicated that the Indian government seems to have made the right moves, with the all-party delegation giving pretty much an objective report to Delhi and there being some genuine efforts to address some of the grievances?
I believe the Indian response has been useful although it is very belated. After all, the troubles began on June 11 and it wasn't until mid-September that the Indians recognised that the situation was serious enough to lead them to take what was an unprecedented step of sending an all-party group to Kashmir. Obviously, they wanted to diffuse the responsibility and the blame among other political parties in India.
Now, some of the steps that have been taken are good ones, but it is much too early to make a judgement as to how far the Indians will be prepared to go to offer concessions that will be meaningful to the Kashmiris. They have once again talked about economic efforts, but these things have happened repeatedly in the past and the Indians will tell you quite rightly that India has invested a lot of money in Kashmir. But the trouble has always been that the money has gone into the wrong pockets.
As far as political changes go, we have to see what they are going to do about the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. It's good that they are releasing a bunch of youngsters from jail, that they are going to try to be less combative in dealing with these stone-throwing incidents, that people who have not committed serious crimes will be let off.
These are all good things, but again, we've got to see where it all leads to. And, the problem remains that -- and polling confirms this and this is incredible -- after 63 years as part of India, Kashmiris remain alienated and want to be outside of India. They no longer are interested in joining Pakistan. I mean, who would be interested in joining Pakistan?
But it is amazing that so much time has passed and so many Indian efforts have been announced but this sense of alienation continues all the way through society among Muslims in the valley.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
फर्जी मुठभेड़ नतीजा ? (Fake Encounter in Kashmir)
फर्जी मुठभेड़ नतीजा ?
कप्तान माँ न्याय करना चाहता है
'सेना मेरे बेटे को मार डाला के रूप में वह' सच पता
नई दिल्ली, 29 अगस्त: शनिवार को देर कैप्टन सुमित कोहली की माँ उसे "रक्षा मंत्री ए.के. एंटनी को 'न्याय, एक स्वतंत्र जांच की मांग की सीबीआई ने शायद, उसके बेटे का दावा मृत्यु में, के लिए चार साल की लड़ाई लिया है कि यह एक हत्या की गई द्वारा साथी अधिकारी उपस्थित थे.
वीणा कोहली बाद में पत्रकारों को बताया कि रक्षा मंत्री के परिवार को आश्वासन दिया था, चंडीगढ़ में आधारित है कि युवा अधिकारी की मौत की जांच की और फिर वह उन्हें वापस करने के लिए उस पर जल्द ही मिल जाएगा किया जाएगा.
हालांकि, कर्नल राहुल पांडे, जो तब कैप्टन कोहली इकाई 16 राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स के कमांडिंग अधिकारी था माँ का विवाद का खंडन किया है और बनाए रखा है कि यह आत्महत्या का मामला था. परिवार का आरोप है कि सुमित क्योंकि वह जानता था, जो कश्मीर में एक Lolab में फर्जी मुठभेड़ में चार कुलियों की अप्रैल 2004 में हत्या के पीछे थे हत्या कर दी थी.
वीणा कोहली एंटनी को एक प्रतिनिधित्व प्रस्तुत उसे urging करने के लिए एक जांच, सेना के नियंत्रण से स्वतंत्र है, उसका बेटा, जो एक शौर्य चक्र विजेता रहा था की मौत पर सच्चाई की तह तक पहुंचने के आदेश.
, वीणा संवाददाताओं से "हाँ, मैं एक सीबीआई जांच की तलाश के रूप में मैं विश्वास सेना की जांच में नहीं है अब होगा, क्योंकि वे सच्चाई को छिपाने की कोशिश की है और मेरे बहादुर बेटे की छवि धूमिल बताया कि इस संबंध में प्रश्नों के जवाब दे.
कैप्टन कोहली बंदूक की गोली घावों के साथ मर अप्रैल 2006 में अपने Lolab पर सैन्य आवासीय सुविधा में कमरे में मिला था, जबकि वह 16 राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स में जम्मू और कश्मीर में सेवारत था.
यह सिर्फ दो महीने के बाद से किया गया था वह देश के तीसरे सर्वोच्च शांतिकाल वीरता पदक और उसकी अचानक मौत जीता था और उन्हें अपने परिवार ख़फ़ा, विशेष रूप से, क्योंकि सेना ने दावा किया था कि यह परिवार मुसीबतों की वजह से आत्महत्या कर ली थी हैरान था.
वीणा बेटी नम्रता है, जो उसकी माँ और परिवार के साथ वकील मेजर (सेवानिवृत्त) Guneet चौधरी एंटनी को पूरा करने के एंटनी ने कहा कि वे करने की अपील की थी परिवार को न्याय प्रदान करते हैं.
, नम्रता ने कहा कि हम के बारे में 15-20 मिनट के लिए रक्षा मंत्री से मुलाकात की और मेरे भाई की मृत्यु में एक स्वतंत्र जांच की मांग की और वह हमें एक स्वतंत्र जांच का आश्वासन दिया है ".
मूल उसके बेटे की मौत से संबंधित दस्तावेजों के लिए उपयोग की मांग की, वीणा ने कहा, "यह पता चला जाना चाहिए कि कैसे वह मर गया. मैंने पहले सोचा था कि जो कुछ कह रही थी कि सेना सही था, लेकिन मैं उसकी पोस्टमार्टम रिपोर्ट करना चाहते हैं ताकि मैं पूरी तरह संतुष्ट हो सकते हैं. मेरा मानना है कि वह आत्महत्या नहीं कर सकता था. "
कर्नल पांडे, उसके आरोपों का जवाब, कहा मौत एक आत्मघाती था कि वहाँ सेना प्रक्रिया है जिसके तहत नागरिक डॉक्टरों पोस्टमार्टम आयोजित की और अधिक सेना में अप करने के लिए रिपोर्ट प्रस्तुत कर रहे थे.
"के बाद दस्तावेजों उच्च सेना पदानुक्रम में अप तक पहुँचते हैं, यह इकाई को वापस नहीं करता है. मुझे नहीं पता था कि वह अधिकारी की मौत पर कोई संदेह था. उन्होंने कहा, अगर वह मुझे फोन किया था या मुझे करने के लिए लिखा पहले, मैं उसके लिए दस्तावेज मिल सकता था. "
पूछा क्या उसे संदेह के आधार पर किया गया था, वीणा ने कहा, "वह एक शौर्य चक्र से सम्मानित और एक बहादुर अधिकारी थे. वह यह नहीं कर सकता. "
आरोप लगाया कि कुछ सैन्य कर्मियों उसके बेटे की मौत के पीछे थे, कोहली ने कहा, "मैं इस बात के लिए पूरी सेना को दोष नहीं देंगे, लेकिन वहाँ कुछ लोग हैं जो उसे अपने रास्ते से बाहर हो गई हैं क्योंकि वह अंदर हो रहा है सब कुछ जानता था. इस घटना ने कश्मीर में Lolab घाटी में पोस्टिंग के अंतिम दिन पर हुआ. "
कैप्टन कोहली की मौत की खबर के बाद जल्द ही परिवार पहुँचे, उसके पिता एक स्ट्रोक पीड़ित और उसके बेटे की अंतिम संस्कार के बाद एक दिन मर गया. सुमित कोहली 26 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया.
जाहिरा, कर्नल नीरज सूद, जो 18 राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स के कमांडिंग था, इस बार फिर 23 साल जून को इसी तरह की परिस्थितियों में सीमांत जिला कुपवाड़ा के Lolab घाटी क्षेत्र में मृत्यु हो गई.घटना Machil क्षेत्र में एक फर्जी मुठभेड़ में चार Nadihal युवाओं की 29 मई को हत्या के सरफेसिंग के बाद जगह ले ली.
कप्तान माँ न्याय करना चाहता है
'सेना मेरे बेटे को मार डाला के रूप में वह' सच पता
नई दिल्ली, 29 अगस्त: शनिवार को देर कैप्टन सुमित कोहली की माँ उसे "रक्षा मंत्री ए.के. एंटनी को 'न्याय, एक स्वतंत्र जांच की मांग की सीबीआई ने शायद, उसके बेटे का दावा मृत्यु में, के लिए चार साल की लड़ाई लिया है कि यह एक हत्या की गई द्वारा साथी अधिकारी उपस्थित थे.
वीणा कोहली बाद में पत्रकारों को बताया कि रक्षा मंत्री के परिवार को आश्वासन दिया था, चंडीगढ़ में आधारित है कि युवा अधिकारी की मौत की जांच की और फिर वह उन्हें वापस करने के लिए उस पर जल्द ही मिल जाएगा किया जाएगा.
हालांकि, कर्नल राहुल पांडे, जो तब कैप्टन कोहली इकाई 16 राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स के कमांडिंग अधिकारी था माँ का विवाद का खंडन किया है और बनाए रखा है कि यह आत्महत्या का मामला था. परिवार का आरोप है कि सुमित क्योंकि वह जानता था, जो कश्मीर में एक Lolab में फर्जी मुठभेड़ में चार कुलियों की अप्रैल 2004 में हत्या के पीछे थे हत्या कर दी थी.
वीणा कोहली एंटनी को एक प्रतिनिधित्व प्रस्तुत उसे urging करने के लिए एक जांच, सेना के नियंत्रण से स्वतंत्र है, उसका बेटा, जो एक शौर्य चक्र विजेता रहा था की मौत पर सच्चाई की तह तक पहुंचने के आदेश.
, वीणा संवाददाताओं से "हाँ, मैं एक सीबीआई जांच की तलाश के रूप में मैं विश्वास सेना की जांच में नहीं है अब होगा, क्योंकि वे सच्चाई को छिपाने की कोशिश की है और मेरे बहादुर बेटे की छवि धूमिल बताया कि इस संबंध में प्रश्नों के जवाब दे.
कैप्टन कोहली बंदूक की गोली घावों के साथ मर अप्रैल 2006 में अपने Lolab पर सैन्य आवासीय सुविधा में कमरे में मिला था, जबकि वह 16 राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स में जम्मू और कश्मीर में सेवारत था.
यह सिर्फ दो महीने के बाद से किया गया था वह देश के तीसरे सर्वोच्च शांतिकाल वीरता पदक और उसकी अचानक मौत जीता था और उन्हें अपने परिवार ख़फ़ा, विशेष रूप से, क्योंकि सेना ने दावा किया था कि यह परिवार मुसीबतों की वजह से आत्महत्या कर ली थी हैरान था.
वीणा बेटी नम्रता है, जो उसकी माँ और परिवार के साथ वकील मेजर (सेवानिवृत्त) Guneet चौधरी एंटनी को पूरा करने के एंटनी ने कहा कि वे करने की अपील की थी परिवार को न्याय प्रदान करते हैं.
, नम्रता ने कहा कि हम के बारे में 15-20 मिनट के लिए रक्षा मंत्री से मुलाकात की और मेरे भाई की मृत्यु में एक स्वतंत्र जांच की मांग की और वह हमें एक स्वतंत्र जांच का आश्वासन दिया है ".
मूल उसके बेटे की मौत से संबंधित दस्तावेजों के लिए उपयोग की मांग की, वीणा ने कहा, "यह पता चला जाना चाहिए कि कैसे वह मर गया. मैंने पहले सोचा था कि जो कुछ कह रही थी कि सेना सही था, लेकिन मैं उसकी पोस्टमार्टम रिपोर्ट करना चाहते हैं ताकि मैं पूरी तरह संतुष्ट हो सकते हैं. मेरा मानना है कि वह आत्महत्या नहीं कर सकता था. "
कर्नल पांडे, उसके आरोपों का जवाब, कहा मौत एक आत्मघाती था कि वहाँ सेना प्रक्रिया है जिसके तहत नागरिक डॉक्टरों पोस्टमार्टम आयोजित की और अधिक सेना में अप करने के लिए रिपोर्ट प्रस्तुत कर रहे थे.
"के बाद दस्तावेजों उच्च सेना पदानुक्रम में अप तक पहुँचते हैं, यह इकाई को वापस नहीं करता है. मुझे नहीं पता था कि वह अधिकारी की मौत पर कोई संदेह था. उन्होंने कहा, अगर वह मुझे फोन किया था या मुझे करने के लिए लिखा पहले, मैं उसके लिए दस्तावेज मिल सकता था. "
पूछा क्या उसे संदेह के आधार पर किया गया था, वीणा ने कहा, "वह एक शौर्य चक्र से सम्मानित और एक बहादुर अधिकारी थे. वह यह नहीं कर सकता. "
आरोप लगाया कि कुछ सैन्य कर्मियों उसके बेटे की मौत के पीछे थे, कोहली ने कहा, "मैं इस बात के लिए पूरी सेना को दोष नहीं देंगे, लेकिन वहाँ कुछ लोग हैं जो उसे अपने रास्ते से बाहर हो गई हैं क्योंकि वह अंदर हो रहा है सब कुछ जानता था. इस घटना ने कश्मीर में Lolab घाटी में पोस्टिंग के अंतिम दिन पर हुआ. "
कैप्टन कोहली की मौत की खबर के बाद जल्द ही परिवार पहुँचे, उसके पिता एक स्ट्रोक पीड़ित और उसके बेटे की अंतिम संस्कार के बाद एक दिन मर गया. सुमित कोहली 26 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया.
जाहिरा, कर्नल नीरज सूद, जो 18 राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स के कमांडिंग था, इस बार फिर 23 साल जून को इसी तरह की परिस्थितियों में सीमांत जिला कुपवाड़ा के Lolab घाटी क्षेत्र में मृत्यु हो गई.घटना Machil क्षेत्र में एक फर्जी मुठभेड़ में चार Nadihal युवाओं की 29 मई को हत्या के सरफेसिंग के बाद जगह ले ली.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Amnesty International urges India to avoid use of force on protesters in Kashmir
Srinagar, July 04 (Writer-South Asia): In Kashmir, Indian troops, in their fresh act of operations , martyred four innocent Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today.The troops killed the youth in Nowgam area of the district during violent military operations, which continued till last reports came in.
The London-based world human rights body, the Amnesty International has urged India to avoid the excessive use of brute force on protesters in occupied Kashmir as it had an obligation to protect the right to life of the people, in accordance with international law.
The Amnesty International in a statement issued in London said that in the last month, a total of 11 persons, at least eight of them teenagers, were killed in shootings by the Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force personnel during demonstrations in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns.
The Amnesty demanded probe into all the killings to bring the involved troops to justice.
Welcoming the Amnesty International’s statement, the Chairman of Kashmir Centre Brussels, Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo urged the United Nations and European institutions to act urgently to help stop Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir.
In Srinagar, the APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, addressing a press conference after presiding over a meeting of Hurriyet’s Executive Council, said that Kashmiris’ struggle for right to self-determination was totally indigenous and India would not be able to crush it through use of brute force.
Meanwhile, life in the occupied territory remained at a grinding halt as curfew, restrictions and protest demonstrations in Kashmir valley entered the ninth day, today. Hundreds of people took to the streets in Islamabad town, raising pro-liberation slogans. Indian police fired in the air and lobbed teargas shells to disperse them. Despite restrictions, people held demonstrations in Trehgam area of Kupwara and in many parts of Doda and Kishtwar.
Indian troops, in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred four innocent Kashmiri youth in Nowgam area of Kupwara, during a crackdown operation, today.
In Islamabad, the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider Khan visited the office of APHC-AJK to express solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir. He met with the leaders of APHC and the forum patronized by Syed Ali Gilani. The AJK Prime Minster said, the people of occupied Kashmir are not alone in their struggle of right to self-determination as the leadership and the people of AJK and Pakistan stand firmly at their back. He said that Kashmiris’ struggle was destined to succeed because it was based on the principles of justice and international law.
The London-based world human rights body, the Amnesty International has urged India to avoid the excessive use of brute force on protesters in occupied Kashmir as it had an obligation to protect the right to life of the people, in accordance with international law.
The Amnesty International in a statement issued in London said that in the last month, a total of 11 persons, at least eight of them teenagers, were killed in shootings by the Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force personnel during demonstrations in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns.
The Amnesty demanded probe into all the killings to bring the involved troops to justice.
Welcoming the Amnesty International’s statement, the Chairman of Kashmir Centre Brussels, Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo urged the United Nations and European institutions to act urgently to help stop Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir.
In Srinagar, the APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, addressing a press conference after presiding over a meeting of Hurriyet’s Executive Council, said that Kashmiris’ struggle for right to self-determination was totally indigenous and India would not be able to crush it through use of brute force.
Meanwhile, life in the occupied territory remained at a grinding halt as curfew, restrictions and protest demonstrations in Kashmir valley entered the ninth day, today. Hundreds of people took to the streets in Islamabad town, raising pro-liberation slogans. Indian police fired in the air and lobbed teargas shells to disperse them. Despite restrictions, people held demonstrations in Trehgam area of Kupwara and in many parts of Doda and Kishtwar.
Indian troops, in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred four innocent Kashmiri youth in Nowgam area of Kupwara, during a crackdown operation, today.
In Islamabad, the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider Khan visited the office of APHC-AJK to express solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir. He met with the leaders of APHC and the forum patronized by Syed Ali Gilani. The AJK Prime Minster said, the people of occupied Kashmir are not alone in their struggle of right to self-determination as the leadership and the people of AJK and Pakistan stand firmly at their back. He said that Kashmiris’ struggle was destined to succeed because it was based on the principles of justice and international law.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
2700 unmarked graves discovered in Indian Held Kashmir
Srinagar, 30 June: A human rights group in Kashmir urged authorities to launch a probe into 2,700 unmarked graves believed to be people who died as a result of the region's revolt against Indian rule. Srinagar, India.
In disputed Kashmir, 2,700 unmarked graves containing over 2,943 bodies across 55 villages in three districts, Bandipore, Baramulla and Kupwara have been discovered.
The Srinagar based human rights group, International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice for Kashmir (IPTJ) in its report released today in a press conference claimed that the graves could be of those missing from the custody of Indian troops. Rights groups put their numbers at ten thousand. The report is based on research between November 2006 and November 2009 and has been authored by prominent human rights activists of India and occupied Kashmir, Angana P. Chatterji, Parvez Imroz, Gautam Navlakha, Zahir-Ud-Din, Mihir Desai, and Khurram Parvez.
112-page dossier, titled ‘Buried Evidence’ was released at a press conference in Srinagar today by Angna Chatterjee, the convener of the group. The report documents in considerable detail how the actions of Indian military and paramilitary forces in Kashmir inflict terror on the local population, killed through extra-judicial means.
The detailed press note issued in Srinagar at the press conference is as follows:
BURIED EVIDENCE is authored by Angana P. Chatterji, Parvez Imroz, Gautam Navlakha, Zahir-Ud-Din, Mihir Desai, and Khurram Parvez.
[Dr. Angana P. Chatterji is Convener IPTK and Professor, Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies.
Avocate Parvez Imroz is Convener IPTK and Founder, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society.
Gautam Navlakha is Convener IPTK and Editorial Consultant, Economic and Political Weekly.
Zahir-Ud-Din is Convener IPTK and Vice-President, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society.
Advocate Mihir Desai is Legal Counsel IPTK and Lawyer, Mumbai High Court and Supreme Court of India.
Khurram Parvez is Liaison IPTK and Programme Coordinator, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society.]
Findings
The graveyards investigated by IPTK entomb bodies of those murdered in encounter and fake encounter killings between 1990-2009. These graves include bodies of extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions, as well as massacres committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces.
Of these graves, 2,373 (87.9 percent) were unnamed. Of these graves, 154 contained two bodies each and 23 contained more than two cadavers. Within these 23 graves, the number of bodies ranged from 3 to 17.
A mass grave may be identified as containing more than one, and usually unidentified, human cadaver. Scholars refer to mass graves as resulting from crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide. If the intent of a mass grave is to execute death with impunity, with intent to kill more than one, and to forge an unremitting representation of death, then, to that extent, the graves in Bandipora, Baramulla, and Kupwara are part of a collective burial by India’s military and paramilitary, creating a landscape of “mass burial.”
Post-death, the bodies of the victims were routinely handled by military and paramilitary personnel, including the local police. The bodies were then brought to the “secret graveyards” primarily by personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. The graves were constructed by local gravediggers and caretakers, buried individually when possible, and specifically not en mass, in keeping with Islamic religious sensibilities.
The graves, with few exceptions, hold bodies of men. Violence against civilian men has expanded spaces for enacting violence against women. Women have been forced to disproportionately assume the task of caregiving to disintegrated families and undertake the work of seeking justice following disappearances and deaths. These graveyards have been placed next to fields, schools, and homes, largely on community land, and their affect on the local community is daunting.
The Indian Armed Forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police routinely claim the dead buried in unknown and unmarked graves to be “foreign militants/terrorists.” They claim that the dead were unidentified foreign or Kashmiri militants killed while infiltrating across the border areas into Kashmir or travelling from Kashmir into Pakistan to seek arms training. Official state discourse conflates cross-border militancy with present nonviolent struggles by local Kashmiri groups for political and territorial self-determination, portraying local resistance as “terrorist” activity.
Exhumation and identification have not occurred in sizeable cases. Where they have been undertaken, in various instances, “encounter” killings across Kashmir have, in fact, been authenticated as “fake encounter” killings. In instances where, post-burial, bodies have been identified, two methods have been used prevalently. These are 1. Exhumation; and 2. Identification through the use of photographs.
The report also examines 50 alleged “encounter” killings by Indian security forces in numerous districts in Kashmir. Of these persons, 39 were of Muslim descent; 4 were of Hindu descent; 7 were not determined. Of these cases, 49 were labelled militants/foreign insurgents by security forces and one body that was drowned. Of these, following investigations, 47 were found killed in fake encounters and one was identifiable as a local militant.
IPTK has been able to study only partial areas within 3 of 10 districts in Kashmir, and our findings and very preliminary evidence point to the severity of existing conditions. If independent investigations were to be undertaken in all 10 districts, it is reasonable to assume that the 8,000+ enforced disappearances since 1989 would correlate with the number of bodies in unknown, unmarked, and mass graves.
Allegations
The methodical and planned use of killing and violence in Indian-administered Kashmir constitutes crimes against humanity in the context of an ongoing conflict. The Indian state’s governance of Indian-administered Kashmir requires the use of discipline and death as techniques of social control. Discipline is affected through military presence, surveillance, punishment, and fear. Death is disbursed through “extrajudicial” means and those authorized by law. These techniques of rule are used to kill, and create fear of not just death but of murder.
Mass and intensified extrajudicial killings have been part of a sustained and widespread offensive by the military and paramilitary institutions of the Indian state against civilians of Jammu and Kashmir. IPTK asks that the evidence put forward in this report be examined, verified, and reframed as relevant by credible, independent, and international bodies, and that international institutions ask that the Government of India comply with such investigations.
We note that the international community and institutions have not examined the supposition of crimes against humanity in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. We note that the United Nations and its member states have remained ineffective in containing and halting the adverse consequences of the Indians state’s militarization in Kashmir.
We ask that evidence from unknown, unmarked, and mass graves in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir be used to seek justice, through the sentencing of criminals and other judicial and social processes. As well, the existence of these graves, and how they came to be, may be understood as indicative of the effects and issue of militarization, and the issues pertaining to militarization itself must be addressed seriously and expeditiously.
The violences of militarization in Indian-administered Kashmir, between 1989-2009, have resulted in 70,000+ deaths, including through extrajudicial or “fake encounter” executions, custodial brutality, and other means. In the enduring conflict, 6, 67,000 military and paramilitary personnel continue to act with impunity to regulate movement, law, and order across Kashmir. The Indian state itself, through its legal, political, and military actions, has demonstrated the existence of a state of continuing conflict within Indian-
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