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Concerned Citizens on Human Right Violation in J&K

Date-23-7-2010


To
The Prime Minister of India,
Govt. of India, New Delhi

Memorandum

I cannot drink water it is mingled with the blood of young men who have died up
in the mountains.
I cannot look at the sky; it is no longer blue; but painted red.
I cannot listen to the roar of the gushing stream; it reminds me of a wailing
mother next to the bullet-ridden body of her only son.

I cannot listen to the thunder of the clouds it reminds me of a bomb blast.
I feel the green of my garden has faded Perhaps it too mourns.
I feel the sparrow and cuckoo are silent Perhaps they too are sad."

A Kashmiri Poem

Dear Sir ,


We are quoting this stanza of poem because it reflects the general mood of the
people of valley of Kashmir disturbs us and so we would like to share it with
you.


We, the undersigned, concerned citizens of Gujarat submit this memorandum
regarding the prevailing violation of Human Rightsin Jammu and Kashmir and
urge to take immediate steps by Government of India and the state
government of J&K to prevent further loss of life and property and initiate
an impartial investigation into the recent killings in the region.

With the disclosure of the Machil fake encounter in May this year, the
political situation in Jammu and Kashmir has worsened over the last few weeks.
Spontaneous protests erupted in the valley, and the series of stone pelting by
the youth took place resulting one bullet for every stone by the security
forces, at the instance of Home Ministry, reminding the colonial style of crowd
control.


The discontent of the citizen could have been settled by initiating dialogue
and by adopting various confidence building measures by both the Central and
the State Govt but deplorably the military action killed 13 youths ranging from
age of 9 to 25. Now the number reached to 18. Even now also common people are
dying and sustaining injuries. The so called undeclared curfews are further
harassment of the civilians in the valleys by the security forces. Even
journalists with valid curfew passes have also been attacked; even ambulances
have not been spared.

Regrettably, the failure on the part of UPA led Govt. to institutionalize the
assured dialogue process has given scope to the separatist forces. Instead of
giving effect to the Article 370, for years, in Kashmir, the Indian army is
carrying on barbaric acts like rape, indiscriminate killing of common people
including teenagers and youth, cool headed murder staging fake encounters etc.,
and to cover up these news from the outer world, the way they are imposing
sanctions upon the media. The Govt. of India has virtually discarded Article
370. We would like to reiterate that the Article 370 was added to the Indian
Constitution to give due consideration to the aspirations and rights of the
people of Kashmir. The very Kashmiri people who once under the leadership of
the undisputed mass leader Sheikh Abdullah, spontaneously and of their own gave
their consent to join India.

But, the promulgation of special laws in the state of Jammu and Kashmir
provides legal immunity to the armed forces. Extraordinary powers such as the
authority to shoot and kill suspected lawbreakers, and ironically they are not
unaccountable for their brutal action.

.At least 40,000 people have been killed since insurgency began in 1989,
according to conservative official estimates. Unofficial estimates are well
over 80,000-half of them are civilians. Thousands of Indian soldiers have been
killed and it costs billions of dollars to keep the army in Kashmir. There is
one soldier for every 10 Kashmiris in the Valley There are several instances of
enforced disappearance and murder of noted human rights activists in the
valley.

The political uncertainty, shrinking of political spaces, economic
stagnation,rising unemployment is a matter of grave concern in the valley. In
the language of noted journalist- Seema Mustafa- "It is frustration,
unemployment, anger, unhappiness all coming together in young people who have
been born and brought up in conflict. They are fed up. Fed up of the political
parties, fed up of India, fed up of Pakistan, fed up of their meaningless
lives, fed up of the conflict and the violence, fed up with the inability of
all concerned to resolve the issue and bring a semblance of peace into their
lives. So they have picked up stones and moved into the streets, targeting
police and anyone else who confronts them.", It will be wrong to assume that
the this anger will die it's own death after some time. An atmosphere has to
be created such that they can ventilate their views freely. So it is vital to
hear them at all cost.


It is shocking that there is no sincerity from parties involved to resolve the
problem and criminalization of institutions like the army and police. Now, money
is being charged from stone-pelters’ families to get theirs teens released and,
in the process, allow criminalization of youth only with deep sense of
vengeance.
We demand that the heinous path of brutally suppressing the legitimate
resentment of people with military might be stopped immediately and the central
government must take the course of dialogues and discussions with Kashmiri
people on the basis of the correct application of the Article 370 to solve the
problems .More over the guidelines prescribed by the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) on police action (of 12 May 2010) and in the police manual
should be respected and The Supreme Court of India guidelines to check
arbitrary police action and ensure punishment of perpetrators.
First and foremost important is to restore Article 370 of our Constitution and
go back to 1953 position.

· Ensure that the security forces respect the principle of
proportionality while responding to civilian protests.

 

· Initiate an independent and impartial investigation into the killings
of peaceful protestors, several of whom were children in a time bound manner
and make the report public.
· Release all the children arrested in the charge of stone pelting.

· Initiate legal and punitive action against persons who are found
responsible for the killings of civilians

 

· Establish an independent inquiry commission to investigate the
allegations of serious human rights violations, including enforced
disappearances, killings, torture, rape and sexual violence in the region

 

· Initiate a general debate involving members of the Kashmiri civil
society and others on impunity and AFSPA, and possible mechanisms to respond to
the prevailing impunity
· Compensation to the families killed in Security force's firing is
given with out delay.
Thanking You
Your's
PrkashN. Shah
Working President of PUCL , Gujarat,
Convenor, MSD,
Editor, Nireekshak.

Other Signatories

Ms. Ilabehn Pathak, Renowned women Activist
Prof. Dinesh Shukla, Academician
Prof. Rohit Shukla,Academician
Gautam Thaker Secretary, PUCL Gujarat
Dilip Chandulal, Convenor, Lok Andolan Gujarat
Dwarika Nath Rath, Secretary, MSD
Meenakshi Joshi, Women Activist
Jayesh Patel, Youth Activist
Bhavik Raja , Students' Activist
And many others
Copy to –National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for the
Protection of Children, Office of the Chief Justice of India, Ministry of Home
Affairs, Chief Minister of J & K,