Human Rights leaders and activists from various parties of India visiting occupied Kashmir said that the occupied territory is under army rule and the ground realities are different from India's claim of normalcy and peace there.
They maintained the citizens have no freedom; they enjoy that freedom which the Indian army wants them to enjoy. B.K.Balagopal of Human Rights Forum of Andhra Pradesh while addressing a joint news conference here described the presence of troops and the way they force themselves upon people as martial law. Balagopal described recent protests against notorious government gunman Papa Kishtwari as a "heartening development," and said when he visited Pampore in 1997 people didn't dare to utter a word against Kishtwari.
"Now people of Pampore by their uprising have exposed the shameful conduct of Indian Army and police, which were hand in glove with a criminal," Balagopal said. Kishtwari, he said, has been booked under the land grabbing charges. "He has reportedly committed 150 murders, and for 22 murders there is evidence which has been handed over to the puppet regime. So he should be chargesheeted accordingly," Balagopal demanded, adding that since both the Army and the police were party to the crimes committed by Kishtwari, a CBI inquiry should be ordered.
Prof N Babaiah of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee said human rights are violated in entire occupied Kashmir. Prof Babaiah said, that real Kashmir was its people and for them Kashmir has been turned into hell "where we see only Army."
Suresh Kumar of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee said the Army has been given a freehand in occupied Kashmir and civil liberties were being trampled upon. He called for an action against Army personnel and officers involved in human rights abuses. "Investigations into human rights abuses should be conducted by independent agencies," he demanded.
Dr. Bela Bhatia of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies Delhi said wherever she visited during the past 10 days, she saw tragedy after tragedy. "It is Army rule in Kashmir and Army is carrying its tasks without accountability. I don't know how India calls itself democracy," she said.
The rights activists called for end to using civilians as human shield. "If death occurs in the course of using civilians as a shield, that must be treated as a murder committed by the armed forces," they said. The human rights groups will come up with a detailed report about human situation in Jammu and Kashmir in coming days.
Source: KMS
Our button
print version
