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The News International, Saturday, March 30,
2002
Black laws for Kashmiris
Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema
The writer works for Islamabad Policy Research Institute
Last 13 years have witnessed a rapid rise in human rights
violations in Kashmir. The Indian security forces disregarding
any fear of international criticism continue to practice their
barbaric methods despite the fact that many human rights groups
have consistently took notice of these despicable acts. Mary
Robinson, United Nations high commissioner for human rights,
during her recent visit to Pakistan, described human rights
violations in Indian occupied Kashmir as "serious". The
US State Department in its annual report on human rights for the
year 2001 also expressed somewhat similar views. The report
stressed that the Indian security force continued to commit human
rights abuses in Kashmir including killing of civilians,
excessive use of force, extra-judicial killings, torture and
rape.
Most regional sources indicate that more than 81,000
Kashmiris have already sacrificed their lives in pursuit of
freedom from Indian rule. Over 102,000 houses and shops have been
either burnt or looted. More than 100,000 children have been
orphaned and roughly 8,350 women have so far been molested. It is
indeed difficult to calculate that how many Kashmiris are missing
or hiding but rough estimates put the figure to over 100,000.
These figures by themselves paint a horrible picture in Kashmir.
A simple look at the figures certainly lends ample support to
Mary Robinson's contentions. It is indeed imperative that an
immediate stop is put to such barbaric and blatant violations. It
becomes even more pressing when one realises that the Indians
have intensified their killing spree following the tragic events
of September 11, 2001. Effectively using the cover of
international coalition against terrorism, the Indians are
killing their own people as they claim that the disputed state of
Kashmir is an integral part of India.
The successive Indian governments have not only consistently
avoided to pay any heed to international and even local criticism
but also further facilitated the security forces to perpetuate
their nefarious pursuits. A series of black laws have been passed
to facilitate the task of the security forces. Among the long
list of black laws the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Jammu
and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), Terrorism & Disruptive
Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Jammu & Kashmir
Disturbed Areas Act are the most prominent. The latest addition
to the existing long list is POTO (Prevention of Terrorism
Ordinance).
The Indian parliament in its joint session on March 26 passed the
controversial black law, despite the major protests and vehement
criticism by the opposition parties. The Prevention of Terrorism
Ordinance was originally presented to the Lok Sabha, which
promptly passed it, but India's upper house rejected it with
somewhat similar promptness. Following the defeat of their bill
in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP decided to place it before the joint
session of the Indian parliament. It needs to be stressed here
that a joint session of the Indian parliament is rarely convened.
The ordinance has equipped the security forces with extraordinary
lethal powers. According to ordinance, any act committed with any
lethal weapon can be described as a terrorist act. The offences
mentioned in POTO include even inviting support for a terrorist
organisation, addressing a gathering of sympathisers that are
deemed to be sympathetic to terrorist organisations and
arranging, helping or assisting to arrange a meeting in which
support for any terrorist organisation or its activities is
expressed. The properties of the terrorists, terrorist
organisations and their sympathisers would be seized. The
suspects can be detained for three months without charges being
brought against them and three more months if allowed by a
special judge. A police officer can ask the court to order
samples of handwritings, footprints, blood, saliva, semen and
hair of a suspect. Refusal to give samples would be viewed as an
act against the accused during a trial. Confession made to a
police officer under certain conditions is admissible. A person
suspected of having information but refusing to divulge it can be
imprisoned. Police can link a person to terrorism if he is found
with (even licensed) arms in a notified area.
Undoubtedly, POTO would be extensively used in Kashmir. Already
many important Kashmiri leaders including Mr Yasin Malik have
been arrested under the new ordinance. The Indian security forces
are likely to take maximum advantage of this law. Rapid
intensification of brutal activities is likely to manifest in
some form. Ostensibly, it seems the BJP government is convinced
that by introducing draconian laws like POTO, it would be able to
secure complete control of the situation in Kashmir. What the BJP
seems to be overlooking is the fact that those engaged in freedom
struggle are unlikely to be deterred by any amount of suppressive
tactics or draconian laws.
A long list of illegal arrests and unlawful killings by the
Indian security forces has already been documented by many
concerned agencies. However, no change has been so far registered
in the attitude and policy pursuits of the Indian government.
Many factors account for negligible success in this regard. The
primary factor is the Indian government's obduracy and
unwillingness to undertake corrective measures in accordance with
the advice and appeals of human rights groups. Not only the
government officials have frequently admitted that excesses have
been regularly committed but they seem to enjoy this level of
immunity, which, in turn, enables them to commit reckless and
wild acts. Second, lack of interest on part of great powers has
enabled the Indians to continue with such violations for a very
long time. However, it needs to be stressed that all major human
rights groups have almost regularly condemned India as one of the
most notorious human rights violators in the world. The efforts
and interest of organisations like Amnesty International, Asia
Watch and International Committee for Red Cross have managed to
invoke interest in many western countries. The third factor that
has effectively impeded the desired improvement of the human
rights situation is the perpetual conflict situation in South
Asia. With a well-prepared and carefully planned propaganda,
India has been attributing this macabre policy as a by-product of
South Asian conflictual cobweb. Finally, the lack of sufficient
level of interest by the UN has effectively arrested the quest
for any betterment of the human rights situation in India in
general and in Indian Occupied Kashmir in particular.
A much more active role by the international community is
required to impress upon the central as well as the concerned
state government to set up impartial judicial inquiries for all
cases of human rights violations. If thorough and independent
inquiries are not conducted to the satisfaction of the
international community or demanding agency, then an independent
commission should be established under the auspices of UN
Commission on Human Rights with a specific mandate to probe all
cases of rights violation in the Indian occupied Kashmir. If the
Indian authorities block such a course of action, then the UN
must seriously think about ways and means to influence the Indian
government in order to secure the desired compliance. However
what the International community has to guard against is the
ability of the Indian government to employ mechanism that,
invariably, either delays or blocks the anticipated actions. Over
the years India has demonstrated a tendency to use the
international agency for its own policy pursuits. It employs a
long string of excuses and when the hollowness of one becomes
visible, it immediately comes up with its replacements.
While the Kashmir committee has provided a fact-sheet to the UN
high commissioner for human rights of intensified Indian
brutalities against the innocent Kashmiris, it is somewhat
imperative that a quick action is undertaken to alleviate the
sufferings of the Kashmiris. The inhuman treatment accorded to
the Kashmiris must stop. The sanctity of the internationally
agreed principles that are operationalised by the UN Commission
for Human Rights must not be allowed to erode by the efforts of
one or two irrational members of the world body.