PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
Press
Statement on PUCL National team’s Visit to Kashmir
Valley
Srinagar/Delhi, 24th October, 2016
An
all India team of the PUCL visited the Kashmir valley after the 100th
day of people’s protests beginning 9th July and the government
clampdown that were taking place there. The team was led by Dr. V Suresh,
General Secretary of the PUCL and included Kavita Srivastava (National
Secretary), Ramdas Rao (National Council Member) and Pragnya Joshi (National
Council Member). PUCL member Prof. Jean Dreze was with the team briefly. Also
accompanying the team were two independent persons: Parul Abrol (independent
writer and journalist) and advocate Mustafa. The team stayed in the valley
between 14th to 22nd October, with maximum members staying
between 17th to 22nd October 2016. The team visited and
met the injured and families of the deceased in Batamaloo and Idgah area of
Srinagar, Batingu and Veesu in Anantnag district, Churhat in Kulgam district,
Khrew in Pulwama, and Shopian town.
The
team members, had lengthy interactions with families of people booked under
Public safety Act, (PSA), families of the deceased who had had lost their lives
in firing or other use of force by the security forces, survivors of violence,
doctors of Shri Motilal Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, some of the injured people,
either admitted in the hospital or outside, Human rights workers of the Jammu
and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) along with independent activists
including RTI activists, academics and student leaders. The FFT also met several
ordinary people including young protestors. The team met the office bearers and
senior lawyers of the thousand member strong J & K Bar, several press and
electronic media persons, young entrepreneurs and big businessmen, retired
bureaucrats and Government personnel, Anganwadi workers and daily wage earners.
The
team also met with a few Kashmiri Pandit families and a prominent leader of
Pandits in the valley. The team members interacted with policemen of the police
station of Pampore and visited the office of the IG Kashmir but could only talk
to him over telephone. The team was not allowed to meet with Syed Ali Shah
Gilani, the Hurriyat leader under house arrest, by the police guarding his house
nor by the Inspector General of Police whose permission was formally sought. The
team could not also get an appointment with the Chief Minister of J &K, Ms.
Mehbooba Mufti, despite attempts to do so.
Some
of the important facts of the last hundred days are as follows:
Following
the alleged extra judicial killing of Burhan Wani on the 8th of July,
protests characterized mostly by stone pelting demonstrations broke out
throughout the valley. The government responded by heavy and forceful military
clampdown which resulted in a continuing spate of killings, injuries and arrests
of people which continues unabated almost every day till the present. In fact,
the PUCL team was devastated by the scale of all round human suffering it
witnessed in Kashmir.
The
team learnt from JKCCS reports, the media, through lawyers and doctors, that
from the 9th of July to the 15th of October, the total
number of civilians killed by the police and the security forces was 101 with
the largest numbers of those killed coming from Anantnag district. It was
reported that 12 people died due to pellets fired by the forces. It was also
learnt that 1 policeman too was killed in mob violence.
Reportedly,
a total of 15,000 persons were injured in this period with 12, 344 being
admitted in various hospitals. About a thousand persons were injured in the eye
due to pellets resulting in 300 cases of blinding, which included a large
proportion of school going children. According to the same list, 4500 persons
suffered injuries in other body parts due to pellets and shelling and 4664 were
injured by bullets. Over 8000 people have been reportedly arrested, including
1000 from Srinagar city itself. More than 2300 FIRs were registered by the
police against the people; in contrast complaints lodged by civilians against
security persons numbered only about 7.
It
was learnt that 382 individual petitioners have challenged their detention under
Public Safety Act, 1978 in the J & K High Court. It is estimated that about
434 people were detained under PSA, including human rights activist Khurram
Pervez and lawyer Zahid Ali. The FFT was informed that 12 J & K government
employees were sacked for allegedly supporting the protests.
Reports
of vandalism and violence during raids by the police, security forces and the
army were reported by many. Beating of residents, firing at transformers and
making them dysfunctional, cutting of water supply as for example in district
Bandipora, setting ablaze fields and burning of a school by the security forces
were also reported by the people.
Raids
were conducted in the offices of newspaper Greater Kashmir which resulted in all
Kashmiri newspapers stopping publication for five days. The Kashmir Reader has
been banned since the 2nd of October. Immediately after the
9th of July, all Pakistani news channels were taken off the air and
initially the Government also blocked 5 Indian news channels for their reportage
on Kashmir, which was later withdrawn. According to complaints by media persons,
curfew passes of journalists were not honored by the forces including the army.
Many journalists complained of beatings. Two journalists were reportedly
targeted with pellets firing guns while doing their professional duty. Senior
photo Journalist Danish Ismail’s house was allegedly damaged. A crackdown was
conducted on voluntary organisations who were organizing relief work in the
premises of SMHS Hospital including providing free medicines, ambulance services
and free food and tea. All email and internet services remained closed for most
time throughout this period from 8th July till 17th
October, 2016.
Some
of the key observations of the PUCL Team are:
·
The
anger against the security forces was simmering since 2008 and 2010, when 67 and
144 killings had happened in a government clampdown. The killing of Burhan Wani,
who was a popular militant leader amongst the youth, acted as a vent and
triggered this phase of protest.
·
Demand
for Azadi, clearly expressing alienation from India with people very vocal about
their lack of faith in the Indian State, was an all pervasive voice across
villages and cities, professionals and the ordinary, young and old and men and
women. This was reiterated by the people the team met in the valley in the light
of the continuing brutalities committed by the Indian Forces against unarmed
civilians, in which even women and children were not spared.
·
The
common people have lost faith in the ordinary democratic modes of redressal as
they believe that they are heavily biased against them. For instance no FIRs are
registered against offences committed by the armed forces or the police, and
even if registered there is never a fair investigation, much less prosecution.
They were of the view the view that in the face of overwhelming failure of all
the democratic institutions in responding to their political grievances and
aspirations, stone throwing has become the only method of expressing their sense
of anger and frustration, especially among the youth.
·
There
was a majority participation in the hartal announced through the
Hurriyat weekly calendar. This hartal is a complete shutdown of all private
establishments including public and private transport from 7am to 5pm every day
but for 24 hours on Fridays with schools, colleges and other academic
institutions completely closed. Courts had partially reopened when we visited.
Hospitals, Anganwadis, Pharmacies, PDS shops, media houses were kept out of the
hartal, with tea and bread shops being partially open. It was also stated by
most that even if the hartal fizzles out in a few days or weeks this time, the
agitation which has started will not end but will continue with bigger and more
violent eruptions in the future.
·
A
difference between the protests and collective action in 2016 and previous
protests was said to be over the overwhelming support of ordinary citizens,
cutting across class, education, professional and urban / rural lines to the
hartal call in 2016 as contrasted to previous protests. Even while the bulk of
ordinary Kashmiris supported the protest action, there however remained a small
section of people who were getting inconvenienced by the continuation of the
hartal.
·
There
was acute anger against the loss of lives of people (particularly children,
youth and women) and injuries caused by pellets, bullets and shells fired by the
security forces, including the Army, Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve
Police Force and the J &K Police. Most of the firing, according to people,
was unprovoked and targeted. The use of pellets as a means to curb protests was
looked upon as an instrument of blinding and maiming the young. It was argued as
to why in situations of equally violent protests in Haryana and Karnataka,
pellets were not used as they were against the Kashmiris. This was cited as an
instance of discrimination against the Kashmiris.
·
For
the first time in Kashmir as many as six women were killed and several injured.
Perhaps for the first time all women public protests (juloos) and the
participation of women in Janazas (funeral processions) in large numbers
was observed. Young women were very vocal and said that too much bloodshed had
happened and that there could be no compromise this time. While older women
could not believe that there could be a Government who could repeatedly kill
masses of its own people. There was the fear of house raids by the forces and
women being violated.
·
It
was shocking to learn that security forces did not spare janazas (funeral
procession) and the casualty wards / sections of the hospital. Videos were
displayed showing shelling on funeral processions. Doctors talked of shelling
inside the casualty area of SMHS hospital, of attacks on ambulances and private
vehicles carrying the injured and causing delays which led to patients
succumbing to death. It was also unbelievable that many security men were
profiling the seriously injured instead of ensuring quick treatment.
·
The
loss of livelihood leading to a situation of hunger amongst the poor was being
handled by Baitul Maal, the local mosque committees which provided
money and food. Some people gathered here for relief did complain of the
distress caused by the long hartal that had jeopardized the poor people’s food
security.
·
There
was a general feeling, with the young being more vociferous, that lodging an FIR
or demanding compensation with respect to the killings or injuries of their
loved ones was of no consequence as there were no cases where the army or police
or CRPF personnel were convicted for their crimes in the past. Some who went to
lodge FIRs were threatened with dire consequences and therefore refrained from
lodging cases. The paramount vocal opinion regarding engaging with the Indian
state apparatus was that we have no trust in them, then why waste time with
them. They also felt that in any case Martyrs were above prosecution. Despite
this, we met some of the families who had lodged FIRs but were not hopeful of a
tangible outcome in view of the SC judgment in the Tengpora
case.
·
For
the first time human rights activists have been targeted and the arrest of
Khurram Pervez of JKCCS shows that they want to silence all dissent and support
that human rights activism provides to the victims of human rights abuse.
·
The
banning of Kashmir Reader shows the undemocratic functioning of the State which
is uncomfortable with free speech, a basic human right and foundation of
democracy. It is difficult to avoid the impression that the Indian State seems
at war with the people of a region it claims as its integral part. Repression by
the armed and other security forces is very visible in the state.
·
The
Team observed that the humanitarian crisis was aggravated because the hospitals
did not get any support from the Government of India by way sending in medical
specialists, especially Opthalmologists, nursing personnel and medicines to the
Valley. The lack of support from the Government was despite the observations
made by the team of AIIMS doctors who visited in July, 2016 who described the
situation as “war like”.
The
PUCL team makes the following interim
recommendations
1.
The
GOI should ensure the release of Human rights defender Khurram Pervez
immediately and withdraw all criminal cases against him.
2.
The
GOI and J & K Government should release all Hurriyat leaders and hold
unconditional talks with them and representatives of the other sections of the
people, including the youth, in order to break this impasse and move towards a
permanent resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
3.
All
political leaders, activists and young protestors detained under the Public
Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) and other criminal charges should be released immediately
and all cases against them should be withdrawn or
revoked.
4.
The
Government and security forces should lift curfew and other restrictions
throughout the Valley and cease all hostilities against the civilian population.
There should be demilitarization of the Valley including withdrawal of security
forces from civilian areas.
5.
PSA,
1978 and AFSPA must be repealed from the statute books.
6.
Facilitate
the filing of cases against members of the security forces who indiscriminately
killed and injured and committed other atrocities on the people.
7.
Set
up a judicial commission headed by a sitting judge of the SC to look into the
alleged extra judicial killing of Burhan Wani and other similar
cases.
8.
The
ban on Kashmir Reader should be immediately withdrawn and the publication be
allowed to function normally. The government must also stop all persecution of
media, including by means of denying giving advertisements by the State and
Central Government as a means of pressurizing the media to toe the government
line.
9.
There
should be no curtailment of the right to freedom and speech expression of the
media and also of civil society organisations and people. All peaceful protests
should be permitted.
10.
The
Government of India and J & K Government should immediately approve all
files related to granting `Sanction to Prosecute’ government, police, security
and army personnel found guilty of having committed offences based on criminal
investigation in cases pending in criminal courts and which have not been
cleared for long periods of time.
11.
The
Government of India should immediately ban the use of pellets guns on protests
and demonstrations.
12.
The
current approach of the State is premised on the fact that they can militarily
subjugate the Kashmiris by causing suffering and crushing them economically and
politically. The ground situation, as observed by the FFT, reveals that far from
silencing the ordinary Kashmiri people, such brutal military methods have only
resulted in alienating the local population by increasing their sense of anger
and injustice on one hand and on the other hand making them, especially the
youth, more resolute and determined to continue the struggle for political
resolution, irrespective of the price they may pay. There is thus an urgent need
for the Government of India to revise this militaristic policy and for Indian
leaders to demonstrate greater statesmanship in dealing with the Kashmir issue
by recognising the political aspirations of the people of Kashmir and charting a
policy which ensures the welfare, well being, rights and dignity of the Kashmiri
people. As a first step, the government should initiate confidence building
measures to build a sense of trust and confidence in ordinary residents of
Kashmir
The
PUCL will continue to dialogue with the people of Kashmir through visits and
other means. It will also raise awareness regarding Kashmir in other parts of
the country. It will also campaign for the release of Pervez Khurram. The full
report will be released in November, 2016.
Sd/-
Dr. V. Suresh, General Secretary, PUCL
Kavita
Srivastava, National Secretary, PUCL
Ramdas
Rao, National Council Member, PUCL
Pragnya
Joshi, National Council Member, PUCL
Jean
Dreze, Member, PUCL
Dr. V.
Suresh,
National General Secretary, PUCL - People's Union for Civil
Liberties,
270-A, Patparganj, Opp. Anandlok Apartments,
Mayur Vihar - I, Delhi 110091, India.
Ph.: +91-11-22750014; (Fax): +91-11-42151459.
Personal: +91-9444231497.
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