Rights panel for release of separatists; keen on talks

People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the country’s oldest and the largest human rights organisation, has urged the Centre to release all Hurriyat Conference and other separatist leaders and hold unconditional talks with them and representatives of other sections of the people, including the youth, “in order to break this impasse and move towards a permanent resolution of the Kashmir dispute”.

It also asked the government to ensure immediate and unconditional release of human rights defender Khurram Pervez and withdrawal of all criminal cases against him.

It said in a statement on Monday, “All political leaders, activists and young protesters 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Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) and other criminal charges should be released immediately and all cases against them should be withdrawn or revoked”. The statement added, “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 demilitarisation of the Valley including withdrawal of security forces from civilian areas.”

The statement was issued following the visit of a team of the PUCL of the State. The “fact-finding” team was led by Dr V. Suresh, general secretary of the PUCL, and included other office-bearers Kavita Srivastava, Ramdas Rao and Pragnya Joshi and member Prof. Jean Dreze who was with the team briefly. Also accompanying the team were two independent persons: Parul Abrol (writer and journalist) and advocate Mustafa.

The PUCL has demanded that the PSA and also the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act must be repealed from the statute books and that filing of cases against members of the security forces who indiscriminately killed and injured and committed other atrocities on the people be facilitated.

It also demanding setting up a judicial commission headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to look into the alleged extra judicial killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin commander Burhan Wani and other similar cases. The other demands from the rights group include lifting of the ban on Srinagar daily ‘Kashmir Reader’ and an end to all persecution of media, including by means of denying advertisements by the State and Central government as a means of pressurizing the media to toe the government line. “ 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,” it said. The PUCL further said that the Central and the State governments 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. It said that the government should immediately ban the use of pellets guns on protests and demonstrations. “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 fact-finding team, 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”, it said. The statement added, “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 said that 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,” it said. It added, “The demand for Aazadi, 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”. It further said that 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,” the statement said adding “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”.