Amnesty's Mission Kashmir

Investigate PSA cases, HR violations

SYED ALI SAFVI

SRINAGAR, May 17: To assess the human rights situation first-hand, two-member Amnesty International (AI) team, headed by Ramesh Gopal Krishna, arrived here in late afternoon today on a six-day visit.

It is for the first time in 22 years of conflict that an international human rights agency has been allowed to visit the valley to asses the ground situation, viz human rights. Despite repeated pleas by human rights groups, government of India (GoI) had not allowed any international human rights organisation to visit the strife torn and conflict ridden valley of Kashmir. Although the doors of Kashmir have been thrown open for the Amnesty International- a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all - but it has not been allowed to open its office at New Delhi.

The team intends to investigate the cases of public safety act (PSA) and other draconian laws. The team will also collect gather information about the incidents of human rights violations committed over 22 years of conflict in Kashmir.

After arriving in Srinagar, the AI team, accompanied by convener of International People's Tribunal on Human Rights, Parvez Imroz, drove straight to the house of detained separatist leader and chairman Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Shabir Ahmad Shah.

In its two-hour stay in Shah’s house, the team inquired about the health of Shah from his family members and the party leaders.

Shah’s wife, Dr Bilkees, acting chairman of DFP, Maulana Mohammad Abdullah Tari and the party’s executive members, informed the team about Shah’s detention, his health, and the healthcare facilities provided to him in the jail. Talking to a local news agency, Dr Bilkees said that she had informed the AI team about her hardships which she has to face owing to the continuous detention of her husband. The AI was told that Shah was booked seven times under PSA during last two years. The team collected all the relevant details from the family in this connection.

Amnesty International has, in the past, condemned the use of “India’s brutal oppression” in Kashmir. The group had called upon US president, Barack Hussain Obama, to raise the issue with Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in Washington.

"The Indian side of Kashmir is an area where the security forces commit mass human rights abuses with impunity...facilitated by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and other similar laws," it had written to Obama.

When the issue of unidentified mass graves came to fore, the AI had urged Indian government to launch urgent investigations into the mass graves, “which are thought to contain the remains of victims of human rights abuses in the context of the armed conflict that has raged in the region since 1989”.

The team is slated to meet Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, JKLF chairman, Mohammad Yaseen Malik, and other separatist leaders tomorrow. On Wednesday, May 17, 2010 the team will interact with top government functionaries. The team is also likely to meet chief minister, Omar Abdullah, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, DGP, Kuldeep Khuda.

According to sources, the separatist leaders, during their interaction with the AI team, would apprise it of growing human rights violations, Shopian double murder and rape case, and the killings of three innocent students in Rainawari, Nishat and Lal Chowk this year.

Pertinently, even as mainstream and separatist leaders, including Hurriyat (M) chairman, have welcomed the visit of IA team, Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Geelani has described the visit of AI team as “hoax”, and has advised people not to expect much from the visit.