Kashmiris aghast at reinforcement decision

SYED ALI SAFVI

SRINAGAR, Aug 3: A day after chief minister, Omar Abdullah, sought reinforcement from New Delhi to restore order in the grief-stricken valley of Kashmir, mainstream leaders, separatists, human rights activists, and political analysts have castigated and condemned the decision of beleaguered chief minister, asserting that such a move would add more fuel to a raging fire in the valley.

Condemning the decision, chairman Hurriyat Conference (M), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said that the move would prove counterproductive.

“We already have seven lakh troops present in the valley. It seems New Delhi thinks the huge number was insufficient to strangulate the voices of freedom that is why it has decided to deploy more troops in the valley,” he told Kashmir Times. “It (deploying of troops) goes to show that they (troops) are not fighting militancy here, but they are up against pro-freedom elements in the valley.”

Stating that New Delhi speaks through the barrel of gun, Mirwaiz said that since 1947 it has tried its best to strangulate the voices of dissent by using force.

“Genuine moments/aspirations can not be subjugated by force,” he said.

Stating that holding talks with New Delhi at this juncture would be a “futile exercise”, Mirwaiz said talks were not possible until people of Kashmir witness change on ground.

He reiterated the conglomerate’s demand of releasing all political detenues.

“Let New Delhi evacuate bunkers from the Srinagar city, and then start comprehensive dialogue process involving India, Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership,” he said.

The Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman said that on one hand New Delhi wanted to reach out to the people of Kashmir and on the other hand it was sending more troops to the besieged valley.

“People of Kashmir want withdrawal of troops, by it seems New Delhi is hell bent upon militarizing Kashmir more,” he said.

Significantly, New Delhi today decided to deploy about 2000 central paramilitary troops in the valley. According to the reports, 19 companies, comprising of about 2000 troops, of paramilitary forces is expected to arrive here in a day or two. Moreover, as many as 32 companies, which comprises of over 3000 personnel, would be deployed in 10 most sensitive districts of the valley.

Noted political analyst of Kashmir, Prof Noor Ahmad Baba, told KTNS that Kashmir was trapped in a vicious circle.

“Every new killing generates more anger and protests. It is a very difficult situation for the government to handle. Let government of India (GoI), Prime Minister, and the Indian state admit their failure and urgently take political initiatives,” he said.

Baba said that the present situation needed bolder decisions.

“The present unrest was not against any government. It is against the state,” he said. “Omar (Abdullah) has become only a victim of the situation. Yes, he has not been able to contain the unrest, but he is not solely responsible for that.”

Maintaining that ongoing unrest had political dimensions, Baba said, “It all started with Machil fake encounter exposé. His (Omar’s) administration was not able to handle the situation, because he is being constantly advised by the Centre to act tough. May be, he could have handled the situation better independently.”

Noted political activists, Prof Angana Chatterji, who teaches at the San Francisco-based California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), called for “immediate moratorium on killings by Indian forces”.

“We are witnessing India’s militarized rule in action in Kashmir, with unchecked repression on part of the Indian forces with the sanction of New Delhi,” she told Kashmir Times. “We are witnessing sadness and anger of people, especially youth, many of whom have lived their entire lives under military government.”

Angana said that in some selective instances, where civilians have resorted to violence, was in response to the “repeated brutalization of peaceful protestors, and unchecked military repression that endanger civilian lives”.

Another New Delhi-based political observer said that reinforcement was not even a “bandaid approach to a problem that requires emergency surgery”.

“Increasing the presence of security forces on the streets may temporarily scare people into submission and stop them from defying curfew,” she said.

She said the strategy adopted by the government had not only made a bad situation worse, but also lost the opportunity to discuss solutions.

“While last week there may have still been a window of opportunity to discuss compromise solutions and acceptable path to justice, in my view the strategy adopted has closed that window permanently,” she said.

She maintained that any subsequent effort by the government would only be viewed in the context of all public sentiment having once again been suppressed brutally without addressing any of the issues behind the most recent unrest.

“An initial cry for justice has once again become the scream of the oppressed,” she said.

Terming the move of deploying more troops in the valley as “illogical”, a senior mainstream political leader and former minister said that seeking reinforcement was tantamount to rubbing salt on the wounds of millions of Kashmiris.

“On one hand the chief minister admitted that it is a political crisis and needs a political solution, and on the other hand he sought more troops to deal with the situation,” he said.

He said that the ruling coalition had “miserably failed” to contain the unrest.

Human rights activist and coordinator J&K Coalition of Civil Society, Khurram Parvez, said that reinforcement could not help restoring peace in the valley.

“Militarization means more violence and certainly it can not help in brining peace to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. “More militarization indicates the political weakness of the Indian state in J&K. It will further agitate the people, who are even denied the right of mourning.”

Khurram said contrary to its claims, New Delhi was resorting to violence to quell the protests.

“India has been saying to Kashmiris from last two decades that nothing can be achieved through violence, but on ground even today India continues to use only violence to deal with the protestors,” he said.

Kashmir’s most widely read blogger and freelance journalist based in Middle East, Sameer Bhat, also said that reinforcement would not help matters.

“To dismiss all the trouble in Kashmir as the problem of merely six police stations and ask for more forces is never going to help matters,” he told KTNS.

He maintained that had it been really about “six police stations or 200-300 odd ruffians”, the government would never have shielded away from arresting them.

“We flunk to comprehend that what we are faced with is six decades of political aspirations coming to a boil and not a little detail of six odd police stations,” he said.