(Srinagar, September 12, 2006) - The Indian government’s failure to
end widespread impunity for human rights abuses committed both by its
security forces and militants is fueling the cycle of violence in
Jammu and Kashmir, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 156-page report, "’Everyone Lives in Fear’: Patterns of Impunity
in Jammu and Kashmir *," documents recent abuses by the Indian army
and paramilitaries, as well as by militants, many of whom are backed
by Pakistan. Indian security forces have committed torture,
“disappearances” and arbitrary detentions, and they continue to
execute Kashmiris in faked “encounter killings,” claiming that these
killings take place during armed clashes with militants. Militants
have carried out bombings and grenade attacks against civilians,
targeted killings, torture and attacks upon religious and ethnic
minorities.
These abuses have taken place against the backdrop of almost two
decades of the failure of the political and legal systems in India
and Pakistan to end abuses or punish the perpetrators. Since 1989,
the armed secessionist struggle against Indian rule in Jammu and
Kashmir has claimed more than 50,000 lives. Kashmir remains a
potential flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbors India and
Pakistan.
"Human rights abuses have been a cause as well as a consequence of
the insurgency in Kashmir," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. "Kashmiris continue to live in constant fear because
perpetrators of abuses are not punished. Unless the Indian
authorities address the human rights crisis in Jammu and Kashmir, a
political settlement of the conflict will remain illusory."
The new report, based on research from 2004 to 2006, documented
abuses that have occurred since the election in 2002 of a Jammu and
Kashmir state government with an avowed human rights agenda and the
resumption of peace talks between India and Pakistan that same year
(after the countries nearly went to war in 2002).
Indian security forces claim they are fighting to protect Kashmiris
from militants and Islamic extremists, while militants claim they are
fighting for Kashmiri independence and to defend Muslim Kashmiris
from an abusive Indian army. In reality, both sides have committed
widespread and numerous human rights abuses and violations of
international humanitarian law (or the laws of war).
Extrajudicial executions by Indian security forces are common. Police
and army officials have told Human Rights Watch that security forces
often execute alleged militants instead of bringing them to trial in
the belief that keeping hardcore militants in detention is a security
risk. Most of those summarily executed are falsely reported to have
died during armed clashes between the army and militants in
“encounter killings.”
The Indian government has effectively given its forces free rein,
while Pakistan and armed militant groups have failed to hold
militants accountable for the atrocities they have committed. Through
documentation of the failure to prosecute in recent cases and some
older, key cases, the report shows how impunity has fueled the
insurgency. If the Indian authorities had addressed these abuses
seriously when they took place, public confidence in the authorities
would have increased and future abuses may have been substantially
reduced. Instead, India failed to prosecute or discipline the
perpetrators.
Impunity has been enabled by Indian law. The report documents cases
where Indian security forces have shot civilians under the authority
of laws such as the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act and the
Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act. These laws,
enacted near the beginning of the conflict, allow lethal force to be
used "against any person who is acting in contravention of any law or
order for the time being in force in the disturbed area." Other laws
offer state agents effective immunity from criminal prosecution. For
example, Article 197 of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure only
allows the prosecution of state actors with the permission of the
relevant ministry. This is rarely provided. Prosecutions of security
force personnel, even where the facts are well established, are
therefore rare.
Human Rights Watch also stated that the work of both the National
Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commission in
Jammu and Kashmir is severely hampered by laws that prohibit them
from directly investigating abuses carried out by the army or other
federal forces. Although government officials claim that disciplinary
measures have been taken against some security personnel, it is
unclear this happens, as details are almost never made public.
"It’s absurd that the world’s largest democracy, with a
well-developed legal system and internationally recognized judiciary,
has laws on its books that prevent members of its security forces
from being prosecuted for human rights abuses,“said Adams.”It’s
time for the Indian government to repeal these laws and recommit
itself to justice for victims of all abuses, whoever the perpetrator
may be."
The report also documents serious abuses by militants, many of whom
continue to receive backing from Pakistan. Numerous massacres,
bombings, killings and attacks on schools attributed to the militants
are often intentionally downplayed by supporters of Kashmiri
independence or its accession to Pakistan. Militant groups have
targeted civilians, including women and children, whom they consider
to be “traitors to the cause” or for expressing views contrary to
those of one or another armed group. Alleged militants have murdered
nearly 600 Kashmiri politicians since the conflict began, usually as
retribution for joining in the electoral process. Officials
conducting the polls have been killed or tortured, some with their
noses or ears chopped off.
Militants have also been responsible for bomb attacks that targeted
civilians. They have attacked religious minorities in Kashmir such as
Hindus and Sikhs, as well as ethnic minorities such as the Gujjars,
whom the militants target because they believe them to be government
informers. Although many of the militant groups currently operating
in Jammu and Kashmir have become increasingly unpopular, Kashmiris
are afraid to speak out against them. A conflict over Kashmiri
identity and independence has slowly but visibly mutated into a fight
under the banner of religion, pitting Islam against Hinduism and
drawing religious radicals into its heart.
There is considerable evidence that over many years Pakistan has
provided Kashmiri militants with training, weapons, funding and
sanctuary. Officially, Pakistan denies ever arming and training
militants. Under pressure from the United States after the attacks of
September 11, 2001, Pakistan banned several militant groups in
January 2002, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Toiba.
But these groups have continued to operate after changing their
names. India blames these groups for many armed attacks. Pakistan
appears to be keeping its options open should peace talks collapse by
continuing to support these groups. Pakistan remains accountable for
abuses committed by militants that it has armed and trained.
"The militants and their backers must end the bombings and the
targeting of civilians,“said Adams.”Continued abuses ensure that
the cycle of violence will continue. And these abuses only add to the
suffering of the people in whose name the militants are ostensibly
fighting."
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