AFSPA Relaxation Plan seems to be ABORTED as it had been the Focus of Discussion for a while and the People of Entire Himalayas including Kashmir and North East remain DEPRIVED of Human Rights and Civil Liberty just because Kashmir has ceased to be an issue of Internal INSURRECTION or Bialiteral DISPUTE between the South Asian TWINS born in INFINITE Holocaust. It is just LINKED with AMERICA`s War against Terrorism meaning a CRUSADE against ISLAM. Thus, the Super slaves Ruling the US Peripherry remote controlled by Zionist Brahaminical Manusmriti Dynasty as well as HEGEMONY lack the Political WILL to resolve the Stand OFF for so long as the Corporate war against the ABORIGINAL BHARAT continues with Economic Ethnic cleansing and EXCLUSION. These issues are interrelated Global Phenomenon which we detached Indians inflicted by Imperialist Fascist Hindutva Psyche of SENSEX Shining India may not understand at all as we are quite Habitual to live happily in a BURNING Train running Blindly to DISASTER Ultimate!

Government of India as well as so called Mainstream Failed to Address KASHMIR once again as Omar blames separatists; Mirwaiz says violence unjustified!

Fanfare marks Eid, sporadic violence in JK!

Another 26/11 may lead to Indo-Pak war: Report

If a church or Hindu temple okay at ground zero, why not mosque?: Obama,US pastor confirms he will not burn Quran!

9/11 commemoration begins with minute of silence

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - Four Hundred SEVENTY Eighty

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

AFSPA Relaxation Plan seems to be ABORTED as it had been the Focus of Discussion for a while and the People of Entire Himalayas including Kashmir and North East remain DEPRIVED of Human Rights and Civil Liberty just because Kashmir has ceased to be an issue of Internal INSURRECTION or Bialiteral DISPUTE between the South Asian TWINS born in INFINITE Holocaust. It is just LINKED with AMERICA`s War against Terrorism meaning a CRUSADE against ISLAM. Thus, the Super slaves Ruling the US Peripherry remote controlled by Zionist Brahaminical Manusmriti Dynasty as well as HEGEMONY lack the Political WILL to resolve the Stand OFF for so long as the Corporate war against the ABORIGINAL BHARAT continues with Economic Ethnic cleansing and EXCLUSION. These issues are interrelated Global Phenomenon which we detached Indians inflicted by Imperialist Fascist Hindutva Psyche of SENSEX Shining India may not understand at all as we are quite Habitual to live happily in a BURNING Train running Blindly to DISASTER Ultimate!

GODS have got KILLING License INFINITE and so AFPSA and ...
सेक्स, सेनसेक्स और सोनागाछी. Brahminical bid to kill 2 crore Bengali Dalit ... have got KILLING License INFINITE and so AFPSA and Operation GREEN HUNT have to ...
palashscape.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/... - 347k

Mr Home Minister, look what you've done

Shivraj Patil's handling of the Northeast has left many problems unsolved, with little scope for negotiations, reports Nitin A. Gokhale from Guwahati

IN DOLDRUMS: manipur on the boil

Shivraj Patil's two forays in the Northeast after becoming the home minister have been disastrous, to say the least. He has betrayed a lack of understanding and sympathy for the myriad problems that the region faces and has, in fact, further complicated the issue. There are at least 40 armed groups operating across the Northeast; some of them are willing to negotiate with the government. But Patil's home ministry refuses to initiate any steps in this regard. Take the Manipur agitation. The state erupted following the killing of Thangjam Manorama Devi, 32, on July 11. Thereafter for a month, Manipur was on the boil.

So what did Patil do? He sent his clueless deputy Sriprakash Jaiswal to Imphal. Jaiswal, without any background or knowledge of the situation made absurd statements, further alienating the people. Patil himself chose to visit the state on September 6 — a full 50 days after the Manorama incident. His logic: "There is a legitimately elected government in the state which is trying to do its duty. Now even without incidents, even without firing, even without us (Centre), the situation is coming back to normalcy. When Gujarat was happening the Union government had not intervened. Did they? So you don't expect the Union government to interfere in the Manipur matter when nothing of the kind that happened in Gujarat was happening there," Patil said.

But during his day-long visit to Imphal, Patil who should have spent maximum time with representatives of Apunba Lup, the apex body of 32 agitating groups, gave them a little over 15 minutes, which surely was not enough to negotiate a settlement. He spent over 30 minutes with three former chief ministers, Rishang Keishing, W. Nipamacha Singh and Radhabinode Koijam. He spent more than 40 minutes with Lt Gen Daljeet Singh, GOC, 3 Corps of the Army, Lt Gen Bhopinder Singh, director-general of Assam Rifles and other senior officials of the armed forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations.

But when it came to meeting the delegation of those spearheading the agitation demanding withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (afpsa) since the brutal killing of Manorama, Patil had barely 15 minutes to spare. "For over a month, we were told by the state government that the Centre alone could take a final decision on our sole demand of withdrawing the afpsa, but Home Minister Patil clearly tried to pass the responsibility to the state government. This is not only ridiculous but also reflects how serious Delhi is on issues pertaining to the Northeast," Apunba Lup spokesman

L. Umakanta said the morning after meeting Patil. "We had a one-line demand: Withdraw the afpsa, but the home minister refused to listen to us," Umakanta said as he and six others stormed out of the meeting. It finally took all the persuasive powers of Governor SS Sidhu and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to calm the situation, that too nearly two months later.

Patil's second visit to the region was on October 3 when he had rushed to Assam and Nagaland in the wake of serial bomb blasts in the states. When Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was himself blaming militant groups like ulfa and ndfb, whose leaders are based in Bangladesh and are working in tandem with the Pakistani isi, Patil, more bureaucratic than the babus themselves, would only say: "We are monitoring the situation and it is too early to come to any conclusion." The home minister continued to say the same thing even a fortnight later, when Tehelka interviewed him in Delhi!

November 27, 2004

Violence erupts as thousands march in Srinagar

Sat, Sep 11 05:49 PM

Enlarge Photo A protester holds a flag on Kashmir's clock tower as people shout anti-India slogans during...
Tens of thousands of Muslims marched through Srinagar on Saturday, setting fire to government and police buildings in the latest of what are the biggest protests in two years against Indian rule.
Police fired tear gas and live ammunition into the air to disperse crowds in Srinagar, the heart of a 20-year insurgency against New Delhi's rule of a region crucial to peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.
Three-month-long protests have killed 70 people so far, mostly stone-throwing protesters amid a series of civilian deaths blamed on the heavy-handedness of security forces. The protests have shown no sign of abating despite calls for calm by New Delhi and separatist leaders.
After special Eid prayers to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month, tens of thousands people poured into the streets from mosques in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, waving green Islamic flags and chanting "There is no God but Allah" and "Go India, go back."
The main demonstration was led by the region's senior separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
"Mirwaiz Umar Farooq incited the situation by leading a procession to Lal Chowk from Eid Gah taking the advantage of the Eid congregation and thus vitiated the Eid celebration in Srinagar," a police statement said.
Hundreds of trucks and buses brought people, many of them sitting on roofs and hanging out of windows, for Eid prayers which later turned into an independence rally.
The violence comes as New Delhi is trying to respond to demonstrations reminiscent of the late 1980s when protests against India's rule sparked an armed separatist conflict that has so far officially killed more than 47,000 people.
Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, earlier this week said "efforts were on to break the ice" but on Saturday said the separatists had betrayed his trust in them.
The scenic region, claimed by nuclear-armed rivals Indian and Pakistan, has been hit by strikes and curfews for three months. Protesters have defied curfews to attack police with stones and set security camps and police stations on fire.
"The law of jungle was prevailing in Kashmir and the troops were randomly killing Kashmiri youth to frighten people to submission," Farooq said. "But our struggle will continue."
A radicalised young generation, which has grown up in 20 years of violence and strife, is driving the violent protests, and analysts say mass protests rather than militant attacks to promote the cause of independence may prove a huge political challenge for the Indian government.
(Editing by Matthias Williams, editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Jinnah's 62nd death anniversary observed in Pakistan

Islamabad, Sep 11 (IANS) Pakistan Saturday observed the 62nd death anniversary of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the country's first governor-general.

President Asif Ali Zardari, in a message to the nation, said the best way to pay homage to the 'Quaid-e-Azam' was to strive for achieving the objectives for which Pakistan was created.

Pakistan needs to adhere to the principles of democracy, constitutionalism, egalitarianism and social justice for all as propounded by the Quaid throughout his life.

'The best way to pay homage to the Quaid is to reiterate our adherence to these principles,' Zardari was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

'For ensuring democracy, we must defeat the militants who are seeking to impose their own political agenda on the people through guns and bullets.'

He also paid homage to the innumerable people who rendered huge sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan.

Zardari said the immediate need of the hour was to rehabilitate the millions of people affected by the devastating floods in the country.

President Barack Obama Friday again backed controversial plans to build an Islamic centre near the site of 9/11 attacks in New York reminding critics that the US was at war against terrorism not Islam.

'All men and women are created equal, they have certain inalienable rights, and one of those is to practice their religion freely,' he said at a White House press conference.

'You can build a church on a site, you can build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, you should be able to build a mosque.'

Obama's comments came amidst a controversy about a Florida pastor's plans to burn the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks unless the proposed Islamic centre was moved away from ground zero in exchange for the burning being called off.

Obama said he recognised the sensitivity in the area because of the 9/11 attacks and acknowledges that family members are continuing to experience pain and anguish over their losses.

However, he urged people to remember who their real enemies are. 'We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam,' Obama said.

'If we're going to deal with the problems ... (of) reducing the terrorist threat, we need all the allies we can get.'

Obama pressed that in fact, the anti-Islam sentiment and a war between the West and Islam is exactly what terrorist organizations are hoping for.

'Al Qaeda, that's what they've been banking on,' Obama said. 'The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peace-loving - are interested in the same things that you and I are interested in.'

Obama stressed it is important that Americans do not believe the entire religion of Islam is offensive.

"One of the more predictable foreign policy challenges of the next years is a 'Mumbai II': a large-scale attack on a major Indian city by a Pakistani militant group that kills hundreds," said the 42-page report from the Bipartisan Policy Centre's National Security Preparedness Group, a Washington based research group.

Authored by Peter Bergen and Bruce Hoffman, the report "Assessing the Terrorist Threat" appreciated the considerable restraint shown by India in its reaction to the provocation of the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

"Another such attack, however, would likely produce considerable political pressure on the Indian government to 'do something'. That something would likely involve incursions over the border to eliminate the training camps of Pakistani militant groups with histories of attacking India," the report said. "That could lead in turn to a full-blown war for the fourth time since 1947 between India and Pakistan," it said.

"Such a war involves the possibility of a nuclear exchange and the certainty that Pakistan would move substantial resources to its eastern border and away from fighting the Taliban on its western border, so relieving pressure on all the militant groups based there, including al-Qaeda," said the report.

Over a three-day period in late November 2008, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) carried out multiple attacks in Mumbai targeting five-star hotels housing Westerners, as well as a Jewish-American community centre, it noted. Additional incidents involved the Pakistan-born US citizen David Coleman Headley, who had changed his name from Daood Sayed Gilani. Headley's reconnaissance efforts on behalf of LeT were pivotal to the attacks in Mumbai, the report said.

"Last year he also planned an operation to kill those responsible for the 2005 publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which many Muslims had deemed to be offensive," the report said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today accused the Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq of betraying the trust reposed when his close aide asked for permission for march to Lal Chowk and said violent incidents would result in setback for any political initiative in the state. "Today''s protests were uncalled for as people wanted to celebrate Eid after a month long fasting.

But violence like today''s will result in set back for any initiative that the Government can think for breaking the impasse," he said reacting to protests in the state capital in which two government buildings were set on fire. Accusing the Mirwaiz and JKLF Chief Yaseen Malik of failing in their duty to maintain peace, Omar said "It was the Mirwaiz''s office which approached a senior official in my government and requested for permission to have a march to Lal Chowk.

"They were repeatedly asked that the mob will go out of control but the repeated insistence from the separatist camp for allowing them a political space for peaceful march made me overrule suggestions of my police officials. However, whatever has happened later from Lal chowk can be termed as betrayal of trust," he said.

While the Chief Minister refrained from naming the close aide of the Mirwaiz, but sources said the offer was made by the Hurriyat Chairman through Shahid-ul-Islam, a former chief of terrorist group Hizbullah. The Chief Minister said the onus for maintaining peace was totally on the two separatists leaders who have been "accusing my government for not providing them space for a peaceful protest.

" Asked whether such incidents would cast a shadow on the talks about partial removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), he said "while we want the changes to take place but such incidents would definitely have a bearing on any moves to restore peace." The Mirwaiz aide reasoned out that the march was a political necessity for them as the space for separatists in the Valley was shrinking fast, the sources said.

However, as the mob in Lal Chowk started turning hostile, the Mirwaiz and his aides quickly disappeared from the scene. The Chief Minister was at present in Delhi where he would be holding consultations with the Central leaders ahead of a crucial Cabinet Committee on Security on Monday.

Reacting to the Chief Minister, the Mirwaiz said it was people''s anger that was playing out on the street though he would not justify the violence.

Marking a joyful end to the holy month of Ramzan, faithful today thronged mosques to offer prayers as Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with traditional fanfare and bonhomie across the country, but sporadic violence marred the festivities in restive Jammu and Kashmir. Forgetting all rancour and old rivalries, Muslims hugged each other wishing ''Eid Mubarak'' and exchanged gifts to mark the solemn occasion, considered to be the most important festival in the Islamic calendar.

With police and para-military forces keeping a hawk-eye vigil, the celebrations passed off peacefully in most parts of the country save Jammu and Kashmir where rampaging mobs set afire public property. Security forces opened fire in the air to restore calm as a police post near Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar was torched and demonstrations, spurred by separatists, marred the Eid festivities.

In Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, Muslims wore black badges to protest what they said "atrocities" committed by police during imposition of curfew early this month. Elsewhere in the country, tens of thousands of Muslims, dressed in their festive best, congregated at mosques, idgahs and open spaces to offer prayers and offered alms to the poor.

Young and old alike embraced each other and also wished their Hindu brethren as a festive spirit enveloped most parts of the country. Muslim clerics, scholars and community leaders delivered sermons asking the faithful to re-dedicate themselves to the tenents of Islam and foster social and communal harmony.

In the national capital, Muslims converged at Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri mosques in the walled city to offer special prayers on the occason which maked the culmination of 30-day of dawn--to-sunset fasting. They also exchanged gifts and enjoyed special dishes, particularly ''sewayian'' made of vermicelli, and different varieties of biryani.

On the occasion, Indian and Pakistani troops offered sweets to each other at Chakan-da-Bagh crossing point along Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu And Kashmir Awami National Conference Demands Repeal Of Afpsa

16 February 2010

DNA

Srinagar: In the wake of the killing of a teenager allegedly by a BSF constable, Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference today asked prime minister Manmohan Singh to ensure zero tolerance for violation of human rights by security forces and set up fast track courts for speedy justice. The JKANC also demanded the repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA), which confers some special powers to the security forces, from Jammu and Kashmir. Terming Kashmir 'a place of living dead', JKANC president Khalida Shah alleged that the state as well as the Centre were not trying hard to deliver justice to the people of the state. 'No one is trying hard to get us justice and whatever is happening is due to the notorious AFSPA. Just in a matter of a month, nine innocent people have been killed in the valley itself,' she alleged while talking to reporters here. Shah also asked the prime minister to put his policy of zero tolerance in use and bring the violators of human rights and civil liberties of the people of Kashmir, against whom cases are registered since 1989. Expressing disapproval over the CBI report on the Shopian case which ruled out rape and murder of two women, she said, 'there is no doubt that it was a murder... in this case we do not trust the CBI report.' 'Army as a matter of fact is for the protection of people but in our state, it performs an exactly opposite role,' Shah, the president of JKANC which was founded by her husband and late chief minister JM Shah, alleged.

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AFPSA is 'necessary' to fight militancy: Pallam Raju

TNN, Jul 1, 2009, 02.27am IST

NEW DELHI: Even as the option of `phased withdrawal' of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from violence-free districts of Jammu and Kashmir is under consideration, the government says the legislation is a `necessary tool' to fight militancy.

"To deal with the situation effectively, the AFSPA is a necessary tool that we have to give them (armed forces),'' said minister of state for defence M M Pallam Raju on Tuesday.

Asked if the government was considering repealing the AFSPA after several requests from J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and other state leaders, Raju said it would have to be a well-considered and responsible decision since the security forces had "fought hard'' to contain militancy in the strife-torn state.

On whether there was any move to reduce the number of troops in J&K, the minister said, "Depending on the situation, once we feel that things are returning to normal, there is lesser infiltration and we are confident about the situation, then only will we dilute the forces.''

As reported by TOI earlier, the home ministry is holding consultations with the Army and paramilitary forces at different levels to assess the ground situation in J&K.

If the security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations feel violence has declined in certain areas, the government could go in for a phased withdrawal from four districts -- Srinagar, Budgam, Jammu and Kathua -- in the first phase.

Incidentally, a proposal for AFSPA's phased withdrawal from districts which have registered minimal or no violence was submitted to home minister P Chidambaram during his recent visit to J&K by the state government.

Read more: AFPSA is 'necessary' to fight militancy: Pallam Raju - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/AFPSA-is-necessary-to-fight-militancy-Pallam-Raju-/articleshow/4721397.cms#ixzz0zF67kNGH

Unholy intent

Your holy act gives you license to kill

VIEWPOINT DR TASLEEM AHMAD WAR

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I write this article partly in response to the column of Ajaz-ul-Haque "Thou Shall Kill" (Write Hand) the essence of which if I understand it well, is that there is a contradiction between what the Holy books teach us and the unholy statement of B S Jaswal that "AFPSA is a Holy act" for the men in uniform in Kashmir region. I understand the concern and intent of Ajaz Sahib that the Holy books, regardless of the religion we belong to, do not give us license to kill people indiscriminately as all the Holy books maintain that "killing of an innocent is the killing of the whole humanity". However, I look at it from a different perspective and that is of Machiavelli's The Prince. I am sure that it is this book which influenced Jaswal and his ilk. This book is a treatise for the guidance of the rulers or princes and it teaches them how to rule either by hook or crook. The idea of the whole book is that princes should employ any means – fair or foul - for what they call a `larger national interest'. Blinded by power, India tries to bully Kashmir.

As is well known to readers that the book written by Machiavelli brings about the separation between the Church and the State and thus lays the foundation of different set of relative ethics or virtues for the best interests of the state which are different from the Absolute ethics of the Holy Scriptures. The book expresses the ideas of blunt political Darvinianism and the terrifying portrayals of the rulers. Machiavelli today is known to us as the devil, 'the murderous Machiavelli, a teacher of evil and his name has become the synonymous with cunning and deceit. One of the things that the princes and military men must note is that it is good to appear merciful, truthful, humane, sincere and religious but these things are harmful if practised. It stands true to almost all our rulers also and Jaswal and all the men in uniform put to practice the Machiavellian commandment. They pretend to be merciful, truthful and all that but in practice they harbour evil designs and the outcome is the frequent cold blooded killings, fake encounters, rapes and on the top of it, the criminal silence observed by the rulers who claim to be just, sincere and honest. The other day the CM of J&K paid a visit to Kheer Bhawani and assured the Kashmiri pandits that they will be provided with all the safety when they come back. We heartily welcome them back because that is what Kashmiriyat stands for and all Kashmiris have proved it practically even when the situation was not favourable. For example, The house in which I and my family members live is simultaneously inhabited by Kashmiris pandits since 1960s and we have seen all the tough times together and are just like family members. What I am trying to say is that the safety that government claims to provide is a myth as it has failed to provide safety to us and nobody is safe here as long as troops enjoy unbridled powers which have been bestowed upon them by the central government. Thus the book which lets them kill is the unholy book of Machiavelli which they have learnt by heart and are following that to the totality. Thus we must not be surprised by the statement of Jaswal as there is a network and agency behind all the atrocities, injustices and oppressions that they have subjected Kashmiris to. But the contemporary rulers of India lack the sense of history for they fail to realize that the powerful rulers like the Romans, the Mughals and the British ruled the roost for some time and then finally were doomed. This is in store for India also if they fail to take concrete and constructive steps for the resolution of Kashmir issue, revocation of unholy AFPSA and demilitarisation. The dilly dallying policy has always been harmful for even great nations for a spark neglected burns the house.

(Dr Tasleem Ahmad War is Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Kashmir)

Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time

Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Lastupdate on : Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Jul/1/unholy-intent-12.asp

HRW pitches in, seeks AFSPA removal

    Sheikh Ahmed
    New Delhi, Sept 8: Member of Civil society and Human Rights organisations Wednesday called for repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA) and accused troops of misusing the Act in troubled Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East region.
"AFSPA has been in force since past 52 years and the Act has been misused by the troops. The Act has become an object of hate and should not have remained in force for decades. It has created a climate of impunity and abuse that has embolden police, paramilitary forces and military to commit grave human rights violations," Mennakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director of the Human Rights Watch said at conference to assess the call to "Repeal the AFPSA".

The conference was organised by Peoples Union for Civil Liberty and other social groups besides European Union. E N Rammohan, former Director General of BSF, Lt Gen B S Malik, Wilfred Dcosta attended the conference.

Enacted in 1958 as a short-term measure to allow deployment of the army against an armed separatist movement in India's northeastern Naga Hills, AFSPA has been invoked for more than five decades and since been used throughout Northeast India. A variant of the law was also used in Punjab during a separatist movement in the 1980s and 90s, and has been in force in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990.

Conference organiser Binalakshmi Nepram said AFSPA has entered its 52 years of implementation. "Government panels, United Nations and hundreds of civil society organisations across India have called for its repeal, but the issue continues to remain deadlocked. Our meeting is intended to break this deadlock and to bring forward various views on the issue, so that we can consult and advise each other to the best viable solution."

Speaking on the occasion, Rammohan said that good and efficient force will never violate laws. "The AFPSA is being misused by inefficient and incompetent officers for promoting their interests," he said.

Security Analyst, Ravinder Pal Singh said AFSPA has allowed members of the armed forces to perpetrate abuses with impunity because certain clauses in the law provide them with relative immunity from prosecution. "The military feels protected by AFSPA. But this has negative outcomes for the military in its discipline and professionalism. It would be useful to examine a modifying legislation that discourages possible of acts of impunity by the security forces," he said.

The speakers said there are various judgments on the allegations of human rights violations. The courts have found forces acting under AFPSA guilty of violation of human rights and ordered compensations besides prosecuting the perpetrators in several cases.

Some speakers said the government has promised to make certain changes in the Act and they should go ahead with it. "Some top brass of the defence forces are resisting the changes and creating hurdles for the government," they added.
http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/hrw-pitches-in-seeks-afspa-removal-1286.aspx

Forcing the peace

Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila's fast for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has entered its 10th year. Will the law be finally scrapped? V. Kumara Swamy finds out

HUMAN COST: Activists in New Delhi carry empty coffins to protest against the AFSPA; (top) Irom Sharmila

The Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Imphal was the rallying point for human rights activists, politicians and citizens last week. Elsewhere in the city, exhibitions, film screenings, music concerts and seminars were held as activist Irom Sharmila's 'fast-unto-death' agitation against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) entered its 10th year.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital has been her 'home' for much of these nine years where she is under detention by the police for "attempting suicide". Sharmila has been force-fed through a nasal drip since November, 2000.

"Her immune system has virtually collapsed and she suffers from many ailments but she will not budge until and unless the government meets her demand and repeals the AFSPA," says Irom Singhjit Singh, Sharmila's brother.

The AFSPA, which gives a free hand to the armed forces against insurgents in the northeast, came into force in 1958. Initially, it was only meant for Assam and Manipur, and that too for a very short period. But with the formation of other states in the northeast, and the spread of insurgency, the law was extended to all of them. Later, laws on similar lines were enacted for Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir as well.

While granting "special powers" to the armed forces, Section 4(a) of the Act authorises army personnel to use force after giving due warning "even to the causing of death", if he is convinced that it is necessary to do so for the "maintenance of public order".

"The Act is a virtual licence to kill," asserts Babloo Loitongbam, an associate of Sharmila and executive director, Human Rights Alert, an Imphal-based NGO.

Ever since the law has come into effect, the armed forces have been accused of large-scale human rights violations, including illegal detentions, indiscriminate firing and extra-judicial killings.

In fact, Sharmila, a poet and an human rights activist, started her fast on November 2, 2000, soon after visiting Malom, near Imphal, where 10 people were allegedly gunned down by Assam Rifles personnel. "She saw the dead bodies of 10 innocent people. She knew that justice would not be done unless the AFSPA was withdrawn from the state and announced her decision to go on a fast unto death," says her brother.

"The AFSPA is the alter ego of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance promulgated by the British in 1942 against Indian freedom fighters. It's a draconian law under which thousands have disappeared and nobody from the army has been held accountable," says Arup Borbora, senior advocate, Guwahati High Court, and a human rights activist.

Some of the most infamous human rights abuses that have occurred while the law has been in force include the killing of 15 villagers in Oinam, Manipur, allegedly by Assam Rifles men in 1987, and the alleged rape and murder of activist Manorama Devi in 2004, also by Assam Rifles personnel.

The Act does give sweeping powers to military personnel. Section 6 of the Act says that "no prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act".

But the army defends this provision of the law vociferously. "The armed forces are called in when the law and order situation is beyond the control of local law enforcement authorities. It is but natural for the armed forces to expect protection from prosecution when they operate in these circumstances," says Lt Gen. (retd) V.K. Nayar, former Governor of Manipur and Nagaland.

The Act does contain some checks on potential misuse. For instance, Section 5 stipulates that those detained by army personnel should be "made over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station with the least possible delay". But activists allege that this is rarely followed.

They also stress that faulty implementation is not the only problem with the law. "The AFSPA has fundamental problems," says Loitongbam. Agrees Borbora, "It is not just the government panels, even judicial findings have found the law to be seriously flawed."

In fact, the law was challenged in the Supreme Court in 1980. But the apex court, while clubbing all the cases against the AFSPA (Naga People's Movement of Human Rights, etc. vs Union of India), upheld the law in 1997. Even so, it did observe that "prolonged or too frequent deployment of armed forces...is likely to generate a feeling of alienation among the people against the armed forces."

After the furore over the killing of Manorama Devi in 2004, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up the Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Committee to review the AFSPA. The Committee recommended that the controversial law should be repealed. "The Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness," it observed, and said, "AFSPA should be repealed...The Act is too sketchy, too bald and quite inadequate in several particulars".

The Committee felt that instead of the AFSPA, the challenges posed by insurgency and terrorism could be dealt with much better by making a few changes to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

"It is now up to the government to implement the report," says Lt Gen. (retd) V.R. Raghavan, a member of the Jeevan Reddy Committee.

Other reports have also expressed the view that the time may have come to jettison the AFPSA. In its fifth report in 2007, the second Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by law minister, Veerappa Moily, observed that "the repeal of the AFPSA would remove the feeling of discrimination and alienation among the people of the northeastern states".

So why is the AFPSA still in force? "I cannot say why the government has so far failed to repeal the law. There have been various pulls and pressures, but I hope it will do away with AFSPA sooner rather than later," says Thokchom Meinya, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Manipur.

However, rather than an outright repeal, the government may be mulling amendments to the AFSPA. In fact, Union home minister P. Chidambaram recently announced that amendments to the AFSPA have been finalised and sent to the Cabinet.

But that is unlikely to satisfy activists. Warning against "half measures", Singhjit Singh says, "We want a complete repeal of the law, nothing less, nothing more." Agrees Loitongbam, "Amending it will not do. The very wording of the law symbolises oppression and it would be in the interest of the country to do away with the whole law."

While the government decides what to do with the controversial AFSPA, Irom Sharmila marks time at the hospital, hoping that she will live to see the day when the law is finally repealed. "It's been a long struggle for my sister. I hope that she comes home soon. And that is entirely in the government's hands," says Singhjit Singh.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091111/jsp/opinion/story_11726256.jsp

Spotlight : Kashmir unrest

Thousands march in Indian Kashmir; police attacked, AS

AP - 09:07 AM
SRINAGAR, India (AP) Police fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who attacked a police post in Kashmir on Saturday, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest Indian rule in the Himalayan region, officials said. More »

News Stories

Thousands march in Indian Kashmir; police attacked, 2nd Ld-Writethru, ASAP - 09:07 AM
BJP holds dharnas in J&K to ptotest against autonomyPTI - Wed, Sep 8
Curfew clamped in Srinagar, restrictions imposed in the ValleyPTI - Tue, Sep 7
BJP to protest against autonomy demand for J-KPTI - Mon, Sep 6
BJYM protest against demand for autonomy for J&KPTI - Sun, Sep 5

Little known separatist leader spearheading stone-pelting Kashmiri protestsANI - Sun, Sep 5
Primary school students protest against the unrest in ValleyPTI - Wed, Sep 1
A new challengeIE - Tue, Aug 31
Curfew, shutdown hit Srinagar againIANS - Mon, Aug 30
Villagers protest against violence by militants in Jammu and KashmirANI - Sat, Aug 28
Curfew in Srinagar; Geelani, Mirwaiz under house arrestIE - Sat, Aug 28
Curfew imposed in Srinagar, two other towns of Kashmir ValleyPTI - Sat, Aug 28
Register strongest protest to China: Indian political partiesIANS - Fri, Aug 27
Hurriyat leader Geelani leads mass protest in SrinagarANI - Fri, Aug 27
Life returns to normal for a day in Kashmir ValleyIANS - Fri, Aug 27
Facebook, YouTube used as weapons in Kashmir fight, ASAP - Fri, Aug 27
Oil tankers'' associations call off strikePTI - Thu, Aug 26
Kashmir fuel supply hit, tanker operators go on strikeIANS - Thu, Aug 26
Tanker operators strike in JK, petrol products'' supply hitPTI - Thu, Aug 26
Protect Sikhs in Kashmir: BJP asks Omar AbdullahIANS - Wed, Aug 25
Residents stage protest over arrest of local youth by J-K policeANI - Mon, Aug 23
Kashmir stone pelters get a taste of their own medicinePTI - Mon, Aug 23
NAD activists protest threat letters to Sikhs in KashmirPTI - Sun, Aug 22
Delhi Sikhs protest Kashmir threatsIANS - Sun, Aug 22
Thousands protest in Kashmir against Indian rule, Ist Ld-Writethru, ASAP - Fri, Aug 20
Four injured as Police fire teargas shells on stone-pelters in SrinagarANI - Mon, Aug 16
Residents stage protest with shoes in hand in SrinagarANI - Sun, Aug 15
Omar cancels unified command meet to protest civilian deaths in J-KANI - Fri, Aug 13
Curfew re-imposed in Kashmir due to separatist marchANI - Fri, Aug 13
Thousands protest after police kill 2 in Kashmir, 1st Ld-Writethru, ASAP - Fri, Aug 13
Huge protest after police kill 4 in Indian Kashmir, 2nd Ld-Writethru, ASAP - Fri, Aug 13
Huge protest after police kill 4 in Indian Kashmir, 3rd Ld-Writethru, ASAP - Fri, Aug 13
Huge protest after police kill 4 in Indian Kashmir, 4th Ld-Writethru, ASAP - Fri, Aug 13
Huge protest after police kill 4 in Indian Kashmir, 5th Ld-Writethru, ASAP - Fri, Aug 13
Nine injured in clashes in J and KPTI - Wed, Aug 11
Curfew in parts of Kashmir as a precautionary measureIE - Wed, Aug 11
Curfew in parts of Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measurePTI - Wed, Aug 11
Kashmir violence: Curfew in force as separatists plan protestsANI - Tue, Aug 10
Curfew in force in Srinagar as separatists plan protestsIE - Tue, Aug 10
Curfew in force in Srinagar as separatists plan protestsPTI - Tue, Aug 10
Kashmir breathes easy on Friday; one injured in protestPTI - Fri, Aug 6
Geelani's appeal in vain, fresh clashes with security forcesANI - Thu, Aug 5
BJP MLAs to stage sit-inPTI - Mon, Aug 2
Kashmir on the edge, toll rises to 15IANS - Mon, Aug 2
Sikh protestors block Jammu-Pathankote NHPTI - Mon, Aug 2

http://in.news.yahoo.com/fc/kashmir-unrest.html

Asking the Centre to change its Kashmir policy, moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq today said \"half-hearted steps\" like partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) would not help in improving the situation in the Valley.
In his Eid-ul-Fitr sermon at Eidgah in the interior city, he said economic and job packages are not a solution to the Kashmir issue as the people of the state have given sacrifices for the \"right to self determination\".
\"The time for taking half-hearted steps like partial withdrawal of AFSPA has gone. Now the talks should focus on the bigger issue,\" he said, adding the ongoing \"movement\" was not against the people of India, any religion or region.
Urging the authorities at the Centre to stop looking at Kashmir \"through the Pakistani prism\", he said the ongoing \"agitation\" in the Valley was indigenous.
\"They (Centre) have been misleading their people by telling them that the agitation is instigated by Pakistan. Time has come to realise the ground situation and inform the people accordingly,\" he said.
The Hurriyat chairman said the Centre should change its policy with regard to Kashmir issue and inform the people of India about the \"disputed nature\" of Jammu and Kashmir.
\"Government of India should tell the people of India that (first Prime Minister of the country) Jawahar Lal Nehru had taken the Kashmir issue to the United Nations and promised right to self determination to the people of J&K for deciding their future,\" he said.
he Mirwaiz said the Civil society members including Swami Agnivesh and former Navy Chief Admiral (retd) Ram Das, who visited Kashmir recently, have acknowledged that Kashmir is a political issue and needs a political resolution.
The Hurriyat Chairman said the time has come to start a decisive dialogue process between India, Pakistan and \"genuine\" leadership of Jammu and Kashmir for resolving Kashmir issue.
\"The talks have to be Kashmir centric as previous dialogues have not focused on this issue and hence did not yield anything,\" he said.
irwaiz later called for a march to Lal Chowk, urging the people to stage a peaceful sit in for half an hour.

Rahul to visit WB on Sept 14
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi will make a three-day whirlwind tour of nine districts in West Bengal from September 14 in a bid to rejuvenate the party in the state, which is going to the polls next year. This would be his second visit to the state within a fortnight.

Gandhi had addressed a public rally in the metropolis on September 6. "Gandhi would begin his tour from Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan on September 14 after which he would interact with party workers from Birbhum, Burdwan, Durgapur, Berhampur and Jangipur who wanted to contest the Youth Congress election," State Congress president Manas Bhunia told reporters here.

On the same day he would visit Basirhat in North 24 Parganas and Garden Reach in South 24 Paraganas and interact with potential YC candidates. He would also address a minority convention at Garden Reach.

Gandhi would visit Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Balurghat on September 15. He would interact with tea and tribal workers and candidates in Jalpaiguri district.

Similar interactive session would be held at Balurghat in Dakshin Dinapur district and a scheduled caste convention in Cooch Behar district on the same day. Gandhi who would address a press conference here on September 16 and would visit Howrah district.

He would hold an interactive session with potential YC candidates at Howrah, Asansol and Garbeta in West Midnapore district before leaving for Delhi. Bhunia said Gandhi''s visit would provide momentum to Congress in the state.

US pastor confirms he will not burn Quran
A Florida pastor who wanted to burn Qurans to protest Islamic extremism reiterated Friday that he would not go ahead with the plan.

Since pastor Terry Jones first announced that he would not burn Qurans Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attack, he appears to have changed his mind several times, causing widespread confusion.

'We are seriously, seriously, seriously considering not burning the Qurans. That is absolutely right,' Jones told reporters Friday outside his Dove World Outreach Center, which has a congregation of about 50 people.

Late Thursday Jones told NBC News that 'we are a little back to square one' after what he claimed was a deal to relocate a controversial mosque near the former site of the World Trade Center in New York appeared not to have materialised.

Jones said earlier Thursday that he was dropping the plans in exchange for relocating the mosque. But mosque officials in New York denied there was an agreement to move the construction site.

'Given what we are now hearing, we are forced to rethink our decision,' Jones told NBC after the mosque officials denied a deal was in the works. 'So as of right now, we are not cancelling the event, but we are suspending it.'

9/11 commemoration begins with minute of silence
The commemorative ceremony for the nearly 3,000 people killed by terrorists nine years ago began Saturday with a minute of silence at 8:46 a.m., marking the exact time when a hijacked commercial airplane struck one of the World Trade Center's twin towers in Lower Manhattan.

Government officials, headed by US Vice President Joe Biden, New York leaders and families of the victims met at the site to begin the solemn ceremony, following a familiar programme that began after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks.

New York City deployed hundreds of police in Lower Manhattan to handle demonstrators planning to protest against a mosque that a Muslim group wants to build two blocks from Ground Zero.

'We have a significant number of police to make sure that it is peaceful,' New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Terry Jones, the pastor who created a fury of world protests because of his plan to burn a Quran Saturday, was in New York to try to meet with the Imam of the mosque near the World Trade Center.

Jones said he had decided not to burn the Quran.

'Most people don't want the mosque near Ground Zero and most people don't want the Quran to be burned,' Jones said.

'We have a common denominator,' he said. He arrived in New York late Friday and was given police protection.

CIA air strikes have driven 9/11 al-Qaeda kingpins in Pak terror belt underground: Obama
US President Barack Obama has alluded for the first time, that the CIA campaign of air strikes has driven two al-Qaeda kingpins in the 9/11 terror attacks, Osama Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, underground in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt.

"Capturing or killing Bin Laden and Zawahiri would be extremely important to our national security....It remains a high priority of this administration," the New York Daily News quoted Obama, as saying.

He further praised counter terror officials for a "very successful" offensive, which reportedly began in the last months of former President George W. Bush's administration, to "ramp up the pressure on al-Qaeda and their key leaders."

"And as a consequence, they have been holed up in ways that have made it harder for them to operate. "Bin Laden has gone deep underground. Even Zawahiri, who is more often out there, has been much more cautious," he claimed.

This year, Zawahiri reportedly put out few propaganda tapes after the air drone strikes increased, compared to 14 such tapes in 2009. (ANI)

56 percent New Yorkers fear another 9/11 type terror attack: Poll

Nine years after the 9/11 terror attacks, a majority, 56 percent of New Yorkers fear another such attack, while 70 percent are of the opinion that the government has not made enough progress in redeveloping the 16-acre site in Lower Manhattan since 2001, according to a new Marist poll.

According to The New York Daily News, the poll also showed that 51 percent of them were opposed to construction of the controversial Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero. Thirty percent of them said they were not too worried about the scenario, while only 14 percent were not worried at all about a 9/11 redux.

As far as the government's treatment of first responders to the trade center site is concerned, 63 percent believe too little was done to help those who worked on the toxic ruins of the Twin Towers.

The poll further found 54 percent people saying the community center offended the 9/11 victims and their families, while 35 percent believed it could provide a better understanding of Islam.

Nearly half of New Yorkers, 48 percent, disapproved of Mayor Bloomberg's wholesale support for the mosque, with 42 percent backing the three-term mayor, and 10 percent unsure. (ANI)

Bopanna-Qureshi lose US Open final, conquer hearts

India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Qureshi put up a spirited fight but failed to stop the top seeded Americans Mike and Bob Bryan from winning their third US Open tennis doubles title, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) here Friday.
It was 16th-seeded Bopanna and Qureshi's maiden Grand Slam final and the two played their hearts out to make it a thrilling contest on a windy day.
The self-dubbed 'Indo-Pak Express' has already made it clear that they are playing for a cause much higher than winning titles.
For Bryans, the 32-year-old identical twins, it was also their ninth Grand Slam title, leaving them just two behind the all time record of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde's Grand Slams tally. Bob Bryan also won the mixed doubles title Thursday with fellow American Liezl Huber against Qureshi and Czech Kveta Peschke.
The Americans have already set the men's tour record for most doubles titles in Los Angeles in July and could set another at the end of this year for most seasons ended ranked No. 1 in the world. The Bryans beat Bopanna and Qureshi in L.A. before losing to them the following week in Washington, their only loss this summer.
ng with the Bryans at the net. Bopanna and QureshThe India-Pakistan pairing played an attacking game and delighted the sizeable crowd with occasional sparrii served huge, popping aces at will, but it was the American brothers who nosed ahead with a consistent game.
Bopanna and Qureshi reached their third tour-level final at the Pilot Pen in the run up to the US Open. They were finalists in Nice and Casablanca earlier in the year. The two captured their first ATP World Tour doubles title in Johannesburg in February. They also reached their maiden Wimbledon quarter-final this year.
An emotional Bopanna-Qureshi, whose attempt at promoting peace between their countries came to the spotlight during their two-week stint here, thanked the crowd for support. The two have been sporting shirts with 'Stop War, Start Tennis' written on the back.
'It's has been a great run for us. I want to thank Aisam to play with me. It has been fanstastic two weeks. We have lost to the Bryans, who are the best doubles team in the world.
'Hopefully, we can meet them in some other tournament and give them a bit of a fight. I want to thank all the crowd who gave us tremendous support. I will also like to thank my family who came all the way from India to watch the final,' Bopanna said.
Aisam said they lost to a better team. He also used the occasion to talk about the prejudice which Pakistanis have been facing in the US.
'Well, it is my second loss in as many days. The Indo-Pak Express was going well till we met the Bryans. They were really good. Today is Eid and I will like to wish everyone in Pakistan and Muslims all over the world. Today is also my sister's birthday. I am sorry I couldn't get the best present for her.
'I will really like to thank the crowd. I would also like to say that whenever someone from our country comes here, they are considered to be from a terrorist state. It is not true. Pakistan is a peace loving country. We all love peace as much as you do.'

High alert in Mumbai as cops hunt for two terror suspects

On the eve of Eid and the 10-day long Ganesh festival starting Saturday, Mumbai police released pictures of two men who they suspect have entered the city to spread terror.
"Two foreign nationals have entered the city in the recent past with sinister plans. We suspect that both have plans to spread terror in the city," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy.
The two men - Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar Pandit (28) and Hafiz Khijir Ulla Sarif (25) - have sneaked in to cause disruptions at religious congregations and crowded places, Roy said.
"The city is in the midst of two major festivals, Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi. The plans could possibly be to target the city in and around this time. We have strong intelligence inputs to believe this," he said.
According to intelligence reports received by the police and state Home department, one of the suspects could be from Bangladesh and the other from Pakistan, Roy said.
In an advisory to citizens, police urged them to inform helplines if they spot the duo. "We have designated a helpline, just in case anyone spots the duo. Several teams have been formed to intercept and arrest the suspected terrorists," Roy said. "Should they be spotted, then please inform the nearest police station or 100 or on special designated helpline numbers 022-22633333/ 22625020."

Religious tension marks Sept 11 anniversary

Sat, Sep 11 12:37 PM

Enlarge Photo U.S. President Barack Obama holds a nationally televised news conference in the East Room of...
Religious tensions are overshadowing the anniversay of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States where President Barack Obama urged a Christian preacher to abandon a plan to burn copies of the Koran.
A day ahead of Saturday's ninth anniversary, a report warned that the United States faced a growing threat from home-grown insurgents and an "Americanization" of the al Qaeda leadership.
On Friday, Obama appealed to Americans to respect the "inalienable" right of religious freedom and said he hoped the preacher would abandon his plan to burn the Muslim holy book, saying it could deeply hurt the United States abroad.
News of the plan has outraged Muslims around the world and triggered violent protests in Afghanistan in which one protester was shot dead.
"This is a way of endangering our troops, our sons and daughters ... you don't play games with that," Obama told a Washington news conference in which he included an appeal for religious tolerance.
Pastor Terry Jones, of the obscure Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has backed off a threat to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died.
Jones arrived late on Friday in New York, where he was scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" show on Saturday morning.
He had said he would call off the Koran burning if he could meet with Muslim leaders seeking to build an Islamic centre and mosque near the Manhattan site of the Sept. 11 attacks with the aim of getting it relocated.
While the bewhiskered fundamentalist preacher kept people guessing about his precise intentions, an evangelist acting as a spokesman, K.A. Paul, said he could "guarantee" Jones would not go ahead with the event.
Referring to "the individual down in Florida," Obama noted the pastor's Koran-burning plan had already caused anti-American riots in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are in a gruelling war against Muslim Taliban militants.
Thousands of people took to the streets across Afghanistan on Friday, some threatening to attack U.S. bases. One protester was shot dead and several were wounded outside a German-run NATO base in northeast Afghanistan. Demonstrations later spread to the capital, Kabul, and at least four other provinces.
OPPOSITION TO CENTRE
Opponents of the New York centre building plan say it is insensitive to the families of the victims of the 2001 events.
The New York imam involved in the project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, said on Friday he had no meeting planned with the Florida pastor.
Sharif el-Gamal, project developer for the centre, denied it would be moved.
Obama said at the news conference that he recognised "the extraordinary sensitivities" surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks.
But he said it should be possible to erect a mosque near the so-called Ground Zero site, or a building representing any other kind of religion.
"This country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that they have certain inalienable rights. One of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely," Obama said.
"We are not at war against Islam, we are at war against terrorist organisations that have distorted Islam and have falsely used the banner of Islam," he added.
Former heads of the 9/11 Commission that studied the 2001 attacks presented a 43-page report they called a wake-up call about the radicalisation of Muslims in the United States and the changing strategy of al Qaeda and its allies.
"The threat that the U.S. is facing is different than it was nine years ago," said the report, released by the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center.
"The U.S. is arguably now little different from Europe in terms of having a domestic terrorist problem involving immigrant and indigenous Muslims as well as converts to Islam."
U.S. officials have warned that cases such as the threat to burn the Korean could lead to a recruiting bonanza for al Qaeda.
(Additional reporting by Washington Newsroom, Daniel Trotta in New York; Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul; Paul Carrel in Cologne; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Writing by Eric Walsh, editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Omar blames separatists for Srinagar violence

The Hindu - ‎2 hours ago‎
PTI Kashmiri protestors hoist a flag on to a clock tower in Srinagar on Saturday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday accused the Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq of betraying the ...

Thousand join Kashmir Eid rallies

BBC News - ‎22 minutes ago‎
Tens of thousands of people across Indian-administered Kashmir have joined protests against Indian rule, following prayers to mark the end of Ramadan. A government building and a police checkpoint were set on fire in separate rallies in the city of ...

Street protests, violence after Eid prayers in Kashmir

Sify - ‎3 minutes ago‎
/New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS) Massive protests and attacks on government offices were witnessed in Srinagar Saturday after the Eid prayers, prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is in New Delhi for talks on the Kashmir package, to charge the ...

Accusing the Mirwaiz and JKLF Chief Yaseen Malik of failing in their duty to maintain peace, Mr. Omar said, "It was the Mirwaiz's office which approached a senior official in my government and requested for permission to have a march to Lal Chowk. They were repeatedly asked that the mob will go out of control but the repeated insistence from the separatist camp for allowing them a political space for peaceful march made me overrule suggestions...
more by Omar Abdullah - 2 hours ago - The Hindu (7 occurrences)

Pro-independence rallies mark Ramadan's end in Kashmir

CNN - Mukhtar Ahmad - ‎30 minutes ago‎
Srinagar, India (CNN) -- Massive pro-independence rallies rocked the Kashmir capital Srinagar and other towns Saturday at the end of Eid prayers marking the culmination of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The anti-India protesters also torched ...

Government monitoring fresh Kashmir turbulence

Hindustan Times - ‎1 hour ago‎
The central government is monitoring the situation in the Kashmir Valley where hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets and damaged government property on Eid-ul-Fitr on Saturday, a senior Home Ministry official said. "The situation in Kashmir ...

J&K govt blames Mirwaiz for violence in Kashmir on Eid

Times of India - ‎3 hours ago‎
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday accused the chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq of not sticking to assurances made by his close aide to the administration that the march to Lal Chowk planned for the day would ...

Kashmir: Violence erupts on Eid, Omar Abdullah blames Mirwaiz

NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has blamed the separatists for the fresh bursts of violent protests in the Valley on the day of Eid-ul-fitr. Speaking to NDTV, Omar said the violence "will cast a shadow" on the process to push ...

Omar blames Hurriyat Conference leadership for violence on Eid

Sify - ‎2 hours ago‎
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday blamed Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq for instigating violence in Srinagar, as he said that his government had permitted a peaceful demonstration on the occasion of Eid festival ...

Police barracks near Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar burnt after Eid prayers

Sify - ‎2 hours ago‎
The procession, which was heading towards Lal Chowk, was being led by Hurriyat group chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq. The state government squarely blamed Farooq for the disturbance and violence. The authorities had hoped that the Eid prayers would pass ...
All 93 related articles »

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	Omar blames separatists for Srinagar violence ‎2 hours ago‎ - The Hindu
	Mirwaiz, Malik offer Eid prayers together ‎8 hours ago‎ - The Hindu
	Yasin heeds Umar's unity call in Valley ‎15 hours ago‎ - Times of India
	Battle for Hazratbal and Kashmir cry ‎21 hours ago‎ - Rising Kashmir
	Curfew lifted from entire Kashmir Valley ‎Sep 8, 2010‎ - The Hindu

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Thousands attend Eid protests in Kashmir

Tens of thousands of people across Indian-administered Kashmir have joined protests against Indian rule, following prayers to mark the end of Ramadan.
A government building and a police checkpoint were set on fire in separate rallies in the city of Srinagar.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The protests are a form of referendum showing that Kashmiris want freedom from India"
End Quote Mirwaiz Umar Farooq All-Party Hurriyat Conference

Q&A: Kashmir dispute

The demonstrators carried green Islamic flags and chanted slogans demanding autonomy and freedom.
Seventy people have been killed in protests in Kashmir since June. But clashes are rare during Eid al-Fitr.
'Lingering dispute'
Police fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse the protesters who attacked the police checkpoint near the Hazrat Bal shrine on the outskirts of Srinagar on Saturday, and burned the nearby offices of the state police force and the electricity department.
"We want freedom. Go India, go back," the demonstrators chanted. "Our nation, we'll decide its fate."
At least seven civilians and six police officers were injured, officials said.
"This is the first time that an Eid congregation has been converted into a protest," a police statement said, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Earlier, the influential leader of the moderate faction of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, had asked the tens of thousands of worshippers at the shrine to march to the centre of Srinagar.
"The protests are a form of referendum showing that Kashmiris want freedom from India," he told them, after reading out the names of those killed in the past three months.
The APHC is an umbrella organisation of separatist groups which campaigns peacefully for an end to India's presence in Kashmir.
The chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Yasin Malik, meanwhile said: "India should read the writing on the wall and take steps to resolve this lingering dispute forever."
The Indian government has not commented on Saturday's protests.

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11 September 2010 Last updated at 15:10 GMT

Thousand join Kashmir Eid rallies

Tens of thousands of people across Indian-administered Kashmir join protests against Indian rule, following prayers to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

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US move to curb outsourcing regressive, says India

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma Saturday termed as 'regressive' the US moves to curb outsourcing and warned that protectionist tendencies would deepen recession.
'Protectionist tendencies are unhealthy for any economy,' Sharma said, addressing the staff of IT major Infosys Technologies here.
'Indian IT companies create jobs not only in India but in the US as well,' he noted.
'Protectionist tendencies end up deepening recession,' Sharma warned.
His caution came in response to the recent decision of Ohio state, US, to ban outsourcing IT projects and President Barack Obama's remarks against offshoring.
Infosys chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy said the only way out for Indian corporates was to innovate.
'There will always be geo-political issues that could create friction. While ministers like Sharma will take it up at appropriate levels, the corporations must keep innovating,' he said.
'We have to look at innovating more and more so that our clients will realise the importance of outsourcing,' Murthy said.
'Only way for any corporation to survive, succeed and grow profitably is to innovate,' he added.
Sharma said Friday here that India will raise the visa fee hike issue with the US administration at the upcoming joint Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting Sep 21 in Washington.
India will also discuss the Ohio state ban and Obama's remarks.
'We have already flagged to the US government that we intend to place the visa fee hike issue on the table to discuss at the Forum. I hope they will reflect and we will be able to find a meaningful solution,' Sharma said.
Asserting that the hike in H1-B and L1 visa fee was on the top of the Indian agenda, Sharma said he has conveyed the government's serious concern to US Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk, who co-chairs the Forum with him.
'Though the Ohio ban on outsourcing is a state issue and Obama's remarks against off-shoring are a sovereign issue, we are going to discuss it at the Forum because eventually outsourcing plays a major role,' Sharma said.

India, China leading global recovery: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Saturday said major emerging economies like China, India, Indonesia and Brazil are leading the global economic recovery.
'Emerging economies have been sustained by strong domestic demand and the recovery of global trade. Major economies in emerging Asia -- China, India, and Indonesia -- remain in the lead, followed by Brazil in Latin America,' said an IMF report on the global economic prospects.
The report said that the investment in the leading emerging economies is accelerating which is one of the main reasons for the economic growth and recovery.
'Fixed investment has begun accelerating beyond its 2009 momentum despite less stimulative policies, suggestive of an increasingly self-sustaining recovery,' the report said.
The report also noted the subdued nature of economic recovery in European and the central Asian economies including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Mukherjee asks RBI to take measures to help curb price rise of food material

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has expressed concern over rising food prices and advised the central bank to take every possible measure required to bring them down while keeping options open on the fiscal front.
His concern has come ahead of monetary review by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the coming week.
Reacting on the issue of rise in food prices at the AGM of the Kolkata Chamber of Commerce held on Saturday, Mukherjee said: "I am worried."
"I have suggested to the RBI to take whatever monetary measures needed to keep prices down," he said.
Mukherjee also talked about fiscal steps required to pull down prices and asked the state governments to strengthen the public distribution system to provide food to the poor.
"The states cannot always pass on the blame to the Centre. It is also their duty," the Union Minister stated.
He also said: "For helping the disadvantaged section of the society, if we can strengthen the Public Distribution System then we can provide relief to about eight crores (80 million) families, more than 40 crores (400 million) people by providing them subsidised food grains."
Earlier, Mukherjee had promised to revamp the PDS to deliver subsidized food items and fuel.
Food inflation increased to 11.47 per cent towards the end of August from 10.38 per cent in previous week as rains disrupted supply of essential items. Cereals, fruits and milk turned dearer.
This has fuelled expectations of a rate hike by the RBI in its mid-quarter policy review on September 16, the first such assessment the central bank will be making. (ANI)

IOC, ONGC divestment by Q4: Oil secy

The Government expects to complete the ONGC and IOC divestments by the end of this fiscal and hopes to raise up to Rs 19,000 crore from the process.
"We plan to complete the (divestment) process before the end of the financial year...(hopefully) by the last quarter. Going by current market prices, we should raise up to Rs 18-19,000 crore," Oil Secretary S Sundareshan today told reporters.
The government plans to sell 5 per cent stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and 10 per cent in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) through the follow-on public offer, he said.
In case of IOC, he added, an additional mop-up of around Rs 10,000 crore was expected as the country's largest oil marketer would be raising 10 per cent more equity.
The Oil Secretary said the government planned to go ahead with the IOC divestment followed by ONGC. The ministry has already asked IOC to scout for merchant banker for the issue, while that of ONGC is yet to be finalised.
"Merchant bankers for the IOC and ONGC issues will be appointed shortly and we will be working closely with the Ministry of Finance and Department of Disinvestment," Sundareshan said.
"IOC has huge requirement for money. It will be using the proceeds of the sale for the Rs 29,000-crore Paradeep refinery," he said.

India can not go on a reverse growth path: Pranab

Expressing concern over the rising food prices, union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Saturday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will take appropriate measures but asserted that the country could not go on a 'reverse growth path'.
'Inflation is a concern. I am concerned that prices are increasing,' Mukherjee said here while addressing the 189th annual general meeting (AGM) of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.
'As suggested, the RBI will take appropriate measures as and when needed. But at the same time, I cannot go on a reverse growth path,' Mukherjee said.
The finance minister said the economy was likely to grow between 8.5-8.75 percent in the 2010-11 fiscal.
'The growth in the first quarter of 2010-11 was 8.8 (percent). But I am a bit conservative. So I am sticking to my previous projections of 8.5-8.75 percent growth,' he said.
Mukherjee said it was the 'constitutional duty' of the state governments to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS) as far as catering to the below poverty line (BPL) families was concerned.
'It is the constitutional duty of the states who should not always pass the blame for the shortfalls in the PDS to the central government,' he said.
Mukherjee iterated that he was opposed to multiplicity of taxes, but said political consensus was needed for enforcing the goods and service tax (GST).
He said there was a consensus on many aspects of the GST, but unanimity was needed as getting the needed two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament for ratifying the GST was not an easy task.

People pay homage to Mother Teresa at Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata

To mark the Mother Teresa's birth centenary an all faith prayer was held at Missionaries of Charity, the Mother's home, in Kolkata this week.
People and religious leaders belonging to different religions-Hindu, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist converged on this occasion at Mother's tomb to pay homage and to pray God.
Mother Teresa made Kolkata her home and opened several homes, including one for those who were old and dying and the other for destitute children.
A group of Sikh singer priests known as Raagis sang melodious hymns.
"Mother belongs to all, irrespective of religions, cultures, and the people, and especially to those who are poor and marginalised, those who are lonely, deprived, depressed, and these were the people whom she served and therefore, to remember her, the good works that she has done and the values she lived in her life that needs to be spread among all people," Rev. Fr. Sunil Rozario, a priest of Kolkata Archdiocese said on Friday.
Apart from the Sikh Raagis, religious leaders belonging to different faiths such as Hindu, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jain and Buddhist --gathered at the Mother's tomb to pay homage and also to pray to God.
"People of all faiths, they are coming together to pray and worship God, and India is so rich. It has got rich heritage in music, dance, so we are bringing all those elements here, the resources that we have to worship God through our prayer, and expressing our solidarity and belongingness to God," added Rev. Fr. Rozario.
The doors of Mother House, where the ethnic Albanian nun lived and died, were left open at dawn and hundreds of slum dwellers from the city walked in to pay their respects to the Mother.
Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997 at the age of 87.
The nun started working in slums and later set up her Missionaries of Charity, which was approved by the Vatican in 1950. The organisation now runs more than 500 charity homes in over 100 countries.
Mother Teresa received several national and international awards for social service during her lifetime. These included the Bharat Ratna, the Magsaysay Award in 1962, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, the John F. Kennedy International Award in 1971 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. By Sanka Ghosh(ANI)

Parts of Delhi flooded as Yamuna flows above danger mark

The rising Yamuna flooded several parts of the capital today as the water level climbed two metres above the danger mark, threatening to submerge more low-lying areas. The water level in the river rose to 206.70 metre at 12:30 pm, 1.87 metre above the danger mark of 204.83 metre and is likely to go up further as neighbouring Haryana would release more water in the river, a senior official of the flood control department said.
Haryana is expected to release 30,000 cusecs of water in to the Yamuna today. Authorities said the water level in the river is expected to rise to 206.85 metre by 2:pm.
Some low-lying areas near the river, including Garhi Mandu, Usmanpur Pusta, Jagatpur Village and Shastri Nagar, were inundated by the rising water. Areas near the ISBT were also flooded, prompting thousands of people to stake shelter in government relief camps and in higher areas.
Flood water also entered areas like Yamuna Vihar, Usmanpur, Madanpur, Sonia Vihar, Nigambodh, Jaitpur, Tibet Market and Yamuna Bazar. Many people living in low-lying areas along the banks of the river were seen lined up on the footpaths on the ITO bridge with whatever was left of their belongings.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had yesterday appealed to people not to panic and said all precautionary measures are being put into place to meet any eventuality. "There is no need to worry.
We are taking all precautionary measures to deal with any eventuality. The situation is under control," Dikshit had said.
Authorities had yesterday evacuated hundreds of people living in the low-lying areas. Seventy-four boats and 68 divers have also been pressed into service.
Over 100 personnel from National Disaster Response Force, have been deployed to assist the local authorities. The rising Yamuna has forced the Northern Railways to cancel 25 trains and diverted 36 others.
The trains diverted include Kalka Mail, Shaheed Express, Garib Nawaz Express, Awadh Assam Express, Shalimar Express and Brahmaputra Mail. As many as 39 trains including Satygraha Express, Lal Quila Express, Farakka and Howrah Janata Express have been short terminated, according to a Northern Railway spokesperson.

Bodo organisations demand immediate resumption of talks

More than 25 Bodo political and non-political organisations from Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts (BTAD) have formed a united forum and urged the government to hold talks with both factions of the NDFB. Bodoland Progressive Front (BPF) General Secretary Prabin Boro told PTI that the government should take immediate steps to stop fratricidal clashes in the BTAD areas as this had adversely affected development in these areas. BPF is a constituent of the united forum and almost all prominent organisations, including NDFB''s Ranjan Daimary faction, have joined hands for the first time to stop violence and take the development aspect forward. The forum, however, will not demand a separate state immediately but focus on creating a violence free atmosphere for all-round development of Bodo dominated areas, he added.

Party politics affecting development plans: Tharoor

Contending that party politics is adversely affecting implementation of development plans, former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor Saturday criticised the Kerala government for being partial with Congress sympathisers.
'In Kerala, if a family is sympathetic towards Congress, they will not get a BPL (below poverty line) card,' Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said answering questions after delivering a lecture on Millennium Development Goals organised by the UN Millenium Campaign and survey organisation Whypoll.
'Party politics is affecting development. If I get central allocations for something, the Kerala government is not ready to spend it,' he said.
Tharoor, however, quickly added: 'I hope we don't do it when we are in power.'
Stating that non-implementation of programmes was one of the biggest problems in achieving the development goals, Tharoor blamed the federal structure and party politics for this.
'As Rajiv Gandhi said, the fence is eating the crop,' Tharoor said.
In his lecture, he said that the poverty situation has worsened due to the global economic crisis and rising food and fuel prices.
Tharoor, who has also served as a UN Undersecretary General, stressed that developed countries needed to make committed efforts for giving aid and ensuring the aid effectiveness.
'The need is not for more aid, but to see that the aid is well directed and effective,' he said.
The eight millennium development goals are eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
According to UN reports, while India has done well in fields of school education, providing drinking water, reducing poverty and conserving environment, focus is needed on states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand which still lag behind.
According to Millennium Development Goals - India Country Report 2009, these states which are the most populous states, are unlikely to achieve this target if they go like this. The proportion of poor in these states is currently at 64 percent of the country's poor and this is likely to increase to 71 percent by 2015. The number of poor in 2015 is likely to be 279 million at the all-India level.

Govt yet to decide on Cairn-Vedanta deal: Oil Secy

Oil Secretary S Sundareshan today said the government was yet to take a view on the Cairn- Vedanta deal, as it was awaiting reply from the British energy major on specific approvals involving 10 product sharing contracts with the oil ministry. "Cairn India has 10 product sharing contracts (PSCs) with the government and going by the nature of the proposed deal, it seems that all these 10 PSCs will have to be specifically looked into.
"We have written to them saying they should seek these approvals but so far there has been no response. As soon as the requests come, they will be examined on merit and a decision will be taken," Sundareshan told reporters here.
The secretary further said that since the Cairn-Vedanta deal involved change in ownership through share sale as well as through sale of participatory interests, each of these PSCs had to be specifically examined. On August 16, the London-based mining major Vedanta Resources, owned by the billionaire NRI Anil Agarawal, had agreed to buy up to 61 per cent stake in Cairn India from Cairn Energy for a consideration of up to USD 9.6 billion.
Cairn India is a three-way joint venture with Cairn, the domestic oil and gas major ONGC and Petronas of Malaysia. At present, the Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy holds 62.37 per cent in Cairn India.
It will sell a maximum of 51 per cent of its stake to Vedanta Group for USD 8.48 billion, and Vedanta will then go in for a USD 3-billion open offer for up to 20 per cent more stake. Petronas has nearly 15 per cent interest in the joint venture with the rest being held by ONGC..

Posco to get land soon: Virbhadra Singh

South Korean steelmaker Posco''s Rs 54,000-crore project in Orissa, mired in land acquisition problems, will soon get the required area for the plant, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh today said. "Posco will soon get the possession of land for its steel plant to be set up in Orissa," Singh told reporters here on the sidelines of Steel Mart Expo.
The Rs 54,000-crore project, billed as India''s single largest FDI, failed to take off due to stiff opposition from farmers to part with their land. The project now delayed for five years as it had signed an agreement with the Orissa government in 2005 to set up a plant with an annual production capacity of 12 million tonnes.
Recently, the environment ministry had asked the Orissa government to "stall all activities" related to the Posco project citing violation of green norms in land acquisition. The world''s third largest steelmaker, Posco, requires a total of 4004 acres of land in the Jagarsinghpur district of mineral rich Orissa.
Most of the required land falls under the green cover. The steel minister asked Posco to give adequate compensation, job opportunities, education and annuity to the people from whom land is acquired.
".
we want that an adequate compensation should be given, employment opportunities should be created and annuity can also be given to those whose land will be taken for the project.
Proper rehabilitation of the oustees should be there," he said. Singh expressed concerns that delays in giving clearances to Posco''s project could hit prospective foreign investment.
The country has an annual steel production capacity of 72 million tonnes and is in process of taking it up to 120 million tonnes by 2012. To meet the rising demand of the commodity, the Minister sought raising domestic steel output.
For April-August period he said, the steel consumption grew by 9.4 pc against steel production growth of just 2.6 per cent in the same period as compared to the year-ago period. To meet the rising need of the consuming industry like construction and automobile, Singh said Posco and state-owned SAIL have tied up to set up a steel plant at Bokaro.
Also, ArcelorMittal had proposed to set up plants with the capacity of 12 million tonnes each in Jharkhand and Orissa. Moreover, on the issue of export of iron ore, the Minister sought complete ban on its export in order to conserve it for domestic future requirements.
Besides seeking ban on iron ore exports, the Minister said export duty on the mineral can be enhanced to flat 20 per cent. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also sympathetic to our demand (to raise export duty)," he said.
At present iron ore fines attract 5 per cent export duty while 15 per cent duty is imposed on iron ore lumps.

Secondary steel producers seek mine allocation

Secondary steel producers, who account for 60 per cent of the country''s total steel output, today sought formation of a national policy on allocation of mines, to allow them direct access to raw materials, besides primary steel producers, to boost steel output. "We want that there should be a national policy on the allocation of mines, which allows us to have an access to natural resources as big steel giants have,.
this step can provide impetus to country''s steel production," All India Induction Furnace Association President JK Arora said here on the sidelines of Steel Expo.
Arora sought level playing field for the secondary steel makers. He said, "the government should hold auction of mines in which all the competent steel producers take part,irrespective of their size, and get raw material for steel production as per their requirements rather than restricting raw material access to just few big players.
" Arora claimed that there was wide disparity between prices at which primary and secondary steel producers got their input "Our input cost comes at Rs. 6,000 per MT which is far more than what primary steel incur," he said.
At present, secondary steel producers get their input including iron ore through traders. Secondary steel producers also chastised the move of Centre to allot mines or natural resources to foriegn companies.
"All the foreign steel makers are just eyeing country''s resources and the government is helping them in giving them mining rights," he alleged. .

No law is pious: NC

Let Politicians Decide: PDP

GK NEWS NETWORK

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Srinagar, June 14: Jammu and Kashmir government Monday rebuffed the statement of Army's Northern Command Chief Lt General BS Jaswal about Armed Forces Special Powers Act and said the legislation was not a pious document.

"Laws keep on changing, amendments are being made in them and it happens in every country. There is nothing pious about the AFPSA," Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and senior NC leader, Ali Muhammad Sagar said.

The Minister said the decision about the revocation of AFSPA was to be taken by the political executive. "One shouldn't make it a point of prestige," he said.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said India was a democratic country and such decision was to be taken by the politicians and not by the Army. "The Generals, Colonels, Corps Commanders have to follow the decisions of the political executive," she said.

Mehbooba said already the Prime Minister's working group has recommended revocation of AFSPA and the government of India has the responsibility to implement the recommendations of the group.

She however said the present ruling political set up has given different signals about the Act which has created a sort of confusion and encouraged others to give statements on the crucial issue.

"At times they say amendments would be made in the Act and at times chief minister says the Act will stay up to 2014. Such wavering political stances of the State government were responsible for the mess around the issue," she said.

The jurists and human rights activists termed Gen Jaswal's statement as "defending the indefensible."

The State Human Rights Commission has already asked the Government to explore the possibilities of reviewing the continuance or limiting jurisdiction of the AFPSA.

"In the garb of AFSPA, instances of killing civilians in fake encounters and dubbing them as militants have come to fore in the state. This is a dangerous pattern which can have serious consequences besides intensifying alienation among the common people against the political dispensation," said Justice Bashir-u-Din, chairman SHRC.

"AFSPA is not a pious piece of legislation. The purpose behind its enactment is to suppress people. The man-made act enacted to suppress people can't be described as something holy," said the High Court Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom. He said the Act provides the Army shelter and under it the Army personnel responsible for human rights violation go unpunished.

"There is no accountability for the army as it claims impunity under the Act. The human rights groups have time and again pointed out the violations committed by armed forces and none to our knowledge has been punished so far," Qayoom said. He said when cases are put up before civil courts, the army pleads the right to trial in the Court Martial. "What then happens in the court martial nobody knows about it," he added. In many cases tribunals found Army guilty but the recommendations were hoodwinked and matters were dragging in Court. "Jaleel Andrabi's case and Pathribal should be eye-opener for the army. The statement made by Gen Jaswal is unrealistic and it deserved to be rejected," said Qayoom.

Senior counsel and former president High Court Bar Association ZA Shah said, "The comparison is incomparable." He said recent human rights violation were not isolated acts. He said AFSPA was being abused and there was no accountability of the violators. Besides, he said the armed forces are to aide civil administration when called upon to do so.

"Instead experiences show that decision to kill is taken at lowest level in the forces and then protection is sought under the AFSPA. This is patently illegal and can't be justified under any circumstances," he added.

Noted human rights activist Parvez Imroz said Army seems to afraid of accountability and that is the major reason it is weaving theories to justify AFSPA which guarantees impunity to it. "Under section 7 of AFSPA even sanction has to be sought from the Central Government for prosecution and it has not been given in any case. Under the Act the Army has complete legal impunity and there is no accountability. And once there is accountability, they can't operate," Imroz said.

Interestingly the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination brought up the issue of AFSPA while discussing India in 1996. The concluding observations contained in the UN document CERD/C/304/Add.13 of 17 September 1996 reads: "The committee is seriously concerned that the Kashmiris, as well as other groups are frequently treated, on account of their ethnic or national origin, in ways contrary to the basic provisions of the conventions. Clause 19 of the Protection of Human Rights Act prevents the National Commission on Human Rights from directly investigating allegations of abuse involving the armed forces. This is a too broad restriction on its powers and contributes to a climate of impunity for members of the armed forces."

Justice Bashir said many such cases have come to the notice of SHRC and NHRC in which junior officers have been reported to have resorted to arbitrary arrests, inhuman treatment, custodial tortures, rape, violence and fake encounters.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time

Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST

Fallah-e-Darain holds Seerat conference

'ISLAM IS CATALYST OF PEACE'

ALTAF BABA

Varmul, June 14: Prominent Islamic scholar, Dr Ubaidullah Fahad, on Monday said despite propaganda unleashed by some western countries, Islam was serving as a catalyst for peace. Dr Fahad who More

Srinagar City

Tourists sympathize with City people

'WE SHARE YOUR SORROWS'

ARIF SHAFI WANI

Srinagar, June 14: After a mesmerizing Shikara ride in Dal Lake, Manjeet Singh, a tourist from Chandigarh guided his family towards the Boulevard on Monday. But he did not react on seeing the deserted More

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Jun/15/no-law-is-pious-nc-37.asp

Beyond the Blockade: The Key to Manipur

Tags: MAnipur, Nagaland
By Ashok Malik
For over two months now, Manipur has been experiencing a crippling blockade. It began when T Muivah, leader of the most powerful faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), said he would be visiting his native village in Ukrul district in Manipur, where the Naga community forms a significant minority. It is part of territory claimed by the NSCN for Nagalim or Greater Nagaland.
In Manipur, the dominant Meitei people strongly disagree with what they see as Naga irredentism. There was some unrest when Muivah announced his visit. Sloppy handling by the Congress government in the state, compounded by delayed action by the Union Home Ministry, ended up causing a first-class crisis.
In early May, protesting Naga students were challenged by the police, and about six of them were gunned down. This only intensified the disruption of traffic on the highways leading to Manipur. Today, the biggest hospitals are practically out of medicines. LPG (cooking gas) cylinders are being sold for Rs 1,200, four times what the rest of India pays.
This week, mainstream India – a loaded expression that generally means the politico-intellectual establishment in New Delhi – has decided to take notice. Television channels have started running talk shows on Manipur. The Home Ministry has said it will send paramilitary forces to clear the blockade.
That aside, there have been the traditional arguments: Would a crisis of this type have been allowed to fester for nine weeks if it had involved Mumbai rather than Manipur? Are people of the Northeast second-class citizens?
These questions are not new, and they are going to be asked again and again. After all the Meitei-Naga crisis of Manipur is not the last such in the Northeast. Even so, there is a certain smugness to India's template response, time after time.
Advocates of a hard line want the Northeast to be under semi-permanent military rule. They uphold the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958. The AFPSA, as it is called, allows armed forces to shoot and kill on mere suspicion of militancy or wrongdoing. On the other side are 'liberals' who want the AFPSA to be repealed, who want the Union government to sit down and talk to the Nagas, the Manipuris and the many disaffected ethnic communities.
Both sides want to 'protect the natives'. The first wants to save them from – take your pick – insurgency, Chinese invaders and Bangladeshi intruders. The second wants to keep them frozen in time, almost as if in an anthropological museum. For politicians, the Northeast is the source of massive corruption. The Union government pours in funds but channels it to key political elites, and the money inevitably flows back to private war chests in New Delhi.
For the Indian ruling class, the Northeast has become a racket, not a problem to be resolved, much less a region to be celebrated. The Naga talks are a case in point. The NSCN has been engaged in negotiations with a series of interlocutors – usually a retired civil servant in search of a sinecure. The gentleman meets the NSCN leadership in Bangkok or elsewhere, tots up frequent flyer points, persuades them to come back to India for further talks, but in the end gets nowhere.
The interlocutor has no mandate to offer a political deal. He cannot tell the NSCN that Nagalim will be agreed to and Naga-speaking regions outside Nagaland will be brought into the state's boundaries. He cannot refuse this either. He has no authority either way, as this is a political call. As such, all that the interlocutor does is stall for time, and plan his next foreign visit for 'peace talks'. In the interim, the Home Ministry shrugs its shoulders and whispers to those who will listen: 'What do we do? If we give in to the Nagas, Manipur will be in flames. The Northeast is so volatile. What do we do, what do we do?'
The Northeast is a political minefield, as many parts of India are; it is also culturally and sociologically extremely complex. Yet, does this mean it is forever fated to be at a cul de sac? Frankly, this may well be the case. There are enough vested interests that find the cul de sac very profitable. This verity hit me at a dinner in Dibrugarh some years ago. A Maruti Esteem in Assam was Rs 40,000 more expensive, I was told, than one in West Bengal.
"'The distance between Siliguri and Guwahati is 500 km," said an acquaintance. "At the rate of Rs 8 a km, I told the local Maruti manager, it would take the company Rs 4,000 to bring the car here. Why the Rs 40,000 premium?" The Maruti executive smiled, and retorted: "'Strategic pricing." He meant: inadequate competition.
This is true across the Northeast. Branded milk in Shillong is more expensive than branded milk in, say, Chennai. Such examples abound. The region is the last bastion of India's shortage economy. The route out of its troubles must necessarily be economic as well. If it works, all the other fault-lines – the political mess and the ethnic divisions – will fade away that much faster.
How can this be done?
First, there are the easy policy decisions. The Northeast has no business having the same time zone as the rest of India. It is to the east of Bhutan and yet 30 minutes behind Bhutan time. Recognition of this irrefutable logic will result in huge daylight and resource savings in the Northeast.
Second, the security-obsessed have got to stop seeing the Northeast as nothing more than the setting for war game fantasy. The Northeast has among India's worst roads and highways. Traditionally, India has built poor to no roads on its borders, fearing that to build good roads will help invading armies march in. Such bizarre thinking, and the long wait for a second Chinese attack after 1962, has had India denying its own citizens halfway decent roads.
Contrast this with Xinjiang and Tibet, two regions the Chinese have brutalised – doing much worse than India has done in the Northeast or Kashmir – but where Beijing has built world-class infrastructure, complete with fabulous highways. If there is a public perception battle here, India is not winning it.
Third, the Bangladeshi immigration/infiltration/demographic invasion phenomenon has to be rescued from religious nutcases. Millions of Bangladeshis live in the Northeast, particularly Assam, which they use as a base to move into the rest of India. Some of these people are Islamists and criminals (Bangladeshi terror and burglar gangs have been busted as far away as New Delhi). But the vast majority are ordinary folk in search of jobs and economic opportunity.
In Guwahati, construction comes to a standstill in the month of Ramzan. This is not a dire statement – it is a fact of life. The Bangladeshi worker is there because he is filling an economic need. If he disappears, it will be that much more difficult to build those houses and malls and roads in Assam and the Northeast. Migrant labour follows a hierarchy. The Oriya or Bihari worker is moving westwards, towards Gujarat and Maharashtra. As such, in the Northeast – at the other end of the food chain – it is the Bangladeshi worker who fills the gap.
Does this mean illegal immigration should be condoned? Not at all. It only implies that India needs to get over the rhetoric of 'deport all Bangladeshis' and give up that idea as simply not feasible. Rather, a guest worker system should be encouraged and incentivised, granting its practitioners legal status but not citizenship.
Fourth, in an age when, from the European Union to ASEAN, trade and other barriers are being dismantled, the Northeast has been deprived of a compelling advantage: scale. In terms of ethnicity and identity, this is one of the world's most complicated zones. That is a reason for its division into eight states. Within most of the states, there are separate jurisdictions for hill, ethnic-minority or tribal councils. All of this is representative of heterogeneity, but is also the product of a mindset in New Delhi that promotes the Northeast solely as a security concern and has sought to keep the locals politically divided.
What is the consequence of this? The Northeast has 25 members in the Lok Sabha, but when was the last time it produced a leader with real clout in India's capital? Probably Dinesh Goswami, law minister in VP Singh's government in 1989. More recently, PA Sangma tried to become a spokesperson for all eight states, but was only partly successful.
Rajasthan has 25 MPs, Gujarat 26 and Karnataka 28. These states, through their parliamentarians, wield influence in Delhi. Hopelessly divided, the Northeast contingent in Parliament is a voice in the wilderness.
In economic terms, the jigsaw-puzzle region cannot maximise its potential. Due to its terrain and geography the Northeast, for the most part, is not going to become a manufacturing hub with huge factories making, say, automobile components. Nevertheless, it is a services sector natural and a global tourism story waiting to explode. It is telling that, from malls in New Delhi to BPOs in Bangalore to spas in Kochi, the English-language abilities and 'soft skills' of young boys and girls from the Northeast make them key to India's services economy. Equally, it is a shame that this talent has little space back home. Neither will tourists come unless ensured good airports and roads, seamless, hassle-free connectivity between states, and freedom from security protocols.
Is this practicable? Yes, but only if the Northeast gets a new regional compact. It needs a States Reorganisation Commission of its own, which attempts to reconcile competing territorial sentiment and, whether it succeeds or not, negotiates a free trade agreement between the component states. Let the Northeast remain eight states and multiple sub-state councils – but let it become a single economic entity, with the same local tax laws, free transfer of goods and services, and unfettered movement of human and financial capital.
In other words, let the Northeast realise even a fraction of its economic destiny. When it starts doing so, the incentive to block a highway, spend a lifetime in identity politics, and oscillate between distrusting New Delhi and becoming a recipient of its hand-me-downs will also start to lose ground.
With enlightened political thinking, this can be done. Will it be anytime soon? Unfortunately, we all know the answer.
Source

http://arunachalnews.com/beyond-the-blockade-the-key-to-manipur.html

Indian Muslims' apex body deliberates on national and international issues

PRESS STATEMENT

New Delhi, Thursday, 14 June 2009: The Markazi Majlis (Central Committee) of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, met here on Saturday, 13 June 2009, under the chairmanship of the national president Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan and attended by the following members of the central majlis: Mr. Syed Shahabuddin, Maulana Ejaz Ahmed Aslam, Dr. Abdul Haque Ansari, Maulana Mohammad Shafi Moonis, Janab Nusrat Ali, Mr. Amanullah Khan, Dr. N. Rasul Siddiqui, Mr. Abdul Rashid Agwan, Prof. Mateen Ahmad Siddiqui, Mr. Mohammad Zaki Ansari, Mr. Akbar H. Jung, Mr. Ahmad Rasheed Shervani, Mrs. Nusrat Sherwani, Mr. Navaid Hamid, Prof. Habibur Rahman, Maulana Mohammad Shaib Koti, Dr. S.Q. R. Ilyas and the following special invitees: Dr. Ayaz Ahmad Islahi (Lucknow), Mr Zafar H. Jung (Delhi) and Mr Syed Irshad Ali (Bhopal).

The meeting offered condolences and prayers for the national and community figures who have departed in recent months including Golam Osmani, MP and member AIMMM from Assam, Bollywood actor FEROZ KHAN, Prof Zafar Ahmad Nizami, poet, author and chairman of Jamia Millia's Political Science Department; MAULANA SAYYID SIBT-E HASAN RAZVI QA'IM NAJAFI, a noted Shia scholar; Prof Qamar Raees, distinguished Urdu critic, writer and poet; Maulana Raeesul Ahrar Nadwi, distinguished scholar and Shaikhul Hadith of Jamia Salafia, Banaras; Maulana Abdul Hannan Qasmi, distinguished religious scholar; Raees Ahmad Jafri, noted Urdu journalist of Kolkata; Noted playwright and theatre personality Habib Tanvir; Kamala Surayya, noted writer and poetess from Kerala; Abul Mujahid Zahid, distinguished Urdu poet; Khan Abdul Wadood Khan, writer and author; Abdus Salam Khan, scholar of Arabic and Islam of Rampur; PK Abdur Razzaq Madni, scholar and author, state secretary of Kerala Navatul Mhujahidin; Ghulam Nabi Kochak, former J&K minister and leader of Awami National Conference; and Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Khatibi, former qazi of Bhatkal.

The AIMMM adopted a number of resolutions on the current national and international situation. In a resolution on the general elections, it welcomed the result of the polls, particularly the defeat of the communal forces and the formation of a secular government under the leadership of the INC. It expressed hope that an unfettered UPA will be able to implement the policies and intent announced by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has said that Muslims on account of their backwardness should have the first claim on resources. The MMM said that the generosity or otherwise of the Congress-led UPA government will decide if the Muslim return to the fold of the Congress is permanent or not. The MMM expressed it disappointment that very few Muslims were elected to the Lok Sabha raising the Muslim deprivation level to nearly 60% for various reasons, including the denial of tickets by secular parties and the contest among them in Muslim concentration seats and the division of Muslim votes. Indeed, eight states in which the Muslims are concentrated have recorded on even higher level of deprivation. The MMM noted with dismay that while the Muslim electorate had played a notable role in defeating the communal forces and thus ensuring the formation of a secular government at the Centre, it has been under-represented in the constitution of the Council of Ministers.

The MMM further said that it has decided to organise, in cooperation with other Muslim organisations of national eminence, a National Muslim Political Convention in Aug-Sept. 09 for consultation inter alia on advocating necessary changes in the political and electoral systems so that the Muslim and all deprived groups can be adequately represented. For this purpose a preparatory committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Syed Shahabuddin, Convenor of the Joint Committee of Muslim Organisations for Empowerment (JCMOE).

In a resolution on Reservation for Women, the MMM welcomed the move while cautioning that this should not prove to be a backdoor for the forward castes and the rich to grab more seats in the legislatures. Therefore, the resolution said, it is necessary to provide within any agreed quota for women sub-quotas for the marginalised sections including a specific sub-quota for Muslim women.

The MMM welcomed US President Barak Obama's speech to the Muslim World at Cairo on 4 June and considered it a good beginning and an attempt to open a new leaf in relations with the Muslim World after eight years of a totally unnecessary crusade against Islam and Muslims under President Bush in the name of fighting terrorism. After this good beginning, the resolution said, the American administration will have to prove its sincerity by actions to show that it is serious about mending fences with the Muslims around the world. If it does so, the resolution said, it will find an enthusiastic response from the World of Islam which has no reason to be at war with the West.

The MMM condemned the Israeli threats to Iran and Gaza Strip and said that the fact is that while Iran has signed the NPT, it allows IAEA inspectors to inspect and place cameras in its nuclear facilities and there is no evidence that Iran has nuclear weaponisation plans, Israel on the other hand keeps a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons. The MMM resolution further said that the fact is that Israel does not want any other country in the Middle East to challenge its hegemony and total control over the region and this is why it destroyed Iraq's nuclear facility in 1982 and Syria's last year. "This goondaism continues with the blind support Israel gets from the West in general and the United States in particular. At the same time, Israel continues to threaten the defenceless and impoverished Gaza Strip with another brutal attack on the lines of its earlier aggression of December 2008-January 2009," the resolution said.

The MMM expressed its dismay at the precipitate announcement of the Minister of Minority Affairs that reservation for Muslims is not possible unless the Constitution is changed and said that "The basis of reservation is backwardness of a segment of society and this has been proved by the marathon exercise of the Prime Minister's own committee headed by a former chief justice of a high court while the reservation for the minorities including Muslims was recommended by an official commission headed by no less than a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of India with the membership of some of our famous legal experts who cannot be ignorant of what the Constitution and polity of India allows or disallows." The MMM rejecteds this announcement and said that it "smacks of using a Muslim to nullify a genuine right of the Muslim community just as Muslims were used to nullify reservation and status of Urdu in the Constituent Assembly shortly after Independence." The resolution further said that burying the Mishra Report without tabling it in Parliament will be a betrayal which the Muslim community will not forget or forgive.

On the issue of terrorism, the MMM noted that "while open arms-training by Hindutva gangs continues, Bajrang Dal announces to recruit 25 lakh more workers, Abhinav Bharat terrorist organisation is still functioning and its leaders are at large, the Bhonsala school where the Hindutva terrorists received armed training still functions as if nothing has happened, and Hindutva terrorists are extending their activities to the neighbouring Nepal, arbitrary arrests of Muslim youths in the name of unknown and unproven outfits continues, Muslim youths are routinely acquitted by courts after years of incarceration but without a word of apology or compensation for smashing their careers. The MMM urges the central government to fix a uniform compensation for innocents whose lives and careers are destroyed as a result of prolonged incarceration." The MMM further said that if the powers that be are serious to fight terrorism, they must also check state-terrorism as it breeds what they claim to check. The MMM registered its alarm that Gujarat under Modi has become the hub where plots are hatched in the name of fighting "terrorism" to kidnap Muslim youths from various parts of the country and take them to the torture cells in Gujarat. The MMM said that the latest plot of the Modi government with the cooperation of other BJP-ruled states is to initiate a witch-hunt against Muslim youths who may have been at any time in the past associated in any way with the banned SIMI. The MMM condemns this witch-hunt and considers the Union home ministry responsible for condoning Modi government's machinations against the Muslim community in the name of fighting "terrorism".

In the context of the shameful incident of Shopian and AFPSA, the MMM condemned the continued violation of human rights of Kashmiri civilians by the army and security forces in Kashmir and called for the withdrawal of the army and paramilitary forces from the towns and villages of Kashmir. The MMM also demanded the earliest repeal of the notorious AFPSA law in both Kashmir and the Northeast as it breeds a culture of lawlessness and unaccountability on the part of the armed forces which as a matter of principle must not be used against civilian populations anywhere in the country.

The MMM also warned the UPA government not to be tempted by its majority to implement the so-called "reforms" on the IMF pattern or pro-rich policies. It said that the pro-rich economic model has failed in the West and we should not think that it will succeed in India. The MMM also asked the UPA government to open the doors for the Islamic finance which promotes participation and accountability and discourages greed which is at the heart of the failed capitalist model.

[end]

================================================

Following is the full text of the resolutions:

Text of the Resolutions passed by the Mushawarat Markazi Majlis (MMM)

13 June 2009

1. Obituaries

Golam Osmani, MP and member AIMMM from Assam, died on March 31.

Bollywood actor FEROZ KHAN died on April 27 at Bangalore.

Prof Zafar Ahmad Nizami, poet, author and chairman of Jamia Millia's Political Science Department died in Delhi's Escorts Hospital on 23 April.

MAULANA SAYYID SIBT-E HASAN RAZVI QA'IM NAJAFI, a noted Shia scholar, died in Delhi on 3 May.

Prof Qamar Raees, distinguished Urdu critic, writer and poet is no more. He died of jaundice in Delhi's Batra Hospital on 29 April.

Maulana Raeesul Ahrar Nadwi, distinguished scholar and Shaikhul Hadith of Jamia Salafia, Banaras, died on 10 May.

Maulana Abdul Hannan Qasmi, distinguished religious scholar, died on13 May at his home town Balasaath in Sitamrhi district of Bihar.

Raees Ahmad Jafri, noted Urdu journalist, died at his native village of Mahgar in Allahabad on 6 June.

Noted playwright and theatre personality Habib Tanvir, 85, died on 8 Jun 2009 after a brief illness.

KAMALA SURAYYA, noted writer and poetess from Kerala, died in Pune on 31 May following respiratory problems.

Abul Mujahid Zahid, distinguished Urdu poet Abul Mujahid Zahid died recently.

Khan Abdul Wadood Khan, 79, writer and author, d. in delhi on 28 Feb.

Abdus Salam Khan of Rampur, 92, d. rampur, scholar of Arabic and Islam, author of many books and won awards, died 13 April.

PK Abdur Razzaq Madni, scholar and author, state secretary of Kerala Navatul Mhujahidin, died at age of 73 on 12 april.

Ghulam Nabi Kochak, 81, former J&K minister and leader of Awami National Conference died at srinagar on 28 March.

Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Khatibi, former qazi of Bhatkal and oldest living Bhatkali, became qazi in 1974, died at bhatkal on 12 April.

2. Political resolutions:

Elections 2009, its aftermath and the Muslim agenda

The Markazi Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MMM) of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) welcomes the result of the General Election, 2009, particularly the defeat of the communal forces and the formation of a secular government under the leadership of the INC.

The MMM conveys its best wishes to the new government for accelerating the welfare of the common people and, particularly, for uplifting of the Muslims and other deprived groups.

MMM is relieved that the communal and divisive forces have been routed thanks to the overwhelming support of the Muslim voter to the secular candidates. The AIMMM hopes that an unfettered UPA will be able to implement the policies and intent announced by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has said that Muslims on account of their backwardness should have the first claim on resources. The generosity or otherwise of the Congress-led UPA government will decide if the Muslim return to the fold of the Congress is permanent or not.

The MMM is disappointed that very few Muslims were elected to the Lok Sabha raising the Muslim deprivation level to nearly 60% for various reasons, including the denial of tickets by secular parties and the contest among them in Muslim concentration seats and the division of Muslim votes. Indeed, eight states in which the Muslims are concentrated have recorded on even higher level of deprivation.

Also, the MMM notes with dismay that while the Muslim electorate had played a notable role in defeating the communal forces and thus ensuring the formation of a secular government at the Centre, it has been under-represented in the constitution of the Council of Ministers.

The MMM is also disappointed to note that the President's Address to the Parliament on 4 June, 2009 had little to offer to the Muslim community. In fact, it has not even mentioned the Justice Mishra Commission Report which has been gathering dust for more than two years or reiterated the promise of reservation made in the Congress Manifesto of 2009.

The MMM is of the considered view that the Community must seriously ponder over the political situation and electoral system and formulate an appropriate political strategy and initiate preparation for the next general election in 2014 as well as short-term means for obtaining due response from the UPA Government and all secular parties to its legitimate aspirations.

The MMM decides to organise, in cooperation with other Muslim organisations of national eminence, a National Muslim Political Convention in Aug-Sept. 09 for consultation inter alia on advocating necessary changes in the political and electoral systems so that the Muslim and all deprived groups can be adequately represented.

The MMM decides to form a Preparatory Committee for the proposed Political Convention, with the Convenor of the JCMOE as its Chairman, and requests him to nominate 10 other members, inter alia, to interact with Muslim organisations and eminent personalities and finalise the object and purpose of the Convention, the venue and the programme and the invitation list as well as to prepare a draft Policy Statement and Programme of Action.

Reservation for Women

The MMM welcomes the move to provide reservation for women in the legislatures and considers it a step forward to empower the disempowered in our society but cautions that this may prove to be a backdoor for the forward castes and the rich to grab more seats in the legislatures. Therefore, it is necessary to provide within any agreed quota for women sub-quotas for the marginalised sections including a specific sub-quota for Muslim women.

Obama's Speech

The MMM welcomes the tone and tenor of the US President Barak Hussein Obama's speech to the Muslim World in Cairo on 4 June and considers it a good beginning and an attempt to open a new leaf in relations with the Muslim World after eight years of a totally unnecessary crusade against Islam and Muslims under President Bush in the name of fighting terrorism. After this good beginning, the American administration will have to prove its sincerity by actions to show that it is serious about mending fences with the Muslims around the world. If it does so, it will find an enthusiastic response from the World of Islam which has no reason to be at war with the West.

Israeli threats to Iran, Gaza

The MMM is concerned about the continued Israeli threats to attack the nuclear and other military facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the pretext of frustrating Iran's nuclear ambitions. The fact is that while Iran has signed the NPT, it allows IAEA inspectors to inspect and place cameras in its nuclear facilities and there is no evidence that Iran has nuclear weaponisation plans, Israel on the other hand keeps a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons. The fact is that Israel does not want any other country in the Middle East to challenge its hegemony and total control over the region and this is why it destroyed Iraq's nuclear facility in 1982 and Syria's last year. This goondaism continues with the blind support Israel gets from the West in general and the United States in particular. At the same time, Israel continues to threaten the defenceless and impoverished Gaza Strip with another brutal attack on the lines of its earlier aggression of December 2008-January 2009. The purpose of such attack will be to defeat the democratic forces in Palestine and make peace more difficult. The MMM condemns any attempt by Israel and its western backers to prolong the Zionist occupation of Palestine.

Minister of Minority Affairs on reservation

The MMM is dismayed at the precipitate announcement of the Minister of Minority Affairs that reservation for Muslims is not possible unless the Constitution is changed. The basis of reservation is backwardness of a segment of society and this has been proved by the marathon exercise of the Prime Minister's own committee headed by a former chief justice of a high court while the reservation for the minorities including Muslims was recommended by an official commission headed by no less than a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of India with the membership of some of our famous legal experts who cannot be ignorant of what the Constitution and polity of India allows or disallows. The MMM rejects this announcement which smacks of using a Muslim to nullify a genuine right of the Muslim community just as Muslims were used to nullify reservation and status of Urdu in the Constituent Assembly shortly after Independence. The MMM urges the Union Government to go ahead and place the Mishra Commission in the national parliament and allow an open debate on the issue. Burying the Mishra Report without tabling it in Parliament will be a betrayal which the Muslim community will not forget or forgive.

Terrorism

The MMM notes that while open arms-training by Hindutva gangs continues, Bajrang Dal announces to recruit 25 lakh more workers, Abhinav Bharat terrorist organisation is still functioning and its leaders are at large, the Bhonsala school where the Hindutva terrorists received armed training still functions as if nothing has happened, and Hindutva terrorists are extending their activities to the neighbouring Nepal, arbitrary arrests of Muslim youths in the name of unknown and unproven outfits continues, Muslim youths are routinely acquitted by courts after years of incarceration but without a word of apology or compensation for smashing their careers. The MMM urges the central government to fix a uniform compensation for innocents whose lives and careers are destroyed as a result of prolonged incarceration.

The MMM is of the firm view that if the powers that be are serious to fight terrorism, they must also check state-terrorism as it breeds what they claim to check.

The MMM registers its alarm that Gujarat under Modi has become the hub where plots are hatched in the name of fighting "terrorism" to kidnap Muslim youths from various parts of the country and take them to the torture cells in Gujarat. The latest plot of the Modi government with the cooperation of other BJP-ruled states is to initiate a witch-hunt against Muslim youths who may have been at any time in the past associated in any way with the banned SIMI. The MMM condemns this witch-hunt and considers the Union home ministry responsible for condoning Modi government's machinations against the Muslim community in the name of fighting "terrorism".

Shopian incident and AFPSA

The MMM condemns the continued violation of human rights of Kashmiri civilians by the army and security forces in Kashmir. It is time the army and paramilitary forces are withdrawn from the towns and villages of Kashmir and the law and order responsibilities returned to the police which knows the people, their habits and traditions. The notorious AFPSA law should also be repealed in both Kashmir and the Northeast as it breeds a culture of lawlessness and unaccountability on the part of the armed forces which as a matter of principle must not be used against civilian populations anywhere in the country. The MMM noted with satisfaction Union Home Minister Mr P Chidambaram's recent announcement that the central government is considering the withdrawal of AFPSA and the removal of the army from inhabited areas in Kashmir. The sooner this is done the better.

Economy and Islamic Finance

The AIMMM is anxious that the new UPA government may be tempted by its newfound majority to implement the so-called "reforms" on the IMF pattern. Our government should not follow pro-rich policies. The pro-rich economic model has failed in the West and we should not think that it will succeed in India. The UPA government should strive to innovate a poor-friendly economy in order to raise the living standards of the common man instead of increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. The UPA government should also open the doors for the Islamic finance which promotes participation and accountability and discourages greed which is at the heart of the failed capitalist model.

[end]

Sd/-
Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan
President
ALL INDIA MUSLIM MAJLIS-e-MUSHAWARAT
D-250, Abul Fazal Enclave, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi - 110 025 Phone: 2694 6780 Fax: 2694 7346 Email: mushawarat@mushawarat.com ; www.mushawarat.com «
http://www.milligazette.com/IndMusStat/2009a/0991_Indian_Muslims_on_national_international_issues.htm

Armed Forces Special Powers Act:

A study in National Security tyranny

1. INTRODUCTION

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) is one of the more draconian legislations that the Indian Parliament has passed in its 45 years of Parliamentary history. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared disturbed. Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to "maintain the public order".

The AFSPA gives the armed forces wide powers to shoot, arrest and search, all in the name of "aiding civil power." It was first applied to the North Eastern states of Assam and Manipur and was amended in 1972 to extend to all the seven states in the north- eastern region of India. They are Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland, also known as the "seven sisters". The enforcement of the AFSPA has resulted in innumerable incidents of arbitrary detention, torture, rape, and looting by security personnel. This legislation is sought to be justified by the Government of India, on the plea that it is required to stop the North East states from seceeding from the Indian Union. There is a strong movement for self-determination which precedes the formation of the Indian Union.

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

As the great Himalayan range dividing South and Central Asia runs down the east, it takes a southward curve and splits into lower hill ranges. The hills are punctuated by valleys and the valleys are washed by the rivers that drain into to the Bay of Bengal. Waves of people settled in these blue hills and green valleys at various times in history. They brought with them cultures and traditions. The new interacted with the old and evolved into the unique cultural mosaic that characterizes the region.

Through the centuries, these hills and valleys have bridged South, South East, and Central Asia. On today's geo-political map, a large part of the original region constitutes the seven states of the Republic of India, but its political, economic and socio-cultural systems have always been linked with South East Asia. The great Hindu and Muslim empires that reigned over the Indian sub-continent never extended east of the Bhramaputra river.

India's British colonizers were the first to break this barrier. In the early 19th century, they moved in to check the Burmese expansion into today's Manipur and Assam. The British, with the help of the then Manipur King, Gambhir Singh, crushed the Burmese imperialist dream and the treaty of Yandabo was signed in 1828. Under this treaty, Assam became a part of British India and the British continued to influence the political affairs of the region.

This undue interference eventually led to the bloody Anglo- Manipuri conflict of 1891. The British reaffirmed their position but were cognizant of the ferocious spirit of independence of these people and did not administer directly but only through the King.

It was during the Second World War, when the Japanese tried to enter the Indian sub-continent through this narrow corridor, that the strategic significance of the region to the Indian armed forces was realised. With the bombing of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a disenchanted Japanese had to retreat from Imphal and Kohima fronts, however the importance of control over the region subsequently remained a priority for the Government of India.

With the end of the war, the global political map was changed over night. As the British were preparing to leave Asia, the Political Department of the British Government planned to carve out a buffer state consisting of the Naga Hills, Mikir Hills, Sadiya Area, Balipara Tract, Manipur, Lushai Hills, Khasi and Hills in Assam, as well as the Chin Hills and the hills of northern Burma. The impending departure of the British created confusion and turmoil over how to fill the political vacuum they would leave behind. Ultimately, the various territories were parceled out to Nehru's India, Jinnah's Pakistan, Aung Sang's Burma and Mao's China according to strategic requirements. As expected, there were some rumblings between the new Asiatic powers on who should get how much - India and Burma over Kabow valley, India and East Pakistan over Chittagong Hill Tracts, and India and China over the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), present day Arunachal Pradesh.

Compromises were made, and issues were finally settled in distant capitals, to the satifaction of the new rulers. The people who had been dwelling in these hills and valleys for thousands of years were systematically excluded from the consultation process. The Indian share of the British colonial cake in this region constitutes the present "Seven Sisters" states of the North-East.

Over the years, thanks to the British, the advent of western education and contact with new ideas brought about the realization that the old ways had to give way to the new. Indigenous movements evolved as the people aspired to a new social and political order. For example, in the ancient Kingdom of Manipur, under the charismatic leadership of Hijam Irabot, a strong popular democratic movement against feudalism and colonialism was raging. After the departure of the British, the Kingdom of Manipur was reconstituted as a constitutional monarchy on modern lines by passing the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947.

Elections were held under the new constitution. A legislative assembly was formed. In 1949, Mr V P Menon, a senior representative of the Government of India, invited the King to a meeting on the pretext of discussing the deteriorating law and order situation in the state at Shillong. Upon his arrival, the King was allegedly forced to sign under duress the merger agreement. The agreement was never ratified in the Manipur Legislative Assembly. Rather, the Assembly was dissolved and Manipur was kept under the charge of a Chief Commissioner. There were protests, but the carrot-and-stick policy launched by the Indian Government successfully suppressed any opposition.

The Naga Movement

At the beginning of the century, the inhabitants of the Naga Hills, which extend across the Indo-Burmese border, came together under the single banner of Naga National Council (NNC), aspiring for a common homeland and self-governance. As early as 1929, the NNC petitioned the Simon Commission, which was examining the feasibility of future of self-governance of India. The Naga leaders were adamantly against Indian rule over their people once the British pulled out of the region. Mahatma Gandhi publicly announced that the Nagas had every right to be independent. His assertion was based on his belief in non-violence, he did not believe in the use of force or an unwilling union.

Under the Hydari Agreement signed between NNC and British administration, Nagaland was granted protected status for ten years, after which the Nagas would decide whether they should stay in the Union or not. However, shortly after the British withdrew, independent India proclaimed the Naga Territory as part and parcel of the new Republic.

The NNC proclaimed Nagaland's independence. In retaliation, Indian authorities arrested the Naga leaders. An armed struggle ensued and there were large casualties on either side. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is the product of this tension.

In 1975, some Naga leaders held talks with the Government of India which resulted in what is known as the Shillong Accord. The Naga leaders who did not agree with the Shillong accord formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and continue to fight for what they call," Naga sovereignty".

Problems of Integration

Much of this historical bloodshed could have been avoided if the new India had lived up to the democratic principles enshrined in its Constitution and respected the rights of the nationalities it had taken within its borders. But in the over-zealous efforts to integrate these people into the "national mainstream", based on the dominant brahminical Aryan culture, much destruction has been done to the indigenous populations.

Culturally, the highly caste ridden, feudal society is totally incompatible with the ethics of North-East cultures which are by and large egalitarian. To make matters even worse, the Indian leaders found it useful to club these ethnic groups with the adivasis (indigenous peoples) of the sub-continent, dubbing them "scheduled tribes". As a result, in the casteist Indian social milieu, indigenous peoples are stigmatized by higher castes.

The languages of the North-East are of the Tibeto- Chinese family rather than the Indo-Aryan or Dravidian. Until the recent Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, none of the Tibeto- Chinese languages were recognized as Indian languages. The predominantly mongoloid features of the people of the North-East is another barrier to cultural assimilation.

Politically dependent, the North East is being economically undermined; the traditional trade routes with South East Asia and Bangladesh have been closed. It was kept out of the Government of India's massive infrastructural development in the first few five-year-plans. Gradually, the region has become the Indian capitalist's hinterland, where local industries have been reduced to nothing and the people are now entirely dependent on goods and businesses owned predominantly by those from the Indo- Gangetic plains. The economic strings of this region are controlled by these, in many cases, unscrupulous traders.

All the states of the North-East are connected to India by the "chicken's neck", a narrow corridor between Bangladesh and Bhutan. At partition, the area was cut off from the nearest port of Chittagong, in what is now Bangladesh, reducing traffic to and from the region to a trickle. The states in the region are largely unconnected to India' vast rail system.

India freely exploits the natural resources of the North-East. Assam produces one-fourth of all the petroleum for India, yet it is processed outside of Assam so the state does not receive the revenues. Manipur is 22% behind the national average for infrastructural development, and the entire North-Eastern region is 30% behind the rest of India.

Observers have pointed out that "...it is clear that in the North East, insurgency and underdevelopment have been closely linked; in such a situation strong-arm tactics will only help to further alienate the people."

The shifting demographic balance due to large-scale immigration from within and outside the country is another source of tension. The indigenous people fear that they will be outnumbered by outsiders in their own land. Laborers from Bihar and Bengal who live under rigidly feudal, casteist socio-economic conditions in their states are ready to do all kinds of menial jobs at much lower wages. As they pour in, more and more local laborers are being edged out of their jobs. Illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Nepal is also percieved as a threat. In Tripura, the indigenous population has been reduced to a mere 28% of the total population of the state because of large scale immigration from then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh.

In Assam, a similar fear of " immigrant invasion" was at the root of a student movement in the early eighties. The student leaders formed a political party called the Assam Gana Parisad (AGP) and contested state elections and won. In 1984, the Assam Accord was signed with the Central Government. However, the provisions of the Accord were never implemented. The failure of the AGP to bring about change in the state of Assam fostered the growth of the armed and overtly seccessionist United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

Mizoram

In the Lushai hills of Assam in the early sixties, a famine broke out. A relief team cried out for help from the Government of India. But there was little help. The relief team organized themselves into the Mizo National Front (MNF) and called for an armed struggle, " to liberate Mizoram from Indian colonialiasm." In February 1966, armed militant groups captured the town of Aizawl and took possession of all government offices. It took the Indian army one week to recapture the town. The army responded viciously with air raids. This is the only place in India where the Indian Security Forces actually aerially bombed its own civilian population. The armed forces compelled people to leave their homes and dumped them on the roadside to set up new villages, so that the armed forces would be able to better control them. This devastated the structure of Mizo society. In 1986, the Mizo Accord was signed between the MNF and the Government of India. This accord was identical to the Shilong Accord made with the Nagas earlier. The MNF agreed to work within the Indian Constitution and to renounce violence.

The Government of India's primary interest in the North East was strategic, and so was its response to the problems. A series of repressive laws were passed by the Government of India in order to deal with this uprising. In 1953, the Assam Maintenance of Public Order (Autonomous District) Regulation Act was passed. It was applicable to the then Naga Hills and Tuensang districts. It empowered the Governor to impose collective fines, prohibit public meetings and and detain anybody without a warrant.

On 22 May 1958, a mere 12 days after the Budget Session of Parliament was over, the Armed Forces (Assam-Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance was passed. A bill was introduced in the Monsoon session of Parliament that year. Amongst those who cautioned against giving such blanket powers to the Army included the then Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, (Upper House of the Indian Parliament), Mr P N Sapru. In a brief discussion that lasted for three hours in the Lok Sabha and for four hours in the Rajya Sabha, Parliament approved the Armed Forces (Assam- Manipur) Special Powers Act with retrospective from 22 May 1958.

3. THE ACT AND ITS PROVISIONS

Section 1: This section states the name of the Act and the areas to which it extends (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram).

Section 2: This section sets out the definition of the Act, but leaves much un-defined. Under part (a) in the 1972 version, the armed forces were defined as "the military and Air Force of the Union so operating". In the 1958 version of the Act the definition was of the "military forces and the air forces operating as land forces". In the Lok Sabha Debates which led to the passing of the original Act, Mr Naushir Bharucha commented, "that probably means that the Government very mercifully has not permitted the air forces to shoot or strafe the area ... or to bomb." The Minister of Home Affairs did not confirm this interpretation, but certainly "acting as land forces" should rule out the power to resort to aerial bombardment. Nevertheless, in 1966, the Air Force in Mizoram did resort to aerial bombardment.

Section 2(b) defines a "disturbed area" as any area declared as such under Clause 3 (see discussion below). Section 2(c) states that all other words not defined in the AFSPA have the meanings assigned to them in the Army Act of 1950.

Section 3: This section defines "disturbed area" by stating how an area can be declared disturbed. It grants the power to declare an area disturbed to the Central Government and the Governor of the State, but does not describe the circumstances under which the authority would be justified in making such a declaration. Rather, the AFSPA only requires that such authority be "of the opinion that whole or parts of the area are in a dangerous or disturbed condition such that the use of the Armed Forces in aid of civil powers is necessary." The vagueness of this definition was challenged in Indrajit Barua v. State of Assam case. The court decided that the lack of precision to the definition of a disturbed area was not an issue because the government and people of India understand its meaning. However, since the declaration depends on the satisfaction of the Government official, the declaration that an area is disturbed is not subject to judicial review. So in practice, it is only the government's understanding which classifies an area as disturbed. There is no mechanism for the people to challenge this opinion. Strangely, there are acts which define the term more concretely. In the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, an area may be declared disturbed when "a State Government is satisfied that (i) there was, or (ii) there is, in any area within a State extensive disturbance of the public peace and tranquility, by reason of differences or disputes between members of different religions, racial, language, or regional groups or castes or communities, it may ... declare such area to be a disturbed area." The lack of precision in the definition of a disturbed area under the AFSPA demonstrates that the government is not interested in putting safeguards on its application of the AFSPA.

The 1972 amendments to the AFSPA extended the power to declare an area disturbed to the Central Government. In the 1958 version of the AFSPA only the state governments had this power. In the 1972 Lok Sabha debates it was argued that extending this power to the Central Government would take away the State's authority. In the 1958 debates the authority and power of the states in applying the AFSPA was a key issue. The Home Minister had argued that the AFSPA broadened states' power because they could call in the military whenever they chose. The 1972 amendment shows that the Central Government is no longer concerned with the state's power. Rather, the Central Government now has the ability to overrule the opinion of a state governor and declare an area disturbed. This happened in Tripura, when the Central Government declared Tripura a disturbed area, over the opposition of the State Government.

In the 1972 Lok Sabha debates, Mr S D Somasundaram pointed out that there was no need to extend this power to the Central Government, since the President had "the power to intervene in a disturbed State at any time" under the Constitution. This point went unheeded and the Central Government retains the power to apply the AFSPA to the areas it wishes in the Northeast.

Section 4: This section sets out the powers granted to the military stationed in a disturbed area. These powers are granted to the commissioned officer, warrant officer, or non-commissioned officer, only a jawan (private) does not have these powers. The Section allows the armed forces personnel to use force for a variety of reasons.

The army can shoot to kill, under the powers of section 4(a), for the commission or suspicion of the commission of the following offenses: acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons, carrying weapons, or carrying anything which is capable of being used as a fire-arm or ammunition. To justify the invocation of this provision, the officer need only be "of the opinion that it is necessary to do so for the maintenance of public order" and only give "such due warning as he may consider necessary".

The army can destroy property under section 4(b) if it is an arms dump, a fortified position or shelter from where armed attacks are made or are suspected of being made, if the structure is used as a training camp, or as a hide-out by armed gangs or absconders.

The army can arrest anyone without a warrant under section 4(c) who has committed, is suspected of having committed or of being about to commit, a cognisable offense and use any amount of force "necessary to effect the arrest".

Under section 4(d), the army can enter and search without a warrant to make an arrest or to recover any property, arms, ammunition or explosives which are believed to be unlawfully kept on the premises. This section also allows the use of force necessary for the search.

Section 5: This section states that after the military has arrested someone under the AFSPA, they must hand that person over to the nearest police station with the "least possible delay". There is no definition in the act of what constitutes the least possible delay. Some case-law has established that 4 to 5 days is too long. But since this provision has been interpreted as depending on the specifics circumstances of each case, there is no precise amount of time after which the section is violated. The holding of the arrested person, without review by a magistrate, constitutes arbitrary detention.

Section 6: This section establishes that no legal proceeding can be brought against any member of the armed forces acting under the AFSPA, without the permission of the Central Government. This section leaves the victims of the armed forces abuses without a remedy.

4. LEGAL ANALYSIS

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act contravenes both Indian and International law standards. This was exemplified when India presented its second periodic report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1991. Members of the UNHRC asked numerous questions about the validity of the AFSPA, questioning how the AFSPA could be deemed constitutional under Indian law and how it could be justified in light of Article 4 of the ICCPR. The Attorney General of India relied on the sole argument that the AFSPA is a necessary measure to prevent the secession of the North Eastern states. He said that a response to this agitation for secession in the North East had to be done on a "war footing." He argued that the Indian Constitution, in Article 355, made it the duty of the Central Government to protect the states from internal disturbance, and that there is no duty under international law to allow secession.

This reasoning exemplifies the vicious cycle which has been instituted in the North East due to the AFSPA. The use of the AFSPA pushes the demand for more autonomy, giving the peoples of the North East more reason to want to secede from a state which enacts such powers and the agitation which ensues continues to justify the use of the AFSPA from the point of view of the Indian Government.

A) INDIAN LAW

There are several cases pending before the Indian Supreme Court which challenge the constitutionality of the AFSPA. Some of these cases have been pending for over nine years. Since the Delhi High Court found the AFSPA to be constitutional in the case of Indrajit Barua and the Gauhati High court found this decision to be binding in People's Union for Democratic Rights, the only judicial way to repeal the act is for the Supreme Court to declare the AFSPA unconstitutional.

It is extremely surprising that the Delhi High Court found the AFSPA constitutional given the wording and application of the AFSPA. The AFSPA is unconstitutional and should be repealed by the judiciary or the legislature to end army rule in the North East.

Violation of Article 21 - Right to life
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to life to all people. It reads, "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law." Judicial interpretation that "procedure established by law means a "fair, just and reasonable law" has been part of Indian jurisprudence since the 1978 case of Maneka Gandhi. This decision overrules the 1950 Gopalan case which had found that any law enacted by Parliament met the requirement of "procedure established by law".
Under section 4(a) of the AFSPA, which grants armed forces personnel the power to shoot to kill, the constitutional right to life is violated. This law is not fair, just or reasonable because it allows the armed forces to use an excessive amount of force.
The offenses under section 4(a) are: "acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons or the carrying of weapons or of things capable of being used as weapons or fire-arms, ammunition or explosive substances". None of these offences necessarily involve the use of force. The armed forces are thus allowed to retaliate with powers which are grossly out of proportion with the offence.
Justice requires that the use of force be justified by a need for self-defense and a minimum level of proportionality. As pointed out by the UN Human Rights Commission, since "assembly" is not defined, it could well be a lawful assembly, such as a family gathering, and since "weapon" is not defined it could include a stone. This shows how wide the interpretation of the offences may be, illustrating that the use of force is disproportionate and irrational.
Several incidents show how the Border Security Force (BSF) and army personnel abuse their powers in the North East. In April 1995, a villager in West Tripura was riding near a border outpost when a soldier asked him to stop. The villager did not stop and the soldier shot him dead. Even more grotesque were the killings in Kohima on 5 March 1995. The Rastriya Rifles (National Rifles) mistook the sound of a tyre burst from their own convoy as a bomb attack and began firing indiscriminately in the town. The Assam Rifles and the CRPF who were camped two kilometers away heard the gunshots and also began firing. The firing lasted for more than one hour, resulting in the death of seven innocent civilians, 22 were also seriously injured. Among those killed were two girls aged 3 1/2 and 8 years old. The injured also included 7 minors. Mortars were used even though using mortars in a civilian area is prohibited under army rules.
This atrocity demonstrates the level of tension prevalent in the North East. For a tire burst to be mistaken for a bomb proves that the armed forces are perpetually under stress and live under a state of siege.
In the Indrajit Barua case, the Delhi High Court found that the state has the duty to assure the protection of rights under Article 21 to the largest number of people. Couched in the rhetoric of the need to protect the "greater good", it is clear that the Court did not feel that Article 21 is a fundamental right for the people of Assam. The Court stated, "If to save hundred lives one life is put in peril or if a law ensures and protects the greater social interest then such law will be a wholesome and beneficial law although it may infringe the liberty of some individuals."
This directly contradicts Article 14 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees equality before the law. This article guarantees that "the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India." The AFSPA is in place in limited parts of India. Since the people residing in areas declared "disturbed" are denied the protection of the right to life, denied the protections of the Criminal Procedure Code and prohibited from seeking judicial redress, they are also denied equality before the law. Residents of non-disturbed areas enjoy the protections guaranteed under the Constitution, whereas the residents of the Northeast live under virtual army rule. Residents of the rest of the Union of India are not obliged to sacrifice their Constitutional rights in the name of the "greater good".
Protection against arrest and detention - Article 22
Article 22 of the Indian Constitution states that "(1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice. (2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate." The remaining sections of the Article deal with limits on these first two sections in the case of preventive detention laws. On its face, the AFSPA is not a preventive detention law therefore the safeguards of sections (1) and (2) must be guaranteed to people arrested under the AFSPA.
Section (2) of Article 22 was the subject of much debate during the framing of the Indian Constitution. There was argument over whether the time limit should be specified or whether the words "with the least possible delay" should be used. Dr Amedkar, one of the principal framers of the Indian Constitution argued that "with the least possible delay" would actually result in the person being held for a shorter period of time, whereas "twenty- four hours" would result in the person being held for the maximum time of twenty-four hours. The application of these terms has since shown that a specified time period constitutes a greater safeguard. Under the AFSPA, the use of "least possible delay" language has allowed the security forces to hold people for days and months at a time. A few habeas corpus cases in which the court did find the delay to be excessive are indicative of the abuses which are occurring in practice. It should be noted that habeas corpus cases are only filed for those who have access to lawyers and the court. In all the seven states of the North East only the Guwhati High Court bench in Assam can hear habeas corpus cases. So although in the two following cases the time of delay in handing over the arrested person was found excessive, it can only be imagined what types of abuses occur in the states of Manipur and Nagaland where the people do not have access to the court. In Nungshitombi Devi v. Rishang Keishang, CM Manipur, (1982) 1 GLR 756, the petitioner's husband was arrested by CRPF on 10 January 1981, and was still missing on 22 February 1981. He had been arrested under AFSPA Section 4(c). The court found this delay to have been too long and unjustified, even under Section 5 of the AFSPA. In Civil Liberties Organisation (CLAHRO) v. PL Kukrety, (1988) 2 GLR 137, people arrested in Oinam were held for five days before being handed over to magistrates. The court found this to be an unjustified delay.
In its application, the AFSPA does lead to arbitrary detention. If the AFSPA were defended on the grounds that it is a preventive detention law, it would still violate Article 22 of the Constitution. Preventive detention laws can allow the detention of the arrested person for up to three months. Under 22(4) any detention longer than three months must be reviewed by an Advisory Board. Moreover, under 22(5) the person must be told the grounds of their arrest. Under section 4(c) of the AFSPA a person can be arrested by the armed forces without a warrant and on the mere suspicion that they are going to commit an offence. The armed forces are not obliged to communicate the grounds for the arrest. There is also no advisory board in place to review arrests made under the AFSPA. Since the arrest is without a warrant it violates the preventive detention sections of article 22.
The case of Luithukla v. Rishang Keishing, (1988) 2 GLR 159, a habeas corpus case, exemplifies the total lack of restraint on the armed forces when carrying out arrests. The case was brought to ascertain the whereabouts of a man who had been arrested five years previously by the army. The court found that the man had been detained by the army and that the forces had mistaken their role of "aiding civil power". The court said that the army may not act independently of the district administration. Repeatedly, the Guwahati High Court has told the army to comply with the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), but there are is no enforcement of these rulings.
Army officers have accused High Court judges of weakening military powers in the North East, exemplifying that the armed forces are not interested in complying with civil law standards. Any attempt by the courts to oblige compliance with police procedure is ignored. (see further section on the lack of independence of the judiciary)
In the habeas corpus case of Bacha Bora v. State of Assam, (1991) 2 GLR 119, the petition was denied because a later arrest by the civil police was found to be legal. However, in a discussion of the AFSPA, the court analyzed Section 5 (turn the arrested person over to the nearest magistrate "with least possible delay"). The court did not use Article 22 of the Constitution to find that this should be less than twenty-four hours, but rather said that "least possible delay" is defined by the particular circumstances of each case. In this case, the army had provided no justification for the two week delay, when a police station was nearby, so section 5 was violated. Nevertheless, this leaves open the interpretation that circumstances could justify a delay of 5 days or more.
The Indian Criminal Procedure Code ("CrPC")
The CrPC establishes the procedure police officers are to follow for arrests, searches and seizures, a procedure which the army and other para- military are not trained to follow. Therefore when the armed forces personnel act in aid of civil power, it should be clarified that they may not act with broader power than the police and that these troops must receive specific training in criminal procedure.
In explaining the AFSPA bill in the Lok Sabha in 1958, the Union Home Minister stated that the Act was subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the CrPC. He said "these persons [military personnel] have the authority to act only within the limits that have been prescribed generally in the CrPC or in the Constitution." If this is the case, then why was the AFSPA not drafted to say "use of minimum force" as done in the CrPC? If the government truly means to have the armed forces comply with criminal procedure, than the AFSPA should have a specific clause enunciating this compliance. Further it should also train the armed forces in this procedure.
The CrPC has a section on the maintenance of public order, Chapter X, which provides more safeguards than the AFSPA. Section 129 in that chapter allows for the dispersal of an assembly by use of civil force. The section empowers an Executive Magistrate, officer-in-charge of a police station or any police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector to disperse such an assembly. It is interesting to compare this section with the powers the army has to disperse assemblies under section 4(a) of the Act. The CrPC clearly delineates the ranks which can disperse such an assembly, whereas the Act grants the power to use maximum force to even to non commissioned officers. Moreover, the CrPC does not state that force to the extent of causing death can be used to disperse an assembly.
Sections 130 and 131 of the same chapter sets out the conditions under which the armed forces may be called in to disperse an assembly. These two sections have several safeguards which are lacking in the Act. Under section 130, the armed forces officers are to follow the directives of the Magistrate and use as little force as necessary in doing so. Under 131, when no Executive Magistrate can be contacted, the armed forces may disperse the assembly but if it becomes possible to contact an Executive Magistrate at any point, the armed forces must do so. Section 131 only gives the armed forces the power to arrest and confine. Moreover, it is only commissioned or gazetted officers who may give the command to disperse such an assembly, whereas in the AFSPA even non-commissioned officers are given this power. The AFSPA grants wider powers than the CrPC for dispersal of an assembly.
Moreover, dispersal of assemblies under Chapter X of the CrPC is slightly more justifiable than dispersal under Section 4(a) of the AFSPA. Sections 129-131 refer to the unlawful assemblies as ones which "manifestly endanger" public security. Under the AFSPA the assembly is only classified as "unlawful" leaving open the possibility that peaceful assemblies can be dispersed by use of force.
Chapter V of the CrPC sets out the arrest procedure the police are to follow. Section 46 establishes the way in which arrests are to be made. It is only if the person attempts to evade arrest that the police officer may use "all means necessary to effect the arrest." However, sub-section (3) limits this use of force by stipulating that this does not give the officer the right to cause the death of the person, unless they are accused of an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment. This power is already too broad. It allows the police to use more force than stipulated in the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (see section on International law below). Yet the AFSPA is even more excessive. Section 4(a) lets the armed forces kill a person who is not suspected of an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment.
Under the Indian Penal Code, at Section 302, only murder is punishable with death. Murder is not one of the offenses listed in section 4(a) of the AFSPA. Moreover the 4(a) offences are assembly of five or more persons, the carrying of weapons, ammunition or explosive substances, none of which are punishable with life imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code. Under section 143 of the Penal Code, being a member of an unlawful assembly is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months and/or a fine. Even if the person has joined such unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for two years and a fine. Moreover, persisting or joining in an unlawful assembly of five or more persons is also punishable with six months imprisonment, or a fine, or both. The same offence committed by someone in a disturbed area under the AFSPA is punishable with death. This again violates the Constitutional right to equality before the law. Different standards of punishment are in place for the same act in different parts of the country, violating the equality standards set out in the Constitution.
Supposedly the military do have instructions on the procedures they are to follow when they act in aid of civil power. In People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, (1991) 2 GLR 1, when the court reviewed the army's powers it referred to two sets of instructions issued to the military when acting in aid of civil power. The first was a 1969 pamphlet issued by the Government of India as guidance for military but it was confidential and the court was not allowed to review it. A 1973 basic book instructions for army acting in aid of civil power was also referred to in the case. In a personal meeting with Justice Raghuvir, former Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court, and the Justice who wrote the opinion in People's Union for Democratic Rights, SAHRDC asked for details on the nature of these instructions. Justice Raghuvir told us that he was only able to see a few pages and that the whole booklet was not available to non-military personnel. He believes that the military keeps these instruction manuals confidential so that it can not be shown that the armed forces fail to comply with their own standards. This is another example of the lack of judicial review and allows the armed forces to remain above the law.
Military's Immunity / Lack of Remedies
The members of the Armed Forces in the whole of the Indian territory are protected from arrest for anything done within the line of official duty by Section 45 of the CrPC. Section 6 of the AFSPA provides them with absolute immunity for all atrocities committed under the AFSPA. A person wishing to file suit against a member of the armed forces for abuses under the AFSPA must first seek the permission of the Central Government.
In a report on the AFSPA to the UN Human Rights Committee in 1991, Nandita Haksar, a lawyer who has often petitioned the Guwahati High Court in cases related to the AFSPA, explains how in practice this leaves the military's victims without a remedy. Firstly, there has not been a single case of any one seeking such permission to file a case in the North East. Given that the armed forces personnel conduct themselves as being above the law and the people are alienated from the state government, it is hardly surprising that no one would approach Delhi for such permission. Secondly, when the armed forces are tried in army courts, the public is not informed of the proceedings and the court martial judgments are not published. In a meeting with the government National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a representative of SAHRDC was able to discuss cases where BSF and armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir were punished for abuses. Yet, the results of these trials were not published and the NHRC representative stated that it would endanger the lives of the soldiers.
This section of the AFSPA was also reviewed in Indrajit Barua. The High Court justified this provision on the grounds that it prevents the filing of "frivolous claims". The court even said that this provision provides more safeguards, obviously confusing safeguards for the military with safeguards for the victims of the military's abuses.
Instances of human rights abuses by the army have shown that unless there is public accountability there is no incentive for the army to change its conduct. This was exemplified in Burundi when security forces killed 1,000 people in October 1991. Amnesty International reported, "The failure to identify those responsible for human rights violations and bring them to justice has meant that members of the security forces continue to believe that they are above the law and can violate human rights with impunity." Without the transparency of the public accounting, it is impossible to be sure that perpetrators are actually punished.
Habeas corpus cases have been the only remedy available for those arrested under the AFSPA. A habeas corpus case forces the military or police to hand the person over to the court. This gives the arrested person some protection and it is in these cases that legal counsel have been able to make arguments challenging the AFSPA. However, a habeas corpus case will not lead to the repeal of the act nor will it punish particular officers who committed the abuses. Also, only people who have access to lawyers will be able to file such a case.
Section 6 of the AFSPA thus suspends the Constitutional right to file suit. Mr Mahanty raised this crucial argument in the first Lok Sabha debate on the AFSPA in 1958. He said that Section 6 of the AFSPA "immediately takes away, abrogates, pinches, frustrates the right to constitutional remedy which has been given in article 32(1) of the Constitution." This further shows that the AFSPA is more than an emergency provision because it is only in states of emergency that these rights can be constitutionally suspended.
Section 32(1) of the Constitution states that "the right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred by this Part is guaranteed." In the Constitutional Assembly debates, Dr B R Ambedkar said, "If I was asked to name any particular article of the Constitution as the most important - an article without which this Constitution would be a nullity. I would not refer to any other article except this one (Article 32). It is the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it."
During the emergency in 1975 the right to file for writs of habeas corpus was suspended as ruled by the Supreme Court in A.D.M. v. Shivakant Shukla, (1976) 2 SCC 521. The Emergency had been declared under Section 359 of the Constitution. This section has now been amended, stating that the fundamental rights of section 20 and 21 cannot be suspended, even in a state of emergency. Therefore, should an emergency be declared today, the right to file habeas corpus on the grounds that the fundamental right to life has been denied should be allowed. Nevertheless, the 1975 case exemplifies the court's deference for the executive, even if it means a total suspension of individual liberty.
In the 1958 Lok Sabha, debate also occured about whether the right to file suit was a guaranteed right under the Constitution. The Speaker said, "Now who is to decide whether a right is one which has been guaranteed under this article? (article 32) The Supreme Court will decide it." Turning to this argument later, the Home Minister pointed out that under the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code that the Government's consent was already required before a member of the armed forces could be sued in connection with their duties. This remains the case under both Codes today. Since, as seen above, the Supreme Court so readily defers to the executive and legislative branches, if the legislature does not pause to ask if a provision is constitutional, should the court review it once the legislature has passed it, it will most likely be deemed constitutional.
The Army Act
The 1950 act was a revision of the 1911 Indian Army Act. One of the goals of this revision was "to bridge the gap between the Army and civil laws as far as possible in the matter of punishments of offenses." The High Courts of the country have a limited right to interfere with the court-martial system. Court-martial proceedings do not have to satisfy Article 21 of the Constitution. In chapter five of the Army Act, the members of the services are granted privileges, including immunity from attachments and arrest for debt. The only civil acts committed by members of the army which are not triable by court-martial are murder or rape of a civilian, unless this was done while on active service. This means that soldiers operating under the AFSPA will, if tried at all, be tried by court-martial, leaving no civil law remedy for the victims. Section 6 of the AFSPA only further reinforces the army's immunity.
States of Emergency
The declaration that an area is disturbed essentially amounts to declaring a state of emergency but by-passes the Constitutional safeguards. The point that this bill invokes a state of emergency was raised immediately by Mr Mahanty (Dhenkanal) in the 1958 Lok Sabha debates. He said the Assembly could not proceed if Section 352(1) of the Constitution was not fulfilled. In response, Mr K C Pant, then Home Minister, attempted to argue that the powers granted under the AFSPA do not resemble a state of emergency. He said that in an emergency fundamental rights can be abrogated and that the AFSPA does not abrogate those rights. But under Section 4(a) the right to life is clearly violated. An officer shooting to kill, because he is of the opinion that it is necessary, does not conform, even prima facie, with the Article 21 Constitutional requirement that the right to life cannot be abridged except according to procedure established by law. The Home Minister said the AFSPA powers stem rather from Article 355 of the Constitution, which gives the Central Government authority to protect the States against external aggression.
Dr Krishnaswanmi (Chingleput) also made the argument that the AFSPA was outside the powers granted in the Constitution, since it was declaring a state of emergency without following the Constitutional provisions for such a declaration. He argued that this Bill would take away the State's power by bringing in the military. The Speaker responded that this did not take away the State's power, rather it granted the States more power because it allowed them to decide to "hand over thoroughly, entirely and completely to the Armed Forces". This argument is circular - the Speaker was saying that the States are given more power because they are now able to freely hand over their power. And because this was explained as granting power to the States, no Presidential proclamation was necessary (the proclamation is only made when the State powers are restricted). So the emergency provisions in the Constitution were cleverly by-passed.
In a state of emergency, fundamental rights may be suspended under Article 359, since the 1978 amendment to this article, rights under Articles 20 and 21 may not be suspended. As shown above, the AFSPA results in the suspension of Article 21 right to life, therefore AFSPA is more draconian than emergency rule. Emergency rule can only be declared for a specified period of time, and the President's proclamation of emergency must be reviewed by Parliament. The AFSPA is in place for an indefinite period of time and there is no legislative review.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted in its report of 17 December 1993, that states of emergency tend to be a "fruitful source of arbitrary arrests." In its report of 21 December 1994, the Working Group concluded that preventive detention is "facilitated and aggravated by several factors such as ... exercise of the powers specific to states of emergency without a formal declaration, non-observance of the principle of proportionality between the gravity of the measures taken and the situation concerned, too vague a definition of offenses against State security, and the existence of special or emergency jurisdictions." This describes exactly the situation under the AFSPA. The AFSPA grants state of emergency powers without declaring an emergency as prescribed in the Constitution. The measures taken by the military outweigh the situation in the North East, notably the power to shoot to kill. The offences are not clearly defined, since all of the Section 4 offences are judged subjectively by the military personnel. And the AFSPA is a "special jurisdiction" provision.

B) INTERNATIONAL LAW

Under relevant international human rights and humanitarian law standards there is no justification for such an act as the AFSPA. The AFSPA, by its form and in its application, violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the "UDHR"), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the "ICCPR"), the Convention Against Torture, the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the UN Body of Principles for Protection of All Persons Under any form of Detention, and the UN Principles on Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra- legal and summary executions.

A UDHR argument would just be repetitive with ICCPR so SAHRDC has not done it but the UDHR articles which the AFSPA violates are the following: 1 - Free and Equal Dignity and rights, 2 - Non- discrimination, 3 - Life, liberty, security of person, 5 - no torture, 7 - equality before the law, 8 - effective remedy, 9 - no arbitrary arrest, 17 - property.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR")
India signed the ICCPR in 1978, taking on the responsibility of securing the rights guaranteed by the Covenant to all its citizens. The rights enunciated by the ICCPR are those which must be guaranteed during times of peace by the member states. In times of public emergency, the ICCPR foresees that some rights may have to be suspended. However, the ICCPR remains operative even under such circumstances since certain rights are non- derogable. The AFSPA violates both derogable and non-derogable rights.
This first article of the ICCPR states that all people have the right to self-determination. As discussed previously, the AFSPA is a tool in stifling the self-determination aspirations of the indigenous peoples of the North East.
Article 2 imposes an obligation on the states to ensure that all individuals enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Covenant. This includes an obligation to provide a remedy for those whose rights are violated. When India gave its second periodic report to the UN Human Rights Committee in March 1991, members of the Committee pointed out that the AFSPA violates this right because article 2 foresees more than just a legal system which provides such remedies, but requires that such a system work on the practical level.
Article 4 of the Covenant governs the suspension of some of the Covenant's rights. Derogation of the ICCPR has three conditions. Firstly, it is only "in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed" that states may derogate from their obligations under the ICCPR. Also, such derogation must be "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation" and cannot be inconsistent with other international law obligations nor "involve discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin." The AFSPA has been enacted without such an official proclamation of emergency and goes beyond the requirements of the situation. Moreover, the fact that the AFSPA targets the population of the North East shows that it does discriminate on the basis of social origin. Secondly, there can be no derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 11, 15, 16 and 18. As discussed below, the AFSPA violates three of these, article 6 guaranteeing the right to life, article 7 prohibiting torture and article 8 prohibiting forced labour. Thirdly, any state which derogates from the ICCPR obligations must inform the other states party to the Covenant. India has not met this obligation as regards the AFSPA.
The AFSPA comes within the purview of article 4 as understood by the Human Rights Committee. The members found that since it "enables the army to supplement ... [the] civil authorities [in] powers of arrest, powers of search" the AFSPA is the equivalent of emergency legislation. Moreover, a committee member stated that the AFSPA had actually created a "continuous state of emergency" since it has been in application since 1958.
The greatest outrage of the AFSPA under both Indian and international law is the violation of the right to life. This comes under Article 6 of the ICCPR, and it is a non-derogable right. This means no situation, or state of emergency, or internal disturbance, can justify the suspension of this right. Committee members insisted on this particular point in regards to the AFSPA. They found that the powers to kill under the Act are simply too broad. As pointed out by a member of the committee, the offences under Section 4(a) for which the soldier may shoot do not threaten the soldier. The Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials only foresees the use of deadly force when the officer is threatened with force. Under Section 4(a) of the AFSPA, the officer can shoot when there is an unlawful assembly, not defined as threatening, or when the person has or is suspected of having a weapon. Since "weapon" is defined as anything "capable of being used as a weapon", a committee member pointed out that this could even include a stone, further bringing out the lack of proportionality between the offence and the use of force by the army.
The armed forces in the North East have systematically tortured the people they arrested under the AFSPA. Article 7 of the ICCPR prohibits torture and this also is a non-derogable right. Moreover, the prohibition against torture is a "norm of customary law". Under the UDHR, torture is defined as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other person."
During Operation Bluebird, the Assam Rifles committed gross abuses of this right. The Operation was launched in the wake of an attack on an Assam Rifles outpost in Oinam, a village in Manipur. The attack is believed to have been carried out by the NSCN. The armed forces retaliated by perpetuating atrocities on the village people of Oinam. The Amnesty International report found that more than 300 villagers claimed they were beaten, "some torture victims were left for dead ... others were reportedly subjected to other forms of torture including inserting chili powder into sensitive parts of the body, being given electric shocks by means of a hand operated dynamo ... or being buried up to the neck in apparent mock executions." The headman of the village was also tortured and reported, "I was called out and repeatedly interrogated throughout the day ... I was beaten by the officers an jawans ... they also indiscriminately attack[ed] the villagers - ... chili powder dissolved in water [was] rubbed into the nostrils, eyes and soft parts of the body and [officers and jawans] took sadistic pleasure from the cries of pain by the victims."
Under similar circumstances in "Operation Rhino", Rajputana Rifles surrounded the village of Bodhakors on October 4, 1991. An extensive house to house searched was conducted during which women were sexually harassed and men were taken to interrogation camps. They were beaten up and kept without food or water. During this combing operation not a single insurgent was found. The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) noted, "It is very difficult to understand the logic such useless raids, mass torture and interrogations, unless the purpose is taken to be the creation of pure terror for some sinister and ulterior motives."
During Operation Bluebird, the military also forced the villagers of Oinam to work for them and provided them with no compensation. This violates article 8(3) of the ICCPR which prohibits forced labour. The Assam Rifles "rounded up villagers for forced labour for such tasks as porter service, building new army camps, washing clothes and carrying firewood."
Article 9 of the ICCPR guarantees liberty and security of person, and the AFSPA violates all five sub-parts of this right. Sub- part (1) guarantees that "Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his Liberty except on such ground and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law." All the residents of a disturbed area are subject to arbitrary arrest. The military can arrest them on mere suspicion and detain them for unspecified amounts of time before handing them over to the nearest magistrate. Sub-part (2) states "Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him." The AFSPA does not require the arresting army officer to inform the person of the reason for their arrest. This is a requirement under Indian criminal procedure, but the military are not trained in this procedure. Sub-part (3) requires that "Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other official authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time of release." The AFSPA requires less than this since it states that the person should be brought to the nearest police station "with the least possible delay". Moreover, requiring the person to be handed over to the police station does not assure that they will be brought promptly before a judge.
Article 26 of the ICCPR, like article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees equal protection for all persons before the law. The AFSPA violates this right because the inhabitants of the North East do not have equal protection before the law. They live under a virtual but undeclared state of emergency and are given no remedy for the injustices they suffer at the hands of the military. Inhabitants of the rest of India, with the exception of Punjab and Kashmir are not subject to this law.
In response the UN Human Rights Committee in 1991, the Attorney General from India did not address the specific points of these various ICCPR articles. He justified the AFSPA under Section 355 of the Indian Constitution which makes it the duty of the Union to protect each state from external aggression. He said the AFSPA was necessary given the context of the North East where there is "infiltration of aliens into the territories mingling with the local public, and encouraging them towards this [secession]." He stated that the ICCPR does not encourage secession and governments are not encouraged to promote it. He said the AFSPA is a "temporary measure", not addressing the concern of committee members that the AFSPA has proven to be a longterm provision as it has been in force for over thirty years.
International Customary Law
The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the UN Body of Principles for Protection of All Persons Under any form of Detention, and the UN Principles on Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal and summary executions all form part of international customary law because they were passed by UN General Assembly resolutions. They lend further strength to the conclusion that the AFSPA violates basic human rights standards.

The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials was adopted by the UN General Assembly in resolution 34/169 of 17 December 1979. This code applies to all security forces stationed in the North East since "law enforcement officials" are defined as all those who exercise police powers, and it can include military officers. The first article requires that, "Law enforcement officials shall at all times fulfil the duty imposed upon them by law, by serving the community and by protecting all persons against illegal act, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their profession." A high degree of responsibility is sadly lacking in the troops stationed in the North East. As exemplified by the atrocities noted above, the BSF, CRPF and Assam Rifles are not concerned with the requirements of the law enforcement profession, rather they are operating on a "war footing".
The second article of the code requires that, "In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons." As demonstrated above, multiple provisions of the basic human rights standards in the ICCPR are violated under the AFSPA. The AFSPA encourages the military officers to violate human rights because it allows the armed forces to base arrests, searches and seizures on their subjective suspicion. The armed forces know their actions will not be reviewed and that they will not be held accountable for their actions. They have neither the training nor the incentive to comply with this article of the Code.
Under Article 3 of the Code, "Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty." The Attorney General of India tried to convince the UN Human Rights Committee that the use of force under the AFSPA is strictly necessary and is "squarely within the requirements of Article 3 [of the Code]." However, this argument ignores the sub-sections of Article 3 which stipulate that "(a) This provision emphasizes that the use of force by law enforcement officials should be exceptional; while it implies that law enforcement officials may be authorized to use force as is reasonably necessary under the circumstances for the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders, no force going beyond that may be used." This provision aims at establishing proportionality between the use of force by an officer and the use of force by an offender. Under 4(a) of the AFSPA, the military personnel can use force against people who are not presenting any force. Under 4(c) they can use any amount of force necessary to arrest someone who is suspected of having committed, or being about to commit, an offence. Under 4(d), this same excessive use of force can be justified in entering and searching premises without a warrant.
Sub-section (c) of the code further clarifies that "in general, firearms should not be used except when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less extreme measures are not sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender." When armed forces fire upon an unlawful assembly under Section 4(a) they are violating this basic provision. Moreover, the fact that the armed forces have begun firing into crowds and lob mortar shells in the middle of a town in the North East proves they are not interested in "less extreme measures".
Under the Code, the armed forces have no grounds on which to justify their broad powers in the North East. Article 5 of the code reads, "No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any law enforcement official invoke superior orders or exceptional circumstances such as state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national security, internal political instability or any other public emergency as a justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." (emphasis added) This sweeps aside all the arguments made in the Lok Sabha to justify the original passage of the AFSPA, as well as the Attorney General's arguments before the UN Committee. Even if the North East is a "disturbed area" there is no justification for the human rights abuses being carried out by the military in the region.
The Body of Principles on Detention or Imprisonment was passed by UN General Assembly resolution no. 43/173, on 9 December 1988. This body of principles applies to all persons under any form of detention. It further strengthens several of the points raised under both Indian and international law.
Principle 10 states that "Anyone who is arrested shall be informed at the time of his arrest of the reason for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of the charges against him." The armed forces are not obliged to provide this information under the AFSPA. Moreover, under principle 14, "A person who does not adequately understand or speak the language used by the authorities responsible for his arrest, detention or imprisonment is entitled to receive [information] promptly in a language which he understands". Since the armed forces stationed in the North East are foreign to the region they are unable to comply with this principle. Under principle 32 the right to habeas corpus must be absolutely guaranteed.
The Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions adopted by Economic and Social Council also offer guidance for the use of force. Principle 3 says, "Governments shall prohibit orders from superior officers or public authorities authorizing or inciting other person to carry out any such extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions. All persons shall have the right and the duty to defy such orders. Training of law enforcement officials shall emphasize the above provisions." The armed forces operating in the North East should therefore not follow the excessive power to shoot to kill granted in the AFSPA.

International Humanitarian Law
The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 along with the two optional protocols, constitute the body of international humanitarian law. These provisions are suited to human rights protection in times of armed conflict. Under these conventions the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is given access to all international conflicts. In non-international armed conflicts, the ICRC can only offer its services.
The ICRC's mandate in the context of non-international armed struggle is based on Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions. However, India has not signed either protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Nevertheless, the ICRC can offer its services in such a conflict based on Article 3, paragraph 2, common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 ("an impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict"). When the ICRC offers its services in such a situation, a state does not have to accept them, or consider it an interference in its internal affairs. However, "in situations of internal disturbance, the rules of international humanitarian law can only be invoked by analogy."
C) COMPARATIVE LAW STANDARDS
The British armed forces presence in Northern Ireland is an apt comparison to the Indian military presence in the North East. The British carry out arrests under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act or the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act. When detainees were held for seven days without charge the European Court of Human Rights found this to be in violation of the European Human Rights Covenant.

5. CONCLUSIONS

The Supreme Court of India reached a low for its lack of enforcement of fundamental rights in the Jabalpur case of 1975. The country was in a state of emergency and the high courts had concluded that although the executive could restrict certain rights, people could still file habeas corpus claims. The Supreme Court rejected this conclusion and said the high court judges had substituted their suspicion of the executive for "frank and unreserved acception of the proclamation of emergency." Noted Legal luminary, H M Seervai notes that this shows the lack of judicial detachment. Indeed, it exemplifies a deference to the executive which leaves the people with no enforcement of their constitutional rights. Jabalpur has since been deemed an incorrect decision, but it remains an apt example of the judiciary's submission to the executive.

The Supreme Court has avoided a Constitutional review for over 9 years, the amount of time the principal case has been pending. The Court is not displaying any judicial activism on this Act. The Lok Sabha in the 1958 debate acknowledged that if the AFSPA were unconstitutional, it would be for the Supreme Court to determine. The deference of the Delhi High Court to the legislature in the Indrajit case also demonstrates a lack of judicial independence.

The Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary was adopted by the seventh UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and was also adopted by the UN General Assembly. Principle 2 of this document says, "The judiciary shall decide matters before them impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressure, threats or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason." The Indian judicial system is not subject to direct interference. It seems to function independently, but under the surface it is possible to discern indirect pressure. For example, the practice of appointing retired judges to commissions may well influence judges while they are on the bench. There may not be direct pressure to render decisions favorable to the executive, but certainly a judge who has "towed the government line" is more likely to be appointed by that same government to a position of prominence upon retirement.

Moreover, there is an absence of creative legal thinking. When the Guwahati High Court was presented with international law argument in People's Union for Democratic Rights, the court ignored it. Justice Raghuvir said in a personal interview that the court could not use international law. If the government has signed an international convention like the ICCPR which requires the government to guarantee rights to its citizens, how can these be enforced if the judiciary does not turn to the text of the convention in its rendering of decisions? The courts are not turning to the spirit of the law which guarantees the fundamental right to life to all people and as a result violations of human rights go unchecked.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence and Impartiality of the Judiciary, Jurors and Assessors and the Independence of Lawyers, Mr Param Cumaraswamy, stated in the 51st Session of the Commission on Human Rights on 10 February 1995, at the United Nations in Geneva that," The power of judicial review is vital for the protection of the rule of law." He also quoted from Mr L M Singhvi's 1985 report that "the strength of legal institutions is a form of insurance for the rule of law and for the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms and for preventing the denial and miscarriage of justice."

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

The only way to guarantee that the human rights abuses perpetrated by the armed forces in the North East cease is to both repeal the AFSPA and remove the military from playing a civil role in the area. Indeed with 50% of the military forces in India acting in a domestic role, through internal security duties, there is a serious question as to whether the civil authority's role is being usurped. As long as the local police are not relied on they will not be able to assume their proper role in law enforcement. The continued presence of the military forces prevents the police force from carrying out its functions. This also perpetuates the justification for the AFSPA.

Among the recommendations made by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, from 1994 was the statement that "Governments which have been maintaining states of emergency in force for many years should lift them, limit their effects or review the custodial measures that affect many persons, and in particular should apply the principle of proportionality rigorously."

The National Human Rights Commission is now reviewing the AFSPA. Hopefully, the NHRC will find that the AFSPA is unconstitutional and will submit this finding to the Supreme Court to influence its review of the pending cases. However, the NHRC has a very limited role. In past cases, the Supreme Court has not welcomed such intervention by the NHRC. This was evident when the NHRC attempted to intervene in the hearing against the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).

If the AFSPA is not repealed, it must at a bare minimum comply with international law and Indian law standards. This means the powers to shoot to kill under section 4(a) must be unequivocally revoked. Arrests must be made with warrants and no force should be allowed in the search and seizure procedures. Section 5 should clearly state that persons arrested under the Act are to be handed over to the police within twenty-four hours. Section 6 should be completely repealed so that individuals who suffer abuses at the hands of the security forces may prosecute their abusers.

Moreover, the definition of key phrases, especially "disturbed area" must be clarified. The declaration that an area is disturbed should not be left to the subjective opinion of the Central or State Government. It should have an objective standard which is judicially reviewable. Moreover, the declaration that an area is disturbed should be for a specified amount of time, no longer than six months. Such a declaration should not persist without legislative review.

Armed forces should not be allowed to arrest or carry out any procedure on suspicion alone. All their actions should have an objective basis so that they are judicially reviewable. This will also assist those who file suit against the security forces.

All personnel acting in a law enforcement capacity should be trained according to the UN Code of Conduct for law enforcement personnel. The instructions and training given to the armed forces should be available to the public. Complete transparency should be established so that a public accountability is rendered possible.

Having the armed forces comply with the Indian CrPC would also be a bare minimum. The CrPC itself does not fully comply with international human rights standards, so making the AFSPA comply on its face with the CrPC provisions for the use of minimal force, arrest, search and seizure would only be a rudimentary step in reducing the abuses committed under the AFSPA.

If the Indian Government truly believes that the only way to handle the governance of the North Eastern states is through force, then it must allow the ICRC to intervene. This can only have a calming influence. Acceptance of ICRC services would demonstrate that the fighting parties want to bring an end to the violence. The ICRC's involvement could help protect the residents of the North East who are currently trapped in the middle between insurgents and the military.

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

AFSPA Relaxation Plan seems to be ABORTED as it had been the Focus of Discussion for a while and the People of Entire Himalayas including Kashmir and North East remain DEPRIVED of Human Rights and Civil Liberty just because Kashmir has ceased to be an is

सेक्स, सेनसेक्स और सोनागाछी. Brahminical bid to kill 2 crore Bengali Dalit ... have got KILLING License INFINITE and so AFPSA and Operation GREEN HUNT have to ...

palashscape.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/... - 347k

Violence erupts as thousands march in Srinagar

Jinnah's 62nd death anniversary observed in Pakistan

Islamabad, Sep 11 (IANS) Pakistan Saturday observed the 62nd death anniversary of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the country's first governor-general.

President Asif Ali Zardari, in a message to the nation, said the best way to pay homage to the 'Quaid-e-Azam' was to strive for achieving the objectives for which Pakistan was created.

Pakistan needs to adhere to the principles of democracy, constitutionalism, egalitarianism and social justice for all as propounded by the Quaid throughout his life.

'The best way to pay homage to the Quaid is to reiterate our adherence to these principles,' Zardari was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

'For ensuring democracy, we must defeat the militants who are seeking to impose their own political agenda on the people through guns and bullets.'

He also paid homage to the innumerable people who rendered huge sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan.

Zardari said the immediate need of the hour was to rehabilitate the millions of people affected by the devastating floods in the country.

Jammu And Kashmir Awami National Conference Demands Repeal Of Afpsa

16 February 2010

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