Muhammad Raafi
SRINAGAR
International Peoples’ Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice (IPTK) and Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) Wednesday released a detailed report titled “Structures of Violence: The Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir” at a press conference held here in a local hotel.
The report was released by noted Human Rights activist, Gautam Navlakha; chairperson JKCCS – Pervez Imroz; JKCCS coordinator Khurram Pervez and Human Rights activist, Karthik Manuktla.
“Structures of violence” is a part of the continuing work of IPTK to understand and analyse “the role of the Indian state in Jammu and Kashmir that has resulted in widespread violence”, the organizers said at the releasing function. “The report documents the extra-judicial killings of 1080 persons and enforced disappearances of 172 persons and numerous cases of torture and sexual violence,” Khurram Pervez, said on the occasion.
The report consists of four chapters viz-a-viz “Structures of Violence, Theatres of Violence, Courts of Violence, Alleged Perpetrators: Agents of Violence”.
Karthik Marukutla while giving the presentation of the report described the “structure of army and border security forces” from the highest level to all the way down to the Brigadier/Sector level in case of army; and battalion level in BSF.
Karthik said that two (Khannabal Camp and Tapper Camp) brigade level formations (Referred to as sectors by Indian Army) were selected. “Each of these camps is headed by a Brigadier who in turn controls numerous battalions and camps. This report finds that the army at sector level is responsible for the crimes committed,” he said, “Army controlled, armed and financed government gunmen – Ikhwan and Muslim Mujahideen (Another Ikhwani group) – and used these operatives to commit crimes.”
Pervez Imroz deliberated on the significance of such reports and appealed the UN Human Rights council to appoint a special Rapporteur to investigate the “crimes committed” in Jammu and Kashmir. He also stressed that UN Security Council must exercise its powers to refer the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to the prosecutor of the International Criminal court.
Gautam Navlakha while speaking on the occasion deliberated upon the foreign governments and their embassies in India, and UN departments of peacekeeping operations to record the names of alleged perpetrators mentioned in the report and deny them entry into their territories. “Foreign governments, under universal jurisdiction, where applicable, must prosecute these accused persons,” he said.
Khurram Pervez while talking to Kashmir Life said that the purpose of the report is to make sure that people of “Kashmir do not forget the crimes committed by India and her proxies”.
“It is important to remind the perpetrators what they have done here in last 20 years. We want to tell them that nobody in Kashmir has forgotten the atrocities committed by them,” said Khurram, adding, “We want to name them and shame them publicly and lobby internationally against them and deliberate upon the foreign governments not to let them enter into their respective countries.”
