Kashmir | News & Discussions.

[idune]

Indian Forces Worst Massacres In Kashmir’s History

Sopur, Jan 5: Massacre of 57 unarmed civilians in Sopur town 14 years back is one of the few massacres that got a few columns of space in prestigious TIME magazine. The magazine described the massacre, and the protests that ensued thus:

“Perhaps there is a special corner in hell reserved for troopers who fire their weapons indiscriminately into a crowd of unarmed civilians. That, at least, must have been the hope of every resident who defied an army-enforced curfew in the Kashmiri town of Sopur to protest a massacre that left 55 people dead and scores injured.”

“It was India’s latest blow in a three-year campaign to crush the predominantly Muslim state’s bid for independence. In retaliation for the killing of one soldier, paramilitary forces rampaged through Sopur’s market setting buildings ablaze and shooting bystanders. The Indian government pronounced the event “unfortunate” and claimed that an ammunition dump had been hit by gunfire, setting off fires that killed most of the victims.”

The magazine had titled the news report (on January 18, 1993) “Blood tide rising: Indian forces carry out one of the worst massacres in Kashmir’s history.”

In the reconstructed Iqbal Market it is hard to find the traces of the carnage the Border Security Force troopers carried out on January 6, 1993, killing 57 persons, most of them roasted alive in shops, buses, and houses. The troopers set about 100 houses and 300 shops on fire after dousing them with gunpowder, the local residents recall.

It was the chilly morning of January 6, 1993 when militants attacked the troopers of BSF at Baba Younis Lane near the Sopur town’s main street, killing two of them. The militants also took away the rifles of the slain troopers. The troopers went berserk and opened indiscriminate fire on unarmed civilians and set on fire markets, mainly Iqbal Market, and Women’s Degree College.

The local residents regard the incident as one of the worst massacres in the history of Kashmir.

“I cannot forget that horrendous incident till I am alive; the troops were on rampage; I lost two relatives in the incident,” said Ali Muhammad, an eyewitness and survivor of the carnage. “I wonder can doomsday be worse,” he says.

The mayhem continued for more than 2 hours with people—helpless and hopeless—watching the devastation from a distance. None from the civil administration or Fire Service Department came to the rescue of the hapless people. Only the valor and heroism of the local populace made its appearance, helping each other. In one hour, the locals recovered the dead bodies of more than 50 civilians and miraculously rescued many more.

Some fifteen civilians who tired to rescue their brethren were also shot dead by the troopers, said Abdul Majid, a survivor. Ghulam Nabi Bhat of New Light Hotel shouldered 11 dead bodies and before he could carry the 12th, he too was shot dead.

For three days people rummaged the debris for dead bodies. Strong protests rocked the town for many days continuously. Many charities came up but soon vanished. The insurance companies refused to give any compensation to the victims. The victims knocked the doors of government offices but to no avail.

“The massacre would haunt us as long as we are alive,” said Muhammad Abbas of Sopur.

Names of few slain:

Abdul Majid Sofi, 35, s/o Muhammad Shafi r/o Krankshiwan
Abdur Rashid War s/o Ghulam Muhammad War r/o Tujarsherief, Sopur
Abdul. Khaliq Malik s/o Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din r/o Arampora
Abdul Ahad Kanjwal r/o Muslimpeer
Abdul Ahad Shalla r/o Shallapora
Abdur Rashid Sofi s/o Abdul Jabbar r/o Wanagam, Bandipora
Abdul Ahad Liloo,70, r/o Bba Yousu, Sopur
Abdur Razaq Chalkoo s/o Ghulam Muhammad
Bashir Ahmad Shalla s/o Ghulam Rasool r/o Shallapora, Sopur
Farooq Ahmad Banday s/o Abdur Rashid r/o Sangrampora, Sopur
Ghulam Nabi Zargar alias Shaheen s/o Qadir Joo r/o Badamibagh Sopur
Ghulam Muhammad War s/o Muhammad Sultan r/o Tujarshrief
Ghulam Nabi Bhat s/o Haji Abdullah r/o Sangrampora
Gulzar Ahmad Sheikh s/o Muhammad Abdullah r/o Shahabad Sopur
Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din s/o Assadullah r/o Nathpora, Bandipora
Ghulam Rasool Sofi s/o Muhammad. Sultan r/o Langate
Ghulam Muhammad Khan r/o Bandipora and
Ghulam Muhammad Hajam s/o Abdul Gaffar r/o Mohallah Hajampora, Sopur

Indian Forces Worst Massacres In Kashmir?s History KASHMIR MEDIA

 

[glomex]

A Brief Catalogue of Indian Atrocities in Kashmir

Since ..................[/url]

Posting an article from a Pakistani propaganda Site....you could have done better....

---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------

http://img24.imageshack.us/i/kashmir.jpg/

Who will verify if these people were not killed by a terrorist attack......

 

[idune]

He Was Just 14!

March 7, 2007

Srinagar, Mar 7: Muhammad Iqbal Shah holds an unenviable distinction in the Valley of woes: he was 14 when BSF soldiers arrested him, never to return. Thus, he’s the youngest among thousands of Kashmiris who disappeared in custody.

Iqbal, a student of Wagoora Varmul, was working hard to pass his matriculation examination when troops of 163 battalion of paramilitary Border Security Force arrested him on March 13, 1995. “He was brutally tortured and all our attempts to rescue him proved futile,” his father Muhammad Yousuf said.

Though troops released his two classmates who were arrested a day before him, but there was no trace of Iqbal. The family approached the BSF camp but they denied his arrest.

“The assurances of the then Senior Superintendent of Police Muneer Khan, Deputy Commissioner and Lt. Gen M A Zaki, advisor to Governor, too proved futile,” Yousuf said.

Shattered, the family filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the High Court for locating the Iqbal’s whereabouts. On July 16, 1996, it directed the District and Sessions Judge Varmul to hold an inquiry.

After receiving the report, which confirmed the arrest of Iqbal, the Court finally disposed off the case on April 6 1999, with the direction to conduct an investigation and conclude the same in accordance with the law.

On Court directions a case under FIR no 88/99 under sections 346 RPC was registered at Police Station Varmul. Acting on court directions, District Magistrate Varmul formed a four-member committee comprising Additional District Magistrate Varmul as its Chairman, Deputy Superintendent of Police Varmul, Tehsildar and SHO Police Station Varmul as members.

“During the course of investigation all the legal formalities were completed, statements of witnesses were recorded and it was established that M C Heldar Deputy Commandant and J N Singh Assistant Commandant of 163 Battalion BSF are involved in the case and offence Sec 346 (abduction) has been proved against them,” the committee in its report said.

The Committee quoting a report of Director General of Police addressed to Principal Secretary on September 8, 2000 said, “On March 1995 personnel of BSF’s 163 battalion raided the house of Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Ibrahim and Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir of Wagoora. All of them were ruthlessly beaten in BSF vehicles towards Anantnag (Islamabad). Two of them namely Muhammad Ibrahim and Ghulam Muhammad were left in serious condition at unknown places whereas whereabouts of Muhammad Iqbal were not known.”

“After taking into consideration all aspects and reports received from different headquarters, we reached at the conclusion that Muhammad Iqbal Shah son of Muhammad Yousuf Shah of Wagoora, who was a student of 10th class is presumed to be killed and his dead body has been disposed off somewhere,” the report said.

“Despite the declaration that my son was killed by the BSF men, neither has his body been handed over to me nor the accused punished,” his father said.

“We have suffered enough for the past seven years, now we want justice,” he said.

He Was Just 14! KASHMIR MEDIA

 

[Spring Onion]

Hi here is an interesting account of much talked about IPKF in Sri Lanka


(Memorial for IPKF – Indian Peace Keeping Force)



Memorial for IPKF - Innocent People Killing Force
By Dr. T. Somasekaram

(Source: Sooriyan - March 21, 2004)


I was shocked, saddened and angered when I read the news item on 17 March 2004 in Sri Lanka Media, that a memorial is to be erected in Colombo for the Indian Peace Keeping Force - IPKF soldiers who died in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 2000. The simple fact of the matter is that a foreign country, with designs of becoming a regional superpower, maneuvered to send its Army here as Peace Keepers but massacred thousands of innocent Tamil civilians, raped the women and plundered valuables.If memorials are to be erected, then it should be for innocent civilians massacred by the IPKF. Let me provide a FEW samples from my personal knowledge. These represent but the tip of an iceberg. I write as an authentic son of Jaffna, born and bred there, educated at Jaffna Hindu College and the only house my wife and I own is in Jaffna.

Civilians Massacred by IPKF

Jaffna Hospital :- Doctors, Nurses and Patients inside the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, numbering 68 in all. .Their names are:- Dr A. Sivapathasuntheram, Dr M.K. Ganesharatnam, Dr Parimelalahar, Mrs Vadivelu, Matron, Mrs Leelawathie, Nurse, Mrs Sivapakiam, Nurse, Mrs Ramanathan, Nurse, Mr Shanmugalingam, Ambulance Driver, Mr Kanagalingam, Telephone Operator, Mr Krishnarajah, Works Supervisor, Mr Selvarajah, Works Supervisor, Eleven (11) Minor employees and forty six (46) patients

Duraiswamy brothers :- Two sons of late Sir Waithialingam Duraiswamy, Speaker of the State Council, residing in their ancestral home next to the Jaffna Clock Tower. One was R. Duraiswamy (SLAS) Retd. Secretary. Ministry of Local Government and M. Duraiwswamy Retd. Staff Officer Bank of Ceylon.

Retd Director of Irrigation Mr. S. Sivasubramaniam, retired Director of Irrigation, Mrs. Sivasubramaniam, his retired teacher wife and their only son, a brilliant boy who had studied at St. John’s College, Jaffna, scored 4A’s in the GCE(Al) and was in the second year of Medical College.

Other Civilians Killed in Jaffna:- Prof. P. Chandrasekeram, University of Jaffna, Dr R.W. Crossette Thambiah, Dr Selvaratnam Former DMO Maskeliya, Dr S. Pararajasingham J.M.O, L.F.M. Samuel Rtd. Teacher (St. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia & Royal College), K.J. Sambanthar Retd. DLO & Asst. Land Commissioner, Jaffna, Mrs S. Sivanandaraja (mother), Mohanraj (son) Technical Officer, Irrigation .Dept, Mrs Kishnam, Mrs M. Sebastiampillai, Mrs N.R. Thuriappa, Mrs V. Ruthiralingam, C.S. Aaron .

Urumpirai:- A. Subramanium Attorney at Law, Mr & Mrs Pancharatnam, Rtd. Teachers, K. Navaratnam Rtd. Divisional Supdt. of Post Offices, S. Nadarajah, Formerly SLBC, Tamil Service, P. Arooran , M. Nadaraja, S. Rasanayagam Rtd. Credit Controller CCC Ltd.

Anaikoddai :- Mrs M. Weerasegaram Pillai, (Mother), Pillai Yasotha Weerasegaram (Daughter), Mrs S. Thanapalasingham (Mother) Miss N. Thanapalasingham (Daughter) S. Kulasegerampillai, Retd. Station Master, Mrs M. Arumugam .Mrs R. Gnanamuttu , A. Candappu Rtd. State Officer, S. Selvaranee

Pirampadi, Kokuvil etc:- A large number of civilians were killed in Pirampadi and Kokuvil and buried in mass graves. The whole matter requires a book to do full justice.

Ariyalai (my village)

Ariyalai is at the eastern end of Jaffna town and the A9 highway passes through it. This was one of the four routes the Indian Army took to enter and capture Jaffna. From Oct 10, 1987, we, living in Dehiwala, lost all contact with our relatives who lived in Ariyalai, among them my wife’s 71 year old mother, her sisters and their children, my close friends from my boyhood days in Jaffna. For twenty one (21) days, there was a continuous curfew imposed by the IPKF with half an hours notice. The local and foreign media were completely cut off from the scene of operations and terrible things – yes, I use words carefully, TERRIBLE THINGS, were done to the Tamils in Jaffna. Rumours were rife. The militants said 30,000 civilians were killed. But I searched for reliable evidence, and these started trickling in, from late October 1987.

One reliable class of evidence is the number of persons known to me personally, quite a number are blood relatives, who were killed. Among those killed were a 45 year old cousin brother, S. Shanmugasuntharam, Electrician, Jaffna Municipal Council, married, with two children, shot while going to his paddy field in East Ariyalai. No one could reach the body; jackals and dogs ate the flesh and his brother Sinnathurai told me that the limbs and other parts were in different part of the paddy field and he gathered them and buried them in the paddy field. Sinnathurai had wept tears of a different sort in 1981 when he told me what he found on the day following the burning of the Jaffna Library, where he worked as an Assistant Librarian. But let us remain focussed on the IPKF in this article.

An 84 year old uncle, S. Thambiah, father of the well known Journalist T. Sabaratnam, was killed inside his home by an Indian artillery shell. His daughter Pathma and grandchildren had taken refuge inside Ariyalai Sri Sithivinayagar temple and were unaware of what had happened. One of my childhood classmates, Poologasingam, who lived nearby and had also not gone to the temple as a refugee, discovered what had happened, cut a pit in the garden, put my uncle in a sack and buried him there. No last rites; no cremation. Poologasingam went near the temple and shouted, "Pillai Pathma, Appah Vaikundam poddar; naan thevai yathanich seythu poddan” (Child Pathma, your father has gone to heaven; I have done what was necessary).

My cousin Sabaratnam’s loss did not stop with his father. His mother in law, 80 year old Mrs. Thambimuttu was a refugee inside the temple. But an old lady cannot easily adjust to conditions inside a tightly packed temple – and Hindu temples do not have toilet facilities, as devotees are expected to come in a ‘clean’ state. So she went to her home within 250 metres of the temple for her morning ablutions. She was walking back feebly, with the aid of a walking stick and holding a flickering lamp, and was within 50 metres of the temple when she was shot dead by the Indian soldiers, from Sri Parwathi Vidyasalai which they were occupying. They discovered who they had killed and set fire to the body where it lay, using a tyre. She and my late mother Mrs. Saraswathy Thamotharam had been classmates in Chundikuli Girls’s College, Jaffna. She had been a source of comfort to my mother when we lost our father when mother was 28 years old and had to face the grim prospect of feeding, clothing and educating my brother (7 yrs) and myself (2 yrs), with not even a pension as father had served for less than 10 years. I felt so deeply about her loss that I ventured into blank verse.



The Gentle Old Aachi



The gentle old aachi,

Weak and wobbly with age,

Walking with her pollu,

Slowly to the temple.

Husband gone long before,

Children retired or about to,

Grandchildren in their prime,

Great grandchildren by the dozen.

Weak of eye, weak of limb,

Fond memories of yester year,

Longing to meet her God,

Slowly walking to his abode.

Om Ganesha!, What hit me?

What burning pain,

What great thirst,

She writhed briefly on the road,

And then lay still,

White saree bathed in blood.

The gentle old aachi,

Felled by an alien bullet,

Fired by an alien hand,

In this our free land,

The gentle old aachi,

Shot like a dog and burnt at the spot.

More than our relatives, we mourn the death of the elder son of the chief priest of our temple, Subramaniya Kurukkal. Young Kannan Iyer, 24 years old, very fair, very handsome, well versed in Hindu neethi and also a fully qualified Accountant, was managing his own Accounting firm in Jaffna and assisting his father in carrying out the temple duties. He told his father on Deepavali Day in Oct 1987, when the father was getting ready to go to the temple to open the inner sanctum and light the lamps inside, to stay at home and that he would go by bicycle by a circuitous route to the temple to light the lamps. The inner sanctum had not been opened or lit after the influx of refugees. Only Brahmin priests can enter the inner sanctum. Instead of going to the temple, he went to heaven.

If anyone is interested, I shall take him or her to speak to Kannan Iyer’s mother. His father, the chief priest of our temple, performed the ancient Hindu marriage ceremony for me and my wife in 1962. He repeated it for our elder daughter and son-in-law in 1982. He is a learned and pious man and he has the spiritual resources to withstand the loss of his elder son. But tears flowed down the cheeks of his wife for the entire 45 minutes we spent with them in March 1988, five months after the joy of their life was snuffed out by the Indian army. To me, this is the worst crime of the IPKF assault on Jaffna. The life of a young and brilliant Brahmin priest, who would have risen to great heights promoting Saivaism, was snuffed out wantonly – and this on Deepavali day when he set out to open the sanctum sanctorum and light a lamp inside the temple.

Twenty six persons lost their lives in my village alone, during the Indian army’s campaign to gain control of Jaffna Peninsula in October-November 1987.

Rape

The IPKF Operation in Jaffna did not stop with massacres of civilians. A large number of women were raped. The following quotation is taken from Prof Daya Somasundaram’s book Scarred Minds – The Psychological Impact of War on Sri Lankan Tamils. Prof Daya Somasundaram is the Professor of Psychiatry in the University of Jaffna and concurrently Consultant Psychiatrist, General (Teaching Hospital) Jaffna. He was one of the four authors of the book, Broken Palmyrah, which was critical of the LTTE, a co-author of Mental Health in Cambodia, where he served as a Consultant Psychiatrist and Manavadu in Tamil

Rape by Indian Soldiers

“From time immemorial, plunder and rape have been considered the spoils of war. A form of ‘psychopathic liberation’ resulting in looting, rape and heavy drinking is reported to follow major stressful events (Kinston and Rosser, 1974). Although the total number of rapes during the Indian army operations are not known, it seemed to reach epidemic proportions. It has been verified that quite a large number, ranging from young girls who had just attained puberty to old women well past the menopause stage, were brutally raped.

What is said about violence in general is applicable to sexual violence. However, aggressive sexual assault has its own unique characteristics and consequences. Thus,

Rape is a violent crime in which sexuality is used to express power, anger and aggression, with a core meaning of devaluation, humiliation, sheer terror and most intimate violation of the self for the victim. What is translated to the victim is the life-threatening nature of assault, her helplessness, her loss of control and her experience of herself as an object of the assailants’ rage (Mezy, 1985).

Rape became common in the context of total war as it obtained in the months of October to December (1987), when all the customary discipline and restraint operative in the army disappeared. As discussed earlier, there appears to have been a policy decision to apply terror in the face of early losses and frustration over the prolongation of the conflict. The public was seen as being too sympathetic to the Tigers, harbouring and helping them against the Indian army. Thus terror became an instrument of control, a punishment for the lack of support and a lesson to the public. The army hierarchical structure worked to allow the jawans to carry out the acts on their behalf, although at times lower-rank officers also vented their pent up frustration in this way. But rape was much more gruesome as it was aimed specifically at women. It was carried out with considerable brutality and impersonality, where the victims were publicly defeminised and destroyed.

Rape can be seen as a loss-event for the victim where she loses her trust in others, self-respect, sense of security, chastity and virginity, social identity and becomes liable to secondary victimization due to social norms and values. The psychological reactions to rape have been described as a three-stage phenomena with an initial state of ‘shock and disbelief’ with disruption of normal behaviour. This may be followed by feelings of guilt, self-blame, and physical complaints. If the resolution to the psychological trauma is incomplete, long-term consequences include depression (40 per cent of victims), psychosomatic problems, sexual dysfunction, specific rape-related phobias, impaired task performance, social maladjustment and risk of suicide attempts (Mezey, 1985).

In our cultural setting, sexual violence takes on a more serious significance and has a severe psychologically traumatizing effect on the victim and her close relations, including her husband. Chastity is traditionally considered one of the supreme virtues of women, to be safeguarded with the same diligence as their life. The screams and pleading of a young, attractive girl, whom three soldiers were trying to rape at gun point, still echoes in my ears. She fell at their feet and begged, ‘Please, brother, shoot me, but don’t do this…’ Fortunately for her, her pleading got through to an officer who took pity and let her go, after slapping her. A young rape victim in Tinnavelly immediately attempted to commit suicide by jumping into a well.

Loss of virginity in a young girl even if against her will, meant that she could not aspire to marriage in our society and if already married, there is a good chance that she will be abandoned. All rape victims are socially ostracized and this usually extends to the family also. It is not surprising that rape victims were not forthcoming to report such incidents and usually swallowed the suffering and injury silently.

These incidents of rape, the lack of protection for women and the rumours that spread, created great fear among the women of Jaffna. The threat to womanhood was very real in the months of October and November. Most women experienced sexual anxiety and felt exposed and vulnerable. Many fled to areas they felt were safe, a large exodus reaching Colombo in December, when transport became available. Those left behind started acting with circumspection by following the well-meant advice of sympathetic, Tamil-speaking jawans of ‘wearing saris, putting poddus and staying indoors’.

At the beginning, there was lack of action by the commanders, probably because they had to maintain troop morale in a difficult situation during the first two months and rape itself became part of army action. Later, disciplinary action was taken with identification parades and punishment, usually in the form of public thrashing and transfer to another unit. After December the jawans were more discreet and circumspect. By 1988, the higher authorities showed much sensitivity to the issue of rape, probably due to the wide publicity outside Jaffna. They even brought in female police and paramilitary to ally the fears of local women.

The public outcry and wide publicity of this aspect of the Indians’ occupation that gained momentum from December reflected the deep-rooted feeling of insecurity and the cultural significance of this threat to our women.”

This ends the quotation from Prof Daya Somasundaram’s book. But there was other evidence as well.

Inside Ariyalai Temple Inside our village temple, Ariyalai Sri Sithi Vinayagar Kovil, where people had gathered as refugees, young village girls were molested by the Indian soldiers inside the temple. Dr. W. Paramanathan, great grandson of Proctor V. Casipillai who had rebuilt the temple in 1900, after its destruction during the Portugese occupation, was an eye witness. “My blood boiled; but I was helpless” he told me. In fact, being a young man, he was taken out twice to be shot as a Tiger and only the strong pleadings of his aunt Miss K. Charavanamuttu, retired Principal of Vadamarachchy Hindu Ladies College saved his life. Dr. Paramanathan has migrated to the United States and is living there.

Plunder

The 21 day curfew proved to be a golden opportunity - in a real golden sense – to the Indian soldiers. They broke into every house, broke open every almyrah and stole the valuables inside. As everyone knows, all Jaffna Tamil Hindu women wear a lot of gold jewellery. When they had to flee at half an hour’s notice, they could not remove all their valuables. When the families returned, they found their gold jewellery, imported watches and Parker pens missing. In 1987, India was still a closed economy and these imported items were not available in India. Not merely the soldiers, even the officers helped themselves. This is what the Island of 22 Feb 1988 reported.

IPKF Major Returning to India Apprehended - Alleged Contraband Jewellery:

A Major of the IPKF who is said to have returned to India from Jaffna on a month’s holiday is alleged to have been apprehended at Chandigarh airport with having carried jewellery believed to be contraband.

A news report appearing in the 'Rani Weekly' of January 31, 1988 published in Tamil Nadu state that this Major serving in Jaffna had flown to Madras by plane and then to Chandigarh in Punjab on a month’s holiday. The Police there had searched him like any other passenger and found in his possession “100 sovreigns of jewellery consisting of bangles, broken chains, necklaces etc

The story states "The Police suspect that he might have snatched them from Sri Lankan Tamils. But he says they were bought by him. The magazine asks, If they were bought by him, could the jewellery be broken in pieces?

The behaviour of the Indian Army in Jaffna was so atrocious that even Sinhalese politicians were moved to protest. After all, we share this island home. Prime Minister R. Premadasa, Minister of National Security Lalith Athulathmudali, Minister of Rehabilitation Lionel Jayatilleke and Opposition Leader Anura Bandaranaike condemned the atrocities in strong language in Parliament on 21 Jan 1988. Please see Hansard Vol 47, Section 14, Hansard Vol 50, Section 2 . In fact, the Prime Minister spoke of a 79 year old woman having been raped.

To summarise, the Indian Army came here, massacred innocent Tamil civilians, raped our women and plundered our valuables. The acronym IPKF will always stand for Indian People Killing Force where we are concerned. I was collecting this material to submit to the International Criminal Court, when it was about to be set up. Unfortunately, the crimes of the IPKF are time barred; the Court considers only cases after it was set up in July 2002. If not for this time bar, there is enough evidence against the Indian Generals and others higher up to indict them before the Court. Instead of facing the Court, they and former High Commissioner Dixit are writing books and making money out of the tragedy.

Please go ahead and erect the memorial. Every passing Tamil will think in his heart that the memorial stands for Indian People Killing Force. We will one day erect a memorial in the heart of Jaffna town, in the centre of Hospital Road, in memory of all the innocent civilians – ranging in age from the very old past 80 to young children massacred by the IPKF and to the women who were raped.

Dr. T. Somasekaram,

Retd. Surveyor General

Memorial for IPKF - Innocent People Killing Force

 

[idune]

Troops martyr 64 Kashmiris in August

Islamabad, September 01 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops, in their continued acts of state terrorism, martyred 64 innocent Kashmiris, including 2 children and one woman in the last month of August. According to the data compiled by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, of these martyred one civilian was killed in custody. During the period, the troops critically injured 199 persons after subjecting them to torture.

39 youth were arrested and 3 women were disgraced. The killings rendered 6 women widowed and 8 children orphaned.

Illegally detained All Parties Hurriyet Conference leader, Nayeem Ahmad Khan while talking to media men at a court in Srinagar expressed concern over the deteriorating health condition of detainees in Kathua Jail. He was brought there in connection with a false case against him, He said, the detainees were not provided the basic necessities of life.

On the other hand, Indian police personnel subjected the employees of Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation to heavy lathi charge injuring at least 12 of them at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. They were protesting against the anti-people policies of the puppet regime.

Troops martyr 64 Kashmiris in August | Kashmir Media Service

 

[Spring Onion]

Indian Express, Friday, April 7, 2000

Bodies of `slain militants' exhumed; `This is tyranny,' cry relatives

MUZAMIL JALEEL

VUZKHAH (ANANTNAG), APRIL 6: Even before the body was exhumed, the relatives of Zahoor Ahmad Dalal started wailing and crying. Dalal, a businessman from Anantnag was missing since March 24. His maternal uncle Nazir Ahmad Dalal identified the maroon sweater and the shirt as soon as the first grave was opened. The villagers had buried the half-burnt clothes of Dalal as well.

"Zahoor was wearing these clothes when he was picked up. I am hundred per cent certain that they have killed him,'' Nazir Ahmad Dalal cried with the half-burnt sweater and shirt in his hands. ``They (Army) killed them and claimed to have killed top militants. It is a shame. It is a shame for Indian democracy,'' he said. He said that Zahoor Ahamd Dalal was picked up just outside their home at Mominabad. ``We had returned home after a busy day at our shop. He parked the Maruti car in the garage and went out, never to return,'' he said

The government had ordered exhumation of the bodies of all the five persons who the Army and the police claim to be militants killed in an encounter at Zontangri peak just a few hundred metres from this graveyard. The Army and the police had claimed that these five slain "militants'' had been involved in the massacre of 35 Sikhs at Chitti Singhpora on March 20.

The local population in this hamlet, Vuzkhal and adjoining villages, Chogam,Sumlam and Panchalthan had been accusing the Army and the police of killing five civilians in "a stage-managed encounter.'' As the missing villagers belonged to the nearby villages, these killings led to mass protests in the entire Anantnag district. The Chief minister ordered a judicial probe after police fired upon demonstrating villagers, killing eight of them and wounding dozens.

A team of doctors led by the head of the forensic department, Government Medical College, Srinagar, reached the spot to exhume the bodies for forensic test in presence of the minister of State for Home, Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, the newly posted district magistrate, G A Peer and Senior Superintendent of Police, Muneer Khan

As the statement of the relatives of Dalal were being recorded by the investigating police officers, who are also probing the incident on the directions of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag, an old woman started wailing. Roshan Jan, 50, had no doubts left that her husband, Juma Khan was no more. ``Main nay uski thudi aur nak pehchan lee (I identified his bearded chin and nose),'' she said. When asked whether she has any doubts left regarding the identity of her husband's body as
there is just half of the face left, she screamed at this correspondent, ``I have lived my entire life with him, how can I make a mistake in identifying him?''

She said that though they have burnt their bodies, she could easily recognise him by his bearded chin and nose. Roshan Jan had come all the way from village Brariangan for the identification and at home it is her son's fourth-day ceremony too. Her son was among the eight villagers killed in the police firing upon the demonstrating villagers, who were seeking exhumation of these bodies to ascertain
the fate of their missing relatives and neighbours.

"He was a old man and was feeding our 15 family members by working as labourer for the village ironsmith,'' she said. She said the Army came in the night on March 24 and asked him to accompany them. ``He never returned,'' she said. As this correspondent started talking to her son, Abdul Rasheed Khan, she was crying -- ``Bohat zulam hova. Bohat zulam hova (This is tyranny)''.

The doctors were examining the exhumed body, which was completely burnt.The relatives of all the five missing villagers were called but there was nothing left to identify. By then a large number of villagers had also assembled in this small graveyard in the middle of the maize fields just a few yards beneath a picturesque alpine forest.

The police was worried as the process of exhumation was taking alot of time. ``It is a very dangerous area and the Home minister is also here. There is every likelihood of a militant attack,'' a police officer said. District magistrate Peer, who was posted after the State Government shifted the entire district administration for their failure in tackling the situation properly, said that the government would wait for the DNA analysis to reach to a final conclusion. When asked whether the
bodies identified by their relatives will be handed over to them, he said it would be decided by the court. ``We will also consult the team of doctors on it,'' he said.

Home Minister Lone said that the government would not spare anybody involved in any unlawful activity. ``We will take action as per law irrespective of their rank and file. There will be no concessions to anybody,'' he said.



Asian Age, 7th April, 2000

Villagers identify 2 bodies in J&K grave

By Yusuf Jameel

Srinagar, April 6 - The worst fears of the relatives of the persons missing in south Kashmir proved correct when the exhumation of bodies, said by the security forces to be those of foreign mercenaries, turned out to be those of their kin.

Roshan Jan, wife of Juma Khan, was the first - she said her husband was dead when she saw the chin and nose in the first grave, which on further digging revealed a mutilated body. Nazir Dalal, whose uncle Zahoor Ahmad Dalal was also among the missing, shouted in anger when he saw a shirt and sweater, which he said belonged to his uncle, in the same grave.

A second grave was dug up at Chogamm where Ghulam Rasool Bhat, whose brother Bashir Ahmad Bhat was also missing, said it was his brother's body lying in the grave. The rest of the graves, spread over a radius of 2 to 3 km in the Pathribal area where the security forces had claimed to have killed five "foreign mercenaries" involved in the March 20 massacre of 35 Sikhs at Chattisinghpura,
will be dug up on Friday.

Local villagers had already assembled at the grave sites when the exhumation process started at about 3 pm on Thursday, and were raising slogans against the security forces, demanding action against those responsible.

The security forces had said that since those killed had been foreign mercenaries, their identities could not be established. They had claimed that the five men had been killed in a fierce encounter on March 25.

This version was challenged by the local villagers, whose kin went missing and did not return. Their doubts were strengthened when the villagers of Pathribal told them that the Army had brought five men, put them into a hut and then blasted the hut with mortar fire at 6 am on March 25.

After a series of protest marches across the Valley (the police opened fire on one procession on Monday, killing eight people), Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah ordered the exhumation of the bodies (though a court directive to the same effect had been issued almost a week ago).

When a team of doctors, the Anantnag deputy commissioner of police, other senior police officials and state home minister Mushtaq Ahmad Lone reached the spot, they were told that the bodies were buried at three places - two each at Sangian and Chogamm, and one at Vuzukah.

It was difficult for the officials to calm the angry relatives and villagers, who threatened to approach Amnesty International. The authorities present said the bodies could not be handed over as the matter was sub judice, and pointed out that DNA and RNA tests were needed to prove the exact identity of the dead.



The Indian Express, Tuesday, April 10, 2001

It’s official: five killed for Chittisinghpora were innocent, say J&K police

Nazir Masoodi

Pahalgam (Anantnag), April 9: The state government today announced that all the five men who were killed in an encounter with security forces at Panchalthan, four days after the massacre of 35 Sikhs at Chittisinghpora, were innocent. And released an ex gratia sum of Rs 1 lakh per victim to the next of kin.

The Army had claimed that these five people were militants responsible for the Chittisinghpora massacre and were killed in an encounter on March 25, 2000.

Today, G A Peer, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, said after that the Special Investigative Tem of the police—set up on orders from the court—had completed its probe and established that the ‘‘five missing’’ people were innocent. Based on that report, the administration sanctioned the relief, he said.

The bodies of these five were exhumed after massive protest demonstrations in the area. In fact, eight villagers were killed when police and CRPF fired on the protest march at Brakpora in early April last year. After exhumation, the relatives identified the bodies and claimed that the Army’s ‘‘foreign militants’’ were ‘‘killed in a fake encounter.’’

However, Peer added that the DNA data was still pending and would arrive within the next 10 days. The Panchalthan encounter is pending before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag. The SIT, Peer said, would submit its report to the court in a week.

 

[idune]

India: popular agitation against army atrocities engulfs the northeast state of Manipur
By Kranti Kumara

15 September 2004

Since the middle of July, the small northeastern Indian state of Manipur has been convulsed by popular protests demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), an Indian law that grants extraordinary coercive powers to the armed forces. These powers include unrestricted and essentially unchallengeable authority to arrest and kill people in “carrying out their duties.”

Passed by parliament in 1958, the APSFA automatically comes into force when the Indian Union government designates a territory as a “disturbed area.” The state of Manipur was declared disturbed in 1980, and during the subsequent quarter century, Indian security forces have repeatedly committed human rights violations and brutal atrocities.

Although the rage against the AFSPA and the Indian government as a whole has been simmering for many years, the latest bout of agitation was triggered by the vicious torture, rape and murder of a 32-year-old woman, Thangjam Manorama, following her arrest by a team of paramilitary Assam Rifles personnel. Around midnight on July 10, a group of Assam Rifles soldiers burst into the home of Manorama and dragged the sleeping victim to a veranda where they proceeded to beat her mercilessly in front of her family.

The arrest was prompted by suspicion that Manorama belonged to the banned People’s Liberation Army, a nationalist insurgent group that is seeking Manipur’s secession from the Indian union. The violent methods utilised in apprehending this young lady are the standard modus operandi of the security personnel. Mere suspicion of belonging to a banned organisation is sufficient reason for security personnel to run rampant.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was greeted with a 12-hour general strike on his arrival at the state capital Imphal on September 5. The strike was called by the coordinating committee Apunba Lup, which unites 32 women’s, student and civic organisations, and succeeded in largely shutting down Imphal and surrounding areas.

Shortly after Manorama’s murder, several women protested naked in front of the headquarters of the Assam Rifles holding up a banner displaying the words “Indian Army, Rape Us.” Another young lady named Irom Sharmila began a fast unto death in protest. She has been arrested and force-fed by the Indian authorities.

On August 15, the 57th anniversary of India’s independence from Britain, a 19-year-old student leader, Pebam Chittaranjan Mangang, burned himself to death to dramatise, and demand an end to, the suffering that the people of Manipur have endured under the AFSPA. On August 17, a general strike called by Apunba Lup, in response to Chittaranjan’s death, paralyzed Imphal.

The Indian ruling elite has reacted to this popular agitation with a mixture of bewilderment and confusion. The state Chief Minister, Congress leader Ibobi Singh, proposed that the AFSPA be lifted in Imphal. However, he has also denounced Apunba Lup as a front for extremists and ordered the arrest of several of its leaders. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance central government recently did announce the lifting of the AFSPA in Manipur’s capital. But it has also threatened to impose “President’s rule” in Manipur, which would suspend the state legislature and government and place Manipur under the direct administration of the central government.

Elements of the Congress leadership in Manipur have denounced Ibobi Singh for conciliating the opposition in a patent attempt to destabilise his government. This could provide the requisite reason for the ruling Congress coalition government at the center to impose President’s rule.

The Assam Rifles has refused to cooperate with an enquiry commission—set up, in response to the protests, by the state government—to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Manorama. The accused Assam Rifles personnel have repeatedly ignored orders to testify. So emboldened do they feel under the AFSPA that they accuse the state government of not having obtained the necessary permission from the central government to hold such an enquiry. They even petitioned the Gauhati

(capital of Assam) High Court to issue a stay order against the commission. Only after much wrangling were four soldiers who took part in the arrest compelled to appear before the commission.

Meanwhile, the military high command has strongly objected to the relaxing of the AFSPA in Manipur, claiming that it will weaken the fight against “extremists.” Chief of Army Staff N.C. Vij and other senior military officers are reported to have told the Home Minister that the order lifting the AFSPA in Imphal is compromising security. They also expressed concern that the government’s concession to the anti-AFSPA agitation in Manipur could lead to similar movements elsewhere in the northeast and in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the Sept. 14 Hindu, “Sources said that the Army officers who made the presentation to [Home Minister] Patil indicated they were simply forwarding their assessment of the situation and it should not be read as an ultimatum of any sort.”

India: popular agitation against army atrocities engulfs the northeast state of Manipur

 

[Spring Onion]

India: Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur


The Indian government should fully prosecute army, paramilitary, and police personnel responsible for killings and torture in the northeastern state of Manipur, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
Human rights violations by Indian security forces have fueled the armed opposition in Manipur. Armed groups have carried out torture, killings, indiscriminately used bombs and land mines, engaged in forced recruitment, and conducted widespread extortion.

The 79-page report, “'These Fellows Must Be Eliminated': Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur,” documents the failure of justice in the state, where for 50 years the army, empowered and protected by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), has committed numerous serious human rights violations.

“Soldiers and police are protected by laws granting immunity and officials unwilling to hold them accountable for serious crimes,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “These laws perpetuate human rights abuses, which drive civilians to seek the protection of one or other armed group.”The report details the failure of justice in the killing and possible rape of alleged militant Thangjam Manorama Devi by the paramilitary Assam Rifles in 2004. Repeated attempts to identify and punish those responsible for her death have been stalled by the army, which has received protection under the immunity provisions of the AFSPA.

The report documents specific cases of extrajudicial executions and torture by soldiers, paramilitaries, and police in Manipur since 2006, and the Indian government’s failure to curb the abuses. Torture of detainees, in particular severe beatings during interrogations of suspected militants and their supporters, remains common. Torture victims described to Human Rights Watch how they were arbitrarily arrested, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks and simulated drowning (waterboarding).

Extrajudicial killings often followed a consistent pattern in which the military or police took a person into custody, often in front of eyewitnesses, who was later declared to have been killed in an armed encounter with militants. Such faked “encounter killings” often occurred when security forces suspected someone to be a militant, but did not have enough evidence to ensure a conviction. On occasion, government officials or members of the armed forces would later admit to relatives that a person had been killed by “mistake.” This claim is never made officially, so in police records the victim remains identified as a militant, and avenues for redress remain closed.

“Security forces are bypassing the law and killing people on suspicion that they are militants instead of bringing them before a judge,” said Ganguly. “In the name of national security and armed forces morale, the state protects abusers and leaves Manipuris with no remedy to secure justice.”

Human Rights Watch called on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to act on the findings of the committee he appointed to review the AFSPA in Manipur. Created after weeks of protests in Manipur following the killing of Manorama in 2004, the committee led by Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy recommended in 2005 that the AFSPA be repealed. The Indian government has failed to take action on the committee’s recommendation.

India has also ignored concerns and recommendations by United Nations human rights bodies calling for a review of the AFSPA. For example, in 1997 the UN Human Rights Committee said that the continued use of the AFSPA in Manipur was tantamount to using emergency powers and recommended that the application of these powers be monitored to ensure compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2007, the Committee on the Elimination Racial Discrimination (CERD) called for India to repeal the AFSPA and to replace it “by a more humane Act” in accordance with the recommendation contained in the leaked Jeevan Reddy committee report. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in February 2007 urged India to provide information on the steps being taken to abolish or reform the AFSPA.

“The Indian government has not only ignored the pleas of ordinary Manipuris and UN human rights bodies to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, but has even ignored the findings of its own committee,” said Ganguly. “This reflects the sort of callousness that breeds anger, hate and further violence.”

In addition to repeal of the AFSPA, Human Rights Watch recommended that:


The government of India and the state government of Manipur should investigate and prosecute government officials, including members of the armed forces, police, and paramilitary responsible for human rights violations;
The government of India should arrest and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law all those found responsible for the 2004 killing of Thangjam Manorama Devi;
Armed groups in Manipur should publicly denounce abuses committed by any militant group and ensure that there is appropriate accountability for such abuses; and,
Armed groups should immediately stop the abduction and recruitment of children into their forces.

Excerpts from selected cases in “These Fellows Must Be Eliminated”

In 2004, elderly Manipuri women staged an unprecedented protest over Manorama’s killing by stripping off their clothes and raising a banner calling for the army to come rape them, too. One of the women, L. Gyaneshori, told Human Rights Watch:

“Manorama’s killing broke our hearts. We mothers were weeping, ‘Now our daughters can be raped. They can be subjected to such cruelty. Every girl is at risk.’ We shed our clothes and stood before the army. We said, ‘We mothers have come. Drink our blood. Eat our flesh. Maybe this way you can spare our daughters.’ But nothing has been done to punish those soldiers. The women of Manipur were disrobed by AFSPA. We are still naked.”

Mohammad Abdul Hakim described the killing of his 15-year-old son, Razak Khan, on September 13, 2007 by a joint team of police and members of the 32nd Assam Rifles. Security forces had first come to their house asking for a man called Khajing, an alleged militant. Khan was asked to accompany the soldiers to a neighboring house. There, according to Hakim, his son was killed:

“We were beaten and told to collect in the courtyard. Soldiers went inside to search the house. Suddenly, I heard my son’s voice shouting, ‘I am not Khajing!’ One of the neighbors later told me that he saw the soldiers push my son to the ground. He was crying. They shot him as he lay on the ground. We only heard the gunshots and then my son stopped shouting.”

Elangbam Sanayaima was detained by members of the 21st Assam Rifles on November 29, 2007, and accused being a member of the separatist United National Liberation Front (UNLF). He was taken to an Assam Rifles camp. According to Sanayaima:

“At the camp, I was blindfolded and my hands were tied behind my back. Then they started interrogating me. They insisted over and over again that I was Sanayaima of UNLF. They asked me about my training and my colleagues. When I said that I was innocent, they beat me. Then they pushed my head back until I was almost upside down. They poured water into my nose and mouth until I could not breathe.”

India: Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur | Human Rights Watch

 

[idune]

Indian Army And The Legacy Of Rape In Manipur

By Shivali Tukdeo

24 October, 2004
Countercurrents.org


In the Indian narrative of progress and development, the North East has always remained in footnotes. While mainstream media rarely takes notice of the violence caused by Indian Army in the North East, recent outpour of extreme resentment at the military forces did shake both the media and the state as forty Manipuri women --twelve of them naked-- stormed the Army headquarters in Imphal, holding signs that read “Indian Army, Rape Us!” Thanglam Manorama’s brutal murder by Army personnel was the source of anger for the protesters. Manorama’s murder is far from being an exceptional case in Manipur where rape, abuse and murder are everyday realities. In their brave protest, Manipuri women
shamed Indian army by parading the very female body that brought humiliation and death to their sisters. With their raw anger and amazing mobilization, these women refuse to get knocked down by the ‘rape culture’that enables the ‘victor’ to demoralize their victim.

The human rights violations in Manipur are, in fact, sanctioned by the state in the form of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, which gives enormous powers to security forces. AFSPA has been operative in Manipur for over four decades and has given unaccounted power to the security forces to search, arrest, detain or kill anyone on the basis of suspicion--of course all in the name of ‘maintaining public order’. The abuse of power by security forces has resulted in incidents of arbitrary detention, torture, rape and killing.

The systematic misuse of AFSPA is discussed at great lengths by Amnesty International in the report “Official sanction for killing in Manipur”(1998):

“By conferring broadly defined powers to shoot to kill on the armed forces, this law has fostered a climate in which the agents of law enforcement use excessive force with impunity. A pattern of apparently unlawful killings of suspected members of armed opposition groups has resulted
from the systemic use of lethal force as an alternative to arrest by the security forces. Civilians, including women and juveniles, have been among the victims of killing or wounding by security forces.”

As though special powers are not enough, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act goes on to provide the security forces protection from prosecution! The Committee on Human Rights has documented 55 selected incidents of arbitrary killings by security forces between 1980 and 1996 --none of the cases
have been resolved till date.

Invasion of women’s bodies is another consequence of the privilege and power enjoyed by security forces in Manipur. Countless incidents of molestation and rape go unreported, while few women who do report do not get fair hearing. Miss Rose (1974), Neelam Panchabhaiy a (1986), Tamphasana (1990),
Ahanjaobi Devi (1996) tried fighting legal battles against their rapists but all of these cases were dropped on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Amnesty International gives a disturbing account of the façade of justice in Manipur:

“Despite consistent allegations of widespread human rights violations in areas of the northeast of India where the Act is in operation, to Amnesty International’s knowledge, no member of the security forces has been prosecuted for a human rights violation.”

Besides the threat of violence, women in Manipur also have to contend with the threat of sexual abuse by the armed forces. Not to speak of the social stigma attached to rape that doubles up the sense of guilt and insecurity.

Masculine military privilege and its visible aggression in Manipur can only be understood in terms of an ancient war tactic which uses rape as a tool to control and dehumanize the ‘enemy’. Given the misogyny of the state, we must start looking at spaces outside the state for solution of problems. As Manipuri women take their struggle to streets, they have become an inspiration to everyone suffering and fighting patriarchy. In struggle, together!

Indian Army And The Legacy Of Rape In Manipur By Shivali Tukdeo

 

[brahmastra]

One more proof of Indian brutality

before



after

 

[glomex]

One more proof of Indian brutality

before



after

Ha...ha...ha...

 

[idune]

Women Rage Against 'Rape' in Northeast India

by Syed Zarir Hussain

IMPHAL (Manipur), - After torching government buildings and parading naked to protest the suspected custodial rape and killing of a woman by federal soldiers, women in Manipur vow to intensify their fight against frequent atrocities in the restive northeast Indian state.


http://img232.imageshack.us/i/071901.jpg/
AP Photo


An indefinite curfew is in force in Manipur, bordering Myanmar, to quell the uprising, with troops bursting teargas shells, water cannons and firing rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of women trying to break prohibitory orders.


Naked women protestors shout slogans against the alleged rape, torture and murder of Thangjam Manorama by paramilitary soldiers in Imphal, capital of northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, July 15, 2004. In a highly unusual protest, some 40 women stripped naked and staged an angry demonstration outside the Assam Rifles base to protest the death in custody of 32-year old Manorama. (AP Photo/Str)

At least 100 women were injured in police attacks since violence broke out Thursday, with some having to undergo surgeries to remove pellets embedded in their bodies.

The action follows violent protests by women in Manipur after the bullet-riddled body of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama was found on July 10.

Witnesses say Manorama was picked up by soldiers of the paramilitary Assam Rifles from her home on alleged charges of links with separatist rebels.

Hours later, her dead body was reportedly found four kilometers away from her home in the state capital Imphal, with multiple bullet wounds, besides torture signs.

Several women's groups called a 48-hour general strike the day after Manorama's body was found, bringing normal life in the state to a grinding halt for two days until July 12.

On Thursday, hundreds of women had stormed the Assam Rifles headquarters in Imphal, with at least 40 parading naked and holding placards that read: "Indian Army rape us" and "Indian Army takes our flesh."

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew fearing more protests. But women in hundreds started defying the curfew from Friday night by taking to the streets, prompting the police to resort to force to keep the protestors at bay.

On Sunday, protestors torched at least half-a-dozen government buildings, making authorities cut short a curfew relaxation.

"We want to punish the soldiers involved in the brutal killing of Manorama and so we are demanding handing over the errant soldiers to us," says Memchaoubi Devi, president of the women's rights group Porei Lemarol Meira Phaibi Apunba Manipur.

She adds, "It is better to protest naked than allow the soldiers to kill and rape our women."

A total of 32 women's groups have come under one platform to protest the killing. Women in Manipur are known for taking up cudgels against social issues.

"This protest is not going to die down until and unless the guilty soldiers are punished. Even if someone is involved in militancy, he or she should be brought to the court of law and not just killed or raped," lashes out Leirik Devi, president of the Kangla Mei, another powerful women rights group.

She vows, "We are prepared to shed blood but cannot allow the soldiers to outrage the modesty of our daughters. This protest will intensify."

Bowing to mounting pressure, the Assam Rifles Saturday removed an unspecified number of soldiers from duty against whom there was a court of inquiry ordered to probe the alleged custodial death.

Assures Assam Rifles spokesman Major SD Goswami, "Anybody found guilty would be punished." The state government has also ordered a probe following rising pressure from women's groups.

But women's groups in the state have refused to call off their agitation even after the suspected soldiers were said to be taken off duty.

Says Leirik Devi, "Until and unless we get a concrete assurance from the authorities that cases like rape or custodial killings will not recur, and stern action is taken against those errant soldiers, we are not going to stop our agitation."

"We cannot stop atrocities committed on the women by security forces unless we resort to radical forms of protest like stripping in public."

Manipur has witnessed an increase in excesses by armed forces on civilians and human rights violations in the name of curbing insurgency.

Charges rights campaigner T Singh, "The number of cases of rights violations, torture and rape by security forces has increased manifold. The Special Powers Armed Forces Act prevalent here gives security forces unlimited powers and impunity against rights violations."

"Our reports say there were at least 50 cases of third degree tortures on innocent civilians accused of aiding militancy in the past one year. At least a dozen custodial deaths were reported in the same period, while a number of cases have gone unreported."

In October last year, 15-year-old Sanjita Devi committed suicide after being allegedly molested by army soldiers in Manipur. The army instituted a court of inquiry, but the findings were never made public.

Says another women's leader, Sarojini Devi, "Such inquiries are nothing but a farce."

There are over 19 separatist groups active in Manipur, bordering Myanmar, with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy and the right self-determination.

More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Manipur in the past two decades. Even the state government admits there were excesses committed by armed forces on the civilians.

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, who is the elected head of the state, in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the federal government to "restrain and do the needful to check the conduct of security personnel" deployed in the state.

But for now, Manipur is in turmoil with the women folk determined to intensify their protests.

Women Rage Against 'Rape' in Northeast India

 

[idune]

The Merciless Killing of Thangiam Manorama
Manipur, India, July 23, 2004

Unlawful killings in Manipur, a tiny state in the northeast corner of India, are not unusual. Many residents of Manipur allege that under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) of 1958, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and looting by security personnel is commonplace. They say that at least 18 unexplained deaths have occurred since April 5th of this year.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act
Under Section 4 of the AFSPA, 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." The army can shoot to kill, the army can enter and search without a warrant, and the army can destroy property and arrest anyone it chooses -- without a warrant.

Under Section 5 of the AFSPA, once the military has arrested someone, 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.

Under section 6 no legal proceeding can be brought against any member of the armed forces acting under the AFSPA, without the permission of the Central Government.

According to the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, 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. It is extremely surprising that the Delhi High Court found the AFSPA constitutional given the wording and application of the AFSPA. The people of Manipur say the AFSPA is unconstitutional and should be repealed by the judiciary or the legislature to end army rule in the northeast.

It was under the AFSPA that an arrest memo was issued for Thangiam Manorama. At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 11th several 17th Battalion of Assam Rifles personnel allegedly broke down the door of the 32-year-old woman’s home, dragged her out of bed, and physically assaulted her two younger brothers and her elderly mother when they tried to intervene.

Several personnel then dragged Manorama to a veranda where she was allegedly blindfolded, tied, tortured and brutally assaulted for hours.

Some personnel came back into the house from the veranda and took a towel and water container, allegedly using them to gag Manorama and pour water on her face while assaulting her. Later another Assam Rifle personnel came inside and took a kitchen knife.

Before taking Manorama with them, the security personnel gave the arrest memo to the family and forced them to sign a “No Claim Certificate.” The document certified that no property was damaged and that the personnel had not “misbehaved with women folk.” (The family alleges that the 17th Assam Rifles personnel looted them of 5,000 rupees and some jewelry.) It should also be noted that the time written on the certificate was 3:30 a.m. – three full hours after the Assam Rifles arrived at Manorama’s home.

The arrest memo stated that Manorama was arrested on the suspicion that she had links with the underground People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The security personnel told Manorama’s family that she was being taken to Kangla, the fort where the Assam Rifles are stationed.

But Manorama never made it to the Kangla fort. Her partially clothed body was found dumped on the side of a road later that day.

The villagers who found Manorama’s body said that there were scratch marks from fingers all over her body, a deep gashing knife wound on her right thigh, signs of bruises on her breasts, deep cut marks on her inner thighs, and genitals, and several bullet wounds.

The autopsy of Manorama’s body was conducted at the Regional Institute of Medial Sciences Hospital (RIMS) after the Irilbung police picked up her body. The autopsy was performed before family members were able to identify the body and the results of the report were not released to the public.

The bereaved family members have refused to take back Manorama’s body, stating that as a murder, an inquiry should be conducted.

For the people of the city of Imphal, this was the last straw.

Merely punishing the men involved in the killing of Manorama will not pacify the people they say. They are demanding the complete revocation of the AFSPA so that the excesses of the security personnel can be put to a final stop.

A desperate protest
Venting their bottled up rage, and despite the humiliation of their act, prominent women in the community protested by disrobing in front of the Assam Rifles Headquarters. They shouted, “rape us, kill us, take our flesh” while attempting to break open the AR headquarters gate.

Immediately following, an indefinite curfew was imposed in Imphal and the surrounding area, although there has been no let up in the protests. In spite of the curfew, sit-in protests and mass rallies continue in Manipur.

Outraged, members of various organizations submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister O Ibobi, who has admitted that there has been no improvement in law and order since the AFSPA was imposed in 1980. He added that the government is looking into the feasibility of revoking the Act.

In the meantime the State Government has decided to institute a Judiciary Inquiry into the alleged custodial killing of Thangiam Manorama by the 17th Assam Rifles personnel. The decision was made during a high level meeting convened by the Chief Minister.

The 17th Assam Rifles ultimately released a statement claiming that Manorama was a self styled corporal of the underground PLA and was killed while attempting to escape.

There were sharp reactions to this statement by several women’s organizations saying that the 17th Assam Rifles were trying to somehow justify the brutal killing. Even if Manorama was a separatist member, the army should not possess such unchallengeable powers. They also refuted the charges leveled by Assam Rifles authorities against Manorama.

Y Ibeni, the president of the women’s organization, All Manipur Nupi Marup, said that a team of women will leave for New Delhi this week to highlight the atrocities of the Assam Rifles personnel. In a no nonsense tone, Ibeni also requested that the Chief Minister should make public the autopsy report due to the grave suspicions over the manner of the death of Manorama. Strongly condemning the killing, Ibeni said that even in times of
war women are not subjected to such excesses.

Ibeni also said that dumping Manorama’s body on a roadside showed the audacity of the security personnel. Ibeni also questioned why there were no women personnel present when Manorama was picked up by the AR men adding that the law does not allow a woman to be picked up after sun set.

The “Committee Against the Brutal Killing of Th Manorama Devi By 17 AR" has clarified that Manorama was an innocent civilian who did not have any sort of connection with any of the underground organizations operating in the State. According to some of the residents living in Bamon Kampu,“allegations leveled against Manorama by the Assam Rifles authorities was nothing but an attempt to hoodwink the public and cover up their inhuman deeds.” The residents also feel that “the AR authorities' attempt to pacify the public by terming the victim as a hardcore PLA cadre have backfired and has resulted only in adding fuel to the bottled up rage and anger of the people."

Promises made by Union Minister of State for Home
Making a specific commitment, Union Minister of State for Home, Sriprakash Jaiswal, promised to vacate the historic Kangla fort by December 31, 2004. The Kangla fort was the seat of power for Manipur kings until it was lost to the British in 1892. The fort has been with the Indian army since Independence and has been a bone of contention. Should the promise be kept, Manorama's death will mark a turning point in the history of Manipur.

The other promises included a review of the AFSPA. Jaiswal specifically stated that in the future the army would use women personnel whenever an action is initiated against a female suspect. The state police will also be involved.

Despite the promises made, most in Manipur feel that this is just another stunt to quell the ongoing public protest demanding the removal of the AFSPA.

Restricted Area Permit (RAP)
Most of the people of Manipur want a complete review of the RAP as well.

Currently no non-Indian citizen can enter the northeast area without a special visa.

All foreigners need a special permit called the RAP to enter the region -- valid for 14 days from the day the visa is stamped, and usually valid for only 3 days in Imphal.

This permit also applies to Indians who have changed their nationality.

It is the belief of the residents of Manipur that this visa restriction was set up so that western journalists can’t see what is taking place in this isolated region. The residents also say that not even Kashmir has such strict restrictions. They believe this is due to the northeast regions’ lack of political voice given their small population within India.

Without access to the area by the western countries, they believe that human rights violations will continue to go unnoticed and unreported.

The citizens of Manipur firmly believe that both the RAP and the AFSPA is what gives the Indian government and its army unrestricted powers to continue committing blatant atrocities. They also say that the government can argue that they need the AFSPA to continue fighting the separatists but they can have no good argument to justify the restriction of foreigners to the region. They also say that the RAP denies the region from enjoying lucrative foreign tourism money.

Lack of information about the incident in the Indian press
While there is nothing in writing, it is understood that journalists in Manipur must be very cautious about what they report because of the unchallengeable power of the AFSPA.

But many in Manipur do not understand the apathy shown by the Indian national news providers, by ignoring the whole incident and making no mention of the current crisis. They are deeply hurt and frustrated by the fact that newspapers and media of their own country choose not to give any coverage to the events taking place in Manipur. They say that time and again the Indian press has failed in their responsibility to highlight the plight of the innocent people of Manipur against the brutality unleashed by the Indian Army.

What will happen in the future to correct these injustices is uncertain.

The alleged torture and extra judicial killing of Thangiam Manorama and various other central and critical issues pertaining to the state were
discussed at the 22nd session of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Population at Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.

Presently, police are on the streets of Imphal firing tear gas shells and rubber bullets, destroying property and injuring women and young protesters.

Perhaps the brutal ending of Thangiam Manorama’s short life will be a new beginning for Manipur and its proud people. And if this is so, then perhaps Manorama’s merciless killing will have some meaning after all.



The Merciless Killing of Thangiam Manorama - Worldpress.org

 

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Atrocities committed by Indian forces in kashmir

 

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Indian soldiers are brutally beating young boys in a sports stadium