Srinagar: A day after Supreme Court of asked police not to take any ‘coercive steps’ against Major named in FIR by police in killing of the civilian teenagers in Shopian, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) for the people of Kashmir “sadly the Indian judiciary is no different from its executive and legislative authority in dealing with them.”
In a statement issued here, the JRL comprising of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said there was no expectation, hope of justice for the daily killings of civilians, young or old men or women, children or lactating mothers, by its armed forces who enjoy the cover of legal impunity under laws such as the AFSPA and “hence are free from accountability and prosecution.”
The JRL leaders said “eight lakh forces” stationed in Kashmir, are used as a vehicle of maintaining “forcible control” over the people and territory of Kashmir.
“As a consequence of the unbridled powers bestowed upon them by the laws of the state, more than one lakh Kashmiri civilians have been killed with bullets and pellets either during massacres such as in Hawal, Gaw Kadal, Sopore , Kupwara and Handwara in enforced disappearances during civil protests and agitation or during cordon and search operation or In targeted killings,” they said, adding, “None of the perpetrators have ever been brought to book or punished although many times so called ‘inquiries’ are set up as an immediate remedy to bring the situation under control and assuage people’s anger.”
They said once in a while when the unproved and target killing of civilians by the forces was too obvious as in the case of Shopian on January 28 where three young boys were shot at in the head and brutally killed and the administration was forced to file an FIR,” all hell is let loose, there is a hue and cry about how dare forces are indicted, will it not affect their morale is argued?”
JRL leaders said the “biased and aggressive” among the Indian media goes all guns to defend the “victims” in this case the forces, and in the din and cacophony that ensure that the basic question of the fundamental right to life of those Kashmiri civilians who were killed in “cold blood and justice for their murder, is drowned.”
“The judiciary immediately comes to the rescue of the perpetrators and even the attempt to some kind of investigation in the killing is stayed.”
In such a situation, they said, to expect any of justice for the young boys killed with impunity “is futile.”
The JRL said that the political struggle of the people of Kashmir was based on the “universal principle of right to self determination in deciding their destiny.”
“No amount of injustice and repression or the use of brute force and aggression will make the people give up their demand. Repression will only reinforce it further.”
JRL leaders maintained that the resolution of the “dispute” in accordance with internationally accepted norms of justice and fairness was the only way to ensure peace in the region and end to bloodshed and death.
