Army rules Kashmir: Indian HR activist

SRINAGAR, June 15: Noted Indian human rights activist Vrinda Grover on Sunday said there is an army rule in Kashmir.

The noted female lawyer and HR activist from New Delhi, Grover alleged that though there is the rule of Army in Kashmir, the Government of India portrays something else in the international community.

“We have to expose them before the international community,” she said at the two-day workshop on legal literacy organised by Association of Parents of Disappeared Person (APDP) at its Hyderpora office.

The workshop is part of a continuing series of workshops organized by the APDP since August 2007.

Grover, the resource person for the workshop made the victims aware on carrying forward their struggle and campaign for justice.

During the two day interactive workshop several issues came up for discussion which included the possibility and the logistics of filing joint cases in the court against the Army and paramilitary troops involved in enforced disappearances.

She explained to the members the difference between compensation and ex gratia relief, “Compensation is your right and if the State has done something wrong, they have to compensate for it. If you take compensation that won’t weaken your case for prosecution of the guilty,” Grover said.

She stressed upon the need for rigorous and credible documentation of cases. “To build pressure on India in international forums, systematic approach is needed and proper documentation of disappeared persons is a must,” Grover said.

Talking about the pending amendment to the Right to Information Act (RTI), Grover said, “RTI is a joke with the people of Kashmir. In different Indian states any person can seek information under RTI on human rights violations. However in the case of Kashmir that particular clause has been removed. Kashmiris cannot seek information from troops and paramilitary forces under any conditions.”

She said that though India is a signatory to the international conventions against torture and disappearances, it has not ratified either of the conventions because of its poor human rights record in Kashmir and the North East.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the APDP President Parveena Ahanger reiterated the association’s commitment to continue its struggle till government doesn’t come up with the facts about the fate of the disappeared people in Kashmir.

APDP Legal Advisor Advocate Mir Hafizullah, other human rights activists also participated in the workshop.