U.N. urges India to curb powers of security forces in Kashmir

22 Jan 2011
NEW DELHI (AlertNet) – The United Nations has called on India to repeal a controversial law which gives security forces, who are battling militancy in the troubled regions of Kashmir and the northeast, sweeping powers to search, arrest or shoot people.
Human rights groups say the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a draconian law which the military is arbitrarily using to violate the fundamental freedoms of innocent civilians. But the authorities and the Indian army dismiss the allegations, saying the legislation is essential to root out insurgents.
Following a ten-day fact-finding mission to India, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders urged New Delhi to end this law, which she said was only causing suffering to ordinary people, but also those speaking out against violations such as lawyers and journalists. "While I acknowledge the security challenges faced by the country, I am deeply concerned about the arbitrary applications of security laws at the national and state levels such as in Jammu and Kashmir and in the northeast of India," Margaret Sekaggya told a news conference.
"The Armed Forces Special Powers Act … should be repealed and application of other security laws which adversely affect and safety of human rights defenders should be reviewed." Sekaggya, a Ugandan lawyer and academic, said that she had visited five states, including Kashmir and Assam, where she heard numerous testimonies from families of human rights activists who had been killed, tortured, ill-treated, disappeared, threatened or arbitrarily arrested and detained. The repeal of the AFSPA was one of the main demands of protestors in the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir last year which led to serious unrest.
Between June and September, over 100 people were killed by government forces during the biggest protests since a separatist rebellion in 1989, fuelling anger in Kashmir where sentiment against Indian rule runs deep. The violence raised fears that anger at New Delhi could spin out of control and that if the government failed to check the protests, deaths and rights violations, the region could slide into a renewed phase of armed uprising, as happened in 1989.
The AFSPA allows an officer of the armed forces to fire upon or use force, even to point of causing death, against anyone acting in contravention of any law against assembly of five or more persons or possession of deadly weapons. Officers can also arrest without a warrant anyone who has committed or is suspected of committing certain offenses. The entry and search of any premise in order to make such arrests is also permitted. The act also bestows legal immunity to the officials, which means that they can not be sued or prosecuted.
Sekaggya said she met with senior government officials including the foreign secretary and the home secretary and recommended that they repeal the Act, as well as other laws affecting the human rights of Indians. "The government said 'We have the issue of security, we have the issue of terrorism,' and so they are explaining it that way," she said. "But the issue is how do you balance between security and the freedoms of the people?"

(Courtesy : www.trust.org)