Kašmirski konflikt: poletni upor 2016

V Kašmirju od 8. julija, ko je bil v vasi Bemdoora v južnem delu doline ubit poveljnik samonikle gverilske skupine Hizb ul Mujahiddin Burhan Wani, zopet vre. Od uboja Burhana Wanija je bilo v uporu proti indijski oblasti ubitih več kot 90 neoboroženih civilistov. Več kot 15 tisoč je bilo ranjenih, nekaj čez 500 pa jih je oslepelo pod streli zračnih pušk s strani indijskih varnostnih organov.

Podobni upori so se v Kašmirju že zgodili v letih 2008, 2009 in 2010, v katerih je umrlo več kot 300 ljudi, več tisoč je bilo ranjenih. Letošnji upor z več kot 12 tisoč aretacijami aktivistov za človekove pravice, pravnikov, študentov, poslovnežev in učiteljev spremlja tudi najobsežnejše zatiranje civilnega prebivalstva v zadnjih dveh desetletjih. Upor se od tistih v letih 2008, 2009 in 2010 razlikuje tudi po indijski uporabi zračnega orožja nad neoboroženim prebivalstvom. Med 500 in 800 ljudi, večinoma mladih, je zaradi zadetkov v oči oslepelo. Zračne puške so bile v Kašmirju prvič uporabljene 20. avgusta 2010 kot nesmrtonosno orožje za nadzor množic, a izkazalo se je, da so njihovi metki lahko celo nevarnejši od pravih.

Od delitve indijske podceline leta 1947 je Kašmir jedro spora med jedrskima silama Indijo in Pakistanom. Medtem ko Indija trdi, da je Kašmir sestavni del njihove države, ga Pakistan označuje za svojo jugularno veno. Državi sta glede Kašmirja bili 3 vojne in vse so se končale brez prebojev. Vsem trem so sledili pogovori in pogajanja. Od začetka oboroženega upora proti indijski nadvladi konec 80-ih let prejšnjega stoletja je bilo ubitih več kot 80 tisoč ljudi. V Kašmirju živi več kot 10 tisoč tako imenovanih polovičnih vdov, ki ne vedo ali so njihovi možje po aretaciji s strani indijskih sil še živi ali ne; dolina je prizorišče več kot 5000 množičnih grobišč; stotine ljudi je mučenih, tisoči pa so izginili v indijskih priporih.

Tako kot prejšnje tudi letošnji upor vodi zavezništvo dvajsetih političnih, družbenih in verskih organizacij, znano kot All Parties hurriyat conference oziroma vsestrankarska konferenca za svobodo. To zvezo vodijo trije vplivni voditelji: Syed Ali Geelani, ki je znan po trdih propakistanskih stališčih; najvišji verski voditelj Kašmirja Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in voditelj fronte za osvoboditev Džamuja in Kašmirja Yasin Malik, ki zagovarja neodvisnost. Kljub razlikam je primarni cilj vseh treh voditeljev ločitev Kašmirja od Indije. Zato je bila leta 1993 ustanovljena vsestrankarska konferenca za svobodo kot enotna politična fronta. Trenutno so vsi njeni voditelji zaprti po različnih zloglasnih zaporih po dolini. Syed Ali Geelani je v hišnem priporu že vse od leta 2010 z zgolj enomesečnim izpustom pred tremi leti.

Od začetka letošnjega upora je bilo časopisom dvakrat prepovedno izhajanje. Prvič je bila izdana vsesplošna enotedenska prepoved 16. julija. Nato je bila ob pripravah na praznovanje indijskega dneva neodvisnosti 13. avgusta vsem medijem odklopljena povezava s svetovnim spletom. Posledično časopisi naslednje 4 dni niso izhajali. Povrh tega pa je bilo 2. oktobra v nasprotju z zakonodajo prepovedano izhajanje dnevnega časopisa v angleškem jeziku Kashmir reader. Varnostni organi so kot edini razlog za to odločitev navedli spodbujanje sovraštva.

Poleti je bil pridržan tudi programski koordinator organizacije Jammu Kashmir coalition of civil society Khurram Parvez, ki je aktiven zagovornik človekovih pravic v tej zvezni državi že 15 let. Pridržan je bil v skladu z zloglasnim zakonom, imenovanim Public safety act, krajše PSA, ki ga Amnesty International označuje za brezpraven zakon. V skladu z njegovimi določili oblasti lahko posameznika brez sojenja pridržijo za 6 mesecev, za kar pa je dovolj že sum, da bi lahko bil grožnja javnemu redu in državni varnosti. Obdobje pridržanja se lahko podaljša do dveh let.

Direktor Amnesty International India, Aakar Patel, je ob pridržanju Khurrama povedal sledeče:

“Pridržanje človeka takoj po njegovi izpustitvi, brez namena, da bi ga obtožili in pripeljali pred sodišče, pomeni konstantno preganjanje. Takšna arbitrarna uporaba zakona nakazuje, da je kašmirska policija odločena Khurrama Perveza zapreti pod kakršnimikoli pogoji.”

Nočne racije, namenjene aretaciji domnevnih “nizkotnežev” v vaseh in mestih v Kašmirju, ostajajo stalnica. Aretirani so večinoma mladi, ki so nato obravnavani po določilih zloglasnega zakona PSA.

Vladajoča stranka v Kašmirju, People’s democratic party, krajše PDP, ki je zrasla na temelju tako imenovanega mehkega separatizma, je po zadnjih volitvah stopila v nenaravno zavezništvo z desničarsko stranko Bharatiya Janata party, krajše BJP. Tako BJP prvič v sedemdesetih letih neposredno vlada Kašmircem, ki večinoma sledijo liberalnejšim in sekularnim principom. Kašmirci so na volitvah leta 2014 z glasovanjem za stranko PDP hkrati glasovali proti stranki BJP. Slednjo pa so izglasovali prebivalci večinsko hindujskega predela Džamu. PDP je zmagal v Kašmirju, BJP pa je pobral vse parlamentarne sedeže iz Džamuja. Koalicija je nastala pod vodstvom takratnega voditelja PDP Muftija Mohameda Sayeeda, ki jo je sam označil kot “srečanje južnega in severnega tečaja”. Največja opozicijska stranka, Nacionalni kongres, je bila sicer pripravljena vstopiti v koalicijo s stranko PDP, a je Mohamed Sayeed to zavrnil in z vstopom v koalicijo s stranko BJP med prebivalci Kašmirja ustvaril občutek izdanosti.

V letu 2015 se je zvrstilo več dogodkov, zaradi katerih so Kašmirci dobili občutek, da jim vladajo tujci, v tem primeru desničarska in hindujska supremacistična stranka BJP. Naštejmo le nekaj teh primerov iz lanskega leta: stranka BJP je skušala uvesti prepoved zakola goveda, ki je sveto hindujcem, ne pa tudi muslimanom; nasprotovali so uporabi kašmirske zastave in zagovarjali, da je dopustna le uporaba indijske zastave; predlagali so ponovno nastanitev hindujskih beguncev, ki so dolino zapustili v času vojne pred dvema desetletjema, a ne med prebivalstvom, temveč samo v njim namenjenih kolonijah, poleg tega pa bi ustanovili tudi kolonije za nastanitev vojakov. Nato je 25. januarja umrl Mufti Sayeed. Indijski premier in prvak stranke BJP, Narendra Modi, se mu ni prišel pokloniti, kar je bil prvi primer, da indijski premier ob smrti kašmirskega premiera ni obiskal Kašmirja. Sayeedova hčerka in naslednica, Mehbooba Mufti, je kljub temu aprila potrdila nadaljevanje koalicije s stranko BJP. V roku dveh mesecev je Kašmir zajel upor, ki ga je spremljalo še brutalnejše zatiranje kot tisto v prejšnjih letih.

Za tokratni Terminal je poskrbel Daanish bin Nabi, urednik mnenjskega dela spletnega portala Rising Kashmir.

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Original v angleščini:

Kashmir Dispute: Summer Unrest 2016

The valley of Kashmir is again on boil and on international media radar since the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahiddin (Kashmir’s indigenous guerilla outfit) Commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani in Bemdoora village of Kokernag in south Kashmir on July 08.

The Uprisings

Since the killing of Burhan Wani, more than 90 unarmed civilian protesters have been killed in the renewed uprising of 2016. More than 15,000 people have been injured and over 500 people have been blinded by the pellets guns in various Indian forces action. Kashmir has also witnessed the same uprising in 2008, 2009 and 2010 in which over 300 unarmed civilians were killed and thousands injured. The 2016 uprising has also seen the biggest crackdown in last two decades on the civilian population with over 12,000 arrests which include human rights activists, lawyers, students, members of business fraternity and teachers.

What makes the 2016 uprising different from 2008, 2009 and 2010 is the use of pellet guns by the Indian forces on the unarmed civilian population. The people, mostly youth, who have lost vision to these deadly pellets range in between from 500 to 800. The pellet gun was introduced on August 20, 2010 in Kashmir during the 2010 uprising as a “non-lethal” gun to control the crowds. However, the pellets have proved to be more fatal and injurious than live bullets.

Kashmir Conflict

Since the partition of subcontinent in 1947, Kashmir has remained a historic bone of contention between two nuclear states of India and Pakistan. While India claims Kashmir as its “Integral Part”, Pakistan on other hand calls it its “Jugular Vein”. Both the countries have fought three full-fledged wars over Kashmir all culminating in stalemate. All the three wars were followed by talks and negotiations.

More than 80,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of armed struggle in late 1980s against the Indian state. There are more than 10,000 half-widows (wives not knowing whether their husbands are dead or alive after been arrested by the Indian army); over 5000 mass-graves; hundreds tortured and thousands disappeared in various Indian custodies.

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) which is an alliance of 20 political, social and religious organizations is again spearheading the ongoing uprising of 2016. This conglomerate is headed by three main leaders Syed Ali Geelani who heads Hurriyat (G) and is known for his uncompromising standing with pro-Pakistan leanings. Head priest of Kashmir and Chairman Hurriyat (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief and pro-Independence Muhammad Yasin Malik. However, wresting Kashmir from India remains the ultimate goal of all the three leaders. APHC was formed on March 9, 1993 as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri independence. Presently, all the Hurriyat leaders have been detained in various notorious jails across the Valley. However, the octogenarian Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani remains to be under house detention since 2010. He was let free in 2013 but only for a month.

The Crackdown

Kashmir has seen one of the most brutal crackdowns at the hands of Indian security forces during the uprising of 2010. The newspapers have been shut twice since the inception of this present uprising. First, without intimidating the media houses, a blanket ban was imposed on all the newspapers on July 16 which remained in effect for a week. Then again all the internet facilities were snapped to Kashmir Press Enclave on August 13 in view of India’s Independence Day of August 15. As all the newspapers are dependent on internet in present day world, newspapers were not published again till August 17. Following these two bans, on October 02 in a brazen violation of all the “freedom acts” daily English newspaper “Kashmir Reader” was banned altogether from publishing. The only reason the security administration gave was that the newspaper was “inciting violence”.  

The programme coordinator with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) Khurram Parvez has also been detained by the forces under the notorious act commonly known as Public Safety Act (PSA). He has been an active rights activist for nearly 15 years in the state. The PSA has been termed as a “Lawless Law” by the Amnesty International. Under this act, the authorities can arrest and imprison a person without trial for upto six months on mere suspicion that he may be threat to “public order and security of the State”. The detention period can be extended up to two years.

Upon Khurram’s detention, Executive Director, Amnesty International India, Aakar Patel, said, “Detaining a person right after he is released, without any intention to charge him or bring him to trial, amounts to using a revolving door of persecution. This kind of arbitrary use of the law suggests that the Jammu and Kashmir police are determined to lock up Khurram Parvez at any cost.”

Nocturnal raids to arrest the “miscreants” in villages, towns and main cities remain order of day. Mostly, youth are picked up in these raids and booked under the notorious PSA.

The PDP-BJP Alliance

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was known for its “soft-separatism” politics forged an unholy alliance with right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is for the first time in last 70 years that BJP was able to govern Kashmiris “directly” which are more liberal and secular in nature. While the Kashmiris voted for PDP and against the BJP in 2014 election, the Jammu division voted for BJP. The PDP won majority of its seats from Kashmir valley while BJP secured all the seats in Jammu division. The alliance between PPD-BJP was forged by the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He himself termed the alliance as meeting of “North Pole and South Pole”. The main opposition party National Conference (NC) was ready to forge an alliance with the PDP, however, Mufti Sayeed declined the offer and forged alliance with BJP sending a sense of betrayal among the people of Kashmir.

The year 2015, had already seen many incidents where Kashmiris felt transgressed by the outsiders, in this case the right-wing and Hindutva favorite BJP. To name a few controversies which BJP racked-up during 2015: BJP tried to ban the slaughter of cows, holy to hindus, but not to muslims; they disputed the right to use Kashmiri state flag and argued that only the Indian flag should be used; they proposed to resettle hindu refugees (Pandiths), which left Kashmir during the 90s civil war, but not amongst the population but in "Pandith colonies" as well as to establish so called "Sainik Colonies" for soldiers.

Then on January 05, 2016, Mufti Sayeed died in a hospital in New Delhi. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit Srinagar to pay his obeisance to the dead soul. It was also for the first time that an Indian PM did not visit Srinagar when a sitting Chief Minister died in office. It also offended Mufti Sayeed daughter and heir Mehbooba Mufti. However, after two months she again forged an alliance with BJP in April 2016. And within span of two months her state was in grip of yet another uprising, this time only to see more brutal repression and more killings than the previous uprisings.   

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About the author: Daanish Bin Nabi works as an Oped Editor with Rising Kashmir. He is also a regular contributor at the quint, The Wire, Youth Ki Aawaz and Kashmir Walla. He can be mailed at daanishnabi@gmail.com and tweets @ https://twitter.com/DaanishNabi