Since 5 August, 2019, Amnesty has interviewed a dozen journalists and gathered information from news reports and RTI applications to document the heavy-handed tactics adopted by the government
Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Prominent human rights group Amnesty International has said that the Indian government’s tyrannical measures to create public opinion of ‘normalcy’ with a brutal clampdown have silenced the voice of Kashmir.
“The Government’s ruthless attempts to create a public opinion of ‘normalcy’ while curbing the freedom of independent press, imprisoning the entire political leadership, arbitrarily arresting those likely to dissent and imposing communication restrictions have usurped the voice of the region,” said Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty International India, while releasing a status report of last one year of Kashmir on 5 August, the first anniversary of the revocation of Article 370 that had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
He added, “Amnesty International India demands the Government to restore 4G mobile internet. It also demands the end of criminal investigations against journalists under PSA and UAPA and withdrawal of the new media policy. It further calls on the government to immediately and unconditionally release all persons, including political leaders, deprived of their freedom solely for the peaceful enjoyment of their rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, belief or equality and non-discrimination as they should not have been detained in the first place. A rights-respecting government must know that an end to the abuses in Jammu & Kashmir cannot come without the involvement of its people.”
Last year, the Narendra Modi government unilaterally revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and split into two Union territories by imposing a communication blockade and imprisoning all political leaders, including three former chief ministers.
Kumar also said that the government had been dismantling all the avenues for getting justice in Kashmir. “Over the last one year, the Government of India has been systematically dismantling all avenues for justice for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. With zero representation, protracted internet restrictions, arbitrary use of some of India’s most stringent laws, verbal orders of detention and crippling of the local media – most of this disproportionately higher in Kashmir – it’s been a complete year since we have heard the people of Jammu and Kashmir speak,” said Kumar.
Since 5 August 2019, Amnesty has interviewed a dozen journalists and gathered information from news reports and RTI applications to document the heavy-handed tactics adopted by the government in the region. It has documented physical attacks on scribes as well as harassment and intimidation of at least 18 journalists since 5 August, 2019.
After gathering information from various digital and print media, the global human rights watchdog found that at least 70 political leaders–cutting across a wide political spectrum–were placed under administrative detention. However, it could not find a single case of detention of a political member belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–the current ruling party in India.
While most of those arrested have been subsequently released, many continue to be in detention on the basis of verbal orders or repressive laws such as the PSA. This is in complete violation of their fair trial rights guaranteed by the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and Indian Constitution.
“In an absolute violation of India’s international obligations, the entire population of Kashmir has been deprived of their right to freedom of expression and opinion through protracted communication restrictions since the last one year. This has been compounded by a censored media, continuing detention of political leaders, arbitrary restrictions due to the pandemic with little to no redress,” observed Amnesty in its report.
It said the draconian media policy introduced by the government in the region which openly aimed at creating “a sustained narrative on the functioning of the government in media” by checking on “anti-national activities, fake news and plagiarism” has further extinguished independent media in the region.
The rights group said the release of some political prisoners, made possible through signing of bonds that restrict them from indulging in any political activity, including making political speeches, is also as problematic as their detention. Under international laws, political speech cannot be prohibited unless it constitutes a direct threat to public order, which has not been adequately demonstrated by the Indian government in the orders accessed by Amnesty International India.
The rights body found that more than 300 habeas corpus petitions were filed against unlawful detentions before the Srinagar wing of the J&K High Court. However, as on 4 August 2020, only 11 habeas corpus petitions have been filed. This sharp fall may be attributed to the punitive emergency measures invoked by the government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic but also the lack of hi-speed internet required for uninterrupted online hearings.
The closure of the State Human Rights Commission along with six other commissions, including the State Commission for Protection of Women and Child Rights, has further left the people of Jammu & Kashmir with absolutely no redress for their human rights violations.