Down with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act!

Withdraw occupation troops in Kashmir!

The Congress-People's Democratic Party (PDP) coalition government in Kashmir is currently going through a crisis. The apparent cause is the demand being raised by the PDP for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from areas of Jammu & Kashmir, and for withdrawal of troops from civilian areas of the state. In addition, the PDP has sought an end to army takeover and occupation of civilian public and private premises in the state.

The PDP demands have been rejected by the Congress both in the state and at the Centre. The Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress Party has categorically opposed the demand, saying that troop deployment in Kashmir has to continue so long as “militancy” exists, and accusing the PDP of “playing politics”. The Congress government at the Centre and Manmohan Singh have expectedly taken a softer tone, but have also refused to budge on the core demands. The time-honored methods of defusing such demands – including lengthy “discussions” and constituting committees to look into the issue – are being explored by the UPA government to get over this crisis.

The demands for withdrawal of the AFSPA, for troop withdrawal from civilian areas and for ending the army takeover of various civilian premises in Kashmir, are all absolutely just and necessary demands. These are the demands being voiced for years by the beleaguered people of Kashmir and by democratic forces around the country and internationally. The military occupation of Kashmir must end! Continuing for decades with no end in sight, it has pervaded all aspects of life in Kashmir like a dreadful cancer and choked the pores of everyday life. It has been responsible for the brutal torture, slaying and engineered “disappearances” of countless Kashmiris, as well as for the suffering of innumerable parents, widows and young children. Far from being the solution to the problem of escalating violence in Kashmir, it is the problem itself.

The issue is not whether the PDP, which headed the state government till last year and is still a partner of the ruling coalition, is “playing politics” or not as the Congress alleges. The very fact that it has seen fit to raise these demands loudly now only reflects the extent and depth of public anger in the state on these issues. The recent revelations about how the occupation forces have been systematically killing off ordinary civilians and passing this off as encounters with terrorists for monitory profit and promotions have only further fueled this anger. The PDP-Congress government in Kashmir came to power with the promise of providing the “healing touch”. The people know very well that there can be no healing of the grievously wounded state without the complete dismantling of the apparatus of repression that has been entrenched there over so many decades.

The same demands for withdrawal of the AFSPA and other repressive laws, and for a complete end to military and paramilitary deployment in civilian areas, are being voiced by lakhs of people, men and women, young and old, from Manipur and all the states of the north east to Kashmir. These demands are finding an echo even among the legislators and politicians in these areas. The Centre is trying to turn a blind eye to the strength of the people's sentiments in these areas, and is using a combination of denial, deception and increased repression. However the movement against state terrorism cannot be suppressed so easily and is steadily gaining momentum, not just in these regions but across the country.