The Editor

People’s Voice

Sir

I greatly appreciate the article carried in the April 1-15, 2007 issue of your paper, in which attention has been drawn to the popular mass movement in Kashmir, demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the fact that this struggle has created quite a crisis for the ruling class parties in that state.

A leading daily newspaper reported on May 5, 2007 that the Army has challenged the jurisdiction of the Jammu and Kashmir police in charging five army personnel in fake encounter cases, i.e. cases in which people were picked up by the army and tortured and murdered and then declared to be terrorists killed in a so-called "encounter". The J & K police had filed a charge sheet on April 12, accusing the five army personnel, including a colonel and a major, of being responsible for the cold blooded murder of Imam Maulvi Shaukat Khatana. However, the army is reported to have stated before a Srinagar court that the Special Investigation Team of the J & K police had not taken permission from the Union Home Ministry before filing the charge sheet, and that it was mandatory for it to obtain such a sanction, as the army personnel were protected under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act!

This once again highlights the complete immunity from any legal action that the AFSPA gives to the army personnel, whose horrendous acts of terror against innocent civilians in Kashmir and Manipur have shocked people across the nation. Readers will recall that despite the persistent struggle of the Manipuri people demanding repeal of the AFSPA, the central government has justified its continuation in that state, while the recently concluded 3rd Round Table Conference on Kashmir saw no initiative on the part of the central government to heed the long-standing demand of the Kashmiri people – to repeal the AFSPA and withdraw the army from all civilian areas of Kashmir. Clearly, the AFSPA serves as a handy instrument for our ruling class, to crush the just aspirations of the people of Kashmir, Assam, Manipur and other areas through open unbridled state terror, against which even the officially accepted channel of legal recourse is denied!

S. Nayak, New Delhi