11 December 2012 - The Asian Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (AFAD), a regional federation of human rights organizations working directly on the issue of enforced disappearances lauds the attached release of the research “Alleged Perpetrators – Stories of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir,” painstakingly undertaken by the International Peoples’ Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Kashmir [IPTK] and the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons [APDP].
This landmark study, a compilation of stories of 214 cases of human rights violations where 500 individual members of the Indian army, police, para-military and State supported militants are identified perpetrators will serve as important ground for the families and relatives of victims of enforced disappearances and other victims of human rights violations to demand accountability from the Indian government. The study clearly points to a high level of command decision, given the involvement of top ranking officers of the Indian Army, the highest of them a Major General. If used to the full, it will go a long way towards the unveiling of the truth, the prosecution of perpetrators, reparation for victims and the non-repetition of human rights violations in this paradise lost.
The AFAD calls on the Indian government to address the issue of impunity conducted against the people of Jammu and Kashmir. For many years now, members of the Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a founding member-organization of AFAD, have been demanding for truth on the whereabouts of their disappeared children. They have been living in anguish and pain. Justice has been so elusive with the continued denial of the Indian government. Worse still, cases continue to happen with each passing day.
Further, key leaders of APDP have been denied their freedom to travel with the non-renewal of their passports for a number of years now. Non- issuance of passports is a scheming approach of government to curtail the movement of APDP leaders so they could not seek outside support on their struggle. The AFAD has been missing the presence and valuable participation of APDP officers in its annual Council meeting, the recent of which was held on 28 November – 3 December 2012 in Sri Lanka.
The Indian government signed the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 6 February 2007. It committed to uphold the rights of disappeared persons and their families. The AFAD calls on the Indian government, which boasts itself as the biggest democracy in the world, to be true to its commitment and swiftly act on this long-drawn issue.
The victims and their families have been waiting for justice for so long now. If the Indian government asserts itself as a rising force in the global political arena and a bastion of democracy at that, it must respect, promote and defend the human rights of its citizens and fulfil its international obligations.
Break impunity in Jammu and Kashmir!
Justice for the victims of enforced disappearances NOW!
Signed and authenticated by:
MUGIYANTO
Chairperson
MARY AILEEN DIEZ-BACALSO
Secretary-General