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‘U.S. joint sovereignty proposal on Kashmir dangerous’

Special Correspondent

Human rights activist says crisis can only be resolved through honest tripartite talks

Bangalore: The American Government’s recent proposal that Kashmir should become an area of “joint sovereignty” between India and Pakistan will pave the way for democratic aspirations of people in the Valley being completely trampled upon, according to K. Balagopal, human rights activist and secretary of the Hyderabad-based Human Rights Forum.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the People’s Democratic Forum here on Saturday, he said that the only way to resolve the crisis was through honest tripartite talks involving the people of Kashmir, India and Pakistan. He said that the Indian Government’s dealing with Kashmir had consistently been “fraudulent.”While the Government had never honoured its promise of holding plebiscite on nationality, talks had remained a “farce” without involving the people of Kashmir, he said.

Mr. Balagopal pointed out that only secular Kashmiri parties had won elections till 1987, despite them being heavily rigged. The rise of Islamic militancy in the later phase was a result of the Government’s inability to honour the democratic rights of Kashmiris, he added. Even a leader such as Yasin Malik, who had shunned the gun,, had never been invited for negotiations, he said. Bela Bhatia of the Centre for Study of Developing Studies spoke about the human rights situation in Chhattisgarh.

The recent arrest of human rights activist Binayak Sen was an instance of all voices for justice being silenced in the Adivasi-dominated State. An atmosphere of fear for Salwa Judum, the naxalites and the police had gripped the people, she said.

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