During my research on some other human rights issues I came across this report which was presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva by an Ex Belgian Military Man who was posted as the UN Observer in Kashmir. His report seems to in line with the EU report on Kashmir. If the EU constitution is approved in November we will have on EU foreign Minister replacing the 30 odd individual Ministers of different EU nations. Such reports then will decide the way EU will think about Kashmir in future.
Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu And Kashmir
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
SIXTH SESSION
GENEVA, SEPTEMBER 2007
REPORT ON THE STUDY TOUR OF BEERSMANS PAUL, PRESIDENT OF THE BELGIAN ASSOCIATION FOR SOLIDARITY WITH J&K TO INDIA AND THE INDIAN J&K STATE FROM 17 JUNE TO 14 JULY 2007
5. CONCLUSIONS
Following conclusions can be drawn, based on the experiences of this visit to India and the Indian J&K State:
a. J&K, as it was before partition, is at present under the rule of three countries:
(1) China: Aksai Chin and a territory of 5.180 km2 ceded by Pakistan to China;
(2) India: J&K State comprising Jammu-region, the Kashmir-Valley and Ladakh;
(3) Pakistan: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Areas).
The population of these specific regions is totally different from each other: culture, history, traditions, language, religion, etc. In J&K State this is also the case for the three regions: Jammu-region, the Kashmir-Valley and Ladakh region. The link between these three regions can be called Kashmiriyat epitomised by tolerance, mutual respect, peace. In this respect it should be noted that the Kashmiris want the Kashmiri Pandits to return to the Valley, but this is only possible if their safety can be guaranteed.
b. Shops open early in the morning and close late in the evening, busy traffic, children going to school, etc. The general situation gave me the impression to function normally with the Kashmiris, men and women, young and old, doing their business, their shopping, their social meetings and having a chat, conducting their day-to-day activities.
c. Construction and reconstruction is in progress (see our photo gallery on
http:///www.basjak.org ):
- In the Valley the railway link between Qazigund (in the east) and Baramulla (in the west) is progressing at an impressive pace and should be operational in 2008;
- new roads are constructed, existing roads are being repaired, improved and enlarged;
- new official buildings, hospitals, medical dispensations, schools, etc., etc. are being built;
- historical monuments are being restored or under renovation;
- fountains brighten up parks and busy crossings;
- shopping centres, hotels, residential areas, houses, posh villas, etc. are being built, renovated;
- mobile phone became common good and is operative in the remotest areas, and
- the car park is completely modernised: the latest and most expensive models can be seen in the Valley.
d. Priority must be given to end the sufferings of the Kashmiris. This can only be realised by stopping violence: zero violence. They want to have a future and jobs for themselves and their children. After 17 years of militancy it is high time to give the growing up generation a chance to have a normal youth and education.
e. Criminals are taking advantage of the troubled situation. They are abducting people for money, raping, murdering, extorting money from businesspersons, using mafia practices under the cover of the movement: militancy is a lucrative industry.
f. Violence has been rejected as an instrument for seeking a solution for a political problem. Pakistan should stop cross-border terrorism and cross-border infiltration, stop sending money, ammunition and weapons and stop giving training. Pakistan decides over peace or violence: as long as Pakistan supports terrorism, openly or covertly, there cannot be peace in J&K. Without peace there cannot be a solution.
g. The pace of the peace process is not encouraging, not optimistic. There is almost no space for progress due to the internal situation in Pakistan. Internal and external aspects are linked to each other: if the internal situation is not good then the external relations will be affected negatively. The peace process slows down and that is not because of India, but the domestic situation in Pakistan. Big issues such as Kashmir and Siachen will not inch forward. While the routine talks will go on, substantive outcomes will be hard to come by. The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan must go on. The process is slow and one should not expect a short-term solution. This can only be reached through small steps.
h. The dissident leaders insist that the Kashmiris must be taken into confidence. Now the peace process is only between India and Pakistan: it should be tripartite. On the other hand, most of them do not have a solution: they are floating the ideas and the four points proposal of Musharraf as a basis for negotiations. Let a tripartite dialogue start and a solution will emerge automatically, is their view.
i. The opt-out option proposed by Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Lone does not find support in the Valley. There is some support in Jammu-region whereas in Leh district Ladakh Union Territory Front is fully supporting this option.
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. Everyone disavowed the statement of the Pakistani Ambassador in Brussels as if Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Areas as this area was renamed by Pakistan) is a part of Pakistan and not of J&K. All of the people I met ascertained that Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of J&K within the 1947 borders. Pakistan treats this area and its population step motherly: they enjoy no status or even the semblance of democratic representation. They are kept in poverty, illiteracy and backwardness. The deprivation and lack of even very basic needs provision can be easily seen. A few locals are able to secure government jobs but even then they are paid up to 35% less than non-native employees; there is no local broadcast media. This must change and also their views and aspirations must be taken into consideration.
k. In the eyes of the mainstream parties the introduced CBM are important steps in the good direction and they insist on implementing much more CBM, especially improving trade relations and opening more roads across the LoC.
l. The dissident leaders are of the opinion that the impact of the CBM for the Kashmiris is almost none. They emphasise their aim and demand is not for a soft border or for CBM but for a final solution of the issue.
m. The Centre is still interested in having talks/contacts with the Kashmiri society, including the dissident leaders. Again and again the Centre invites them but they refuse to accept the invitation: they refuse to sit on the same table as the mainstream politicians as they are, in their eyes, a part of the Indian establishment. However, they must understand and accept that the Centre must also talk to the mainstream parties as they are the democratically elected representatives of the Kashmiris and also they are a part of the Kashmiri society.
n. A dialogue is necessary on three levels:
(1) bilateral level: between India and Pakistan;
(2) national level: between the Government of India, the J&K State Government and the representatives of the Kashmiri society;
(3) internal level: between the different regions of J&K.
o. Four out of five WG submitted their conclusions and recommendations to the Indian Prime Minister. Concrete results are expected soon and after their implementation the situation will normalise although the dissidents are of the opinion that the WG do not take the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris into consideration: the conclusions and recommendations have nothing to do with the peace process as they are only dealing with internal questions in order to address administrative problems.
p. There is no doubt that human rights violations are committed by the security forces and by the militants. There is also no doubt that not all cases of human rights violations committed by the security forces are disclosed or prosecuted. It is also a fact that the security forces always are blamed if something happens. Dissident leaders do not mention and are not critical on human rights violations committed by militants or ordinary crimes committed by bandits.
q. A fundamental change of mindset among the security forces is needed regarding their attitude towards civilians. Organising crackdowns on a Sunday in an overcrowded Sunday mark or on the so busy Boulevard along Dal Lake are not increasing the feeling of security among the civilian population, local and tourists as well. At the contrary, it creates fear, frustration and bad feelings towards them.
r. It is not clear if infiltration is going up or down but in fact it is not that important to know this: there are enough militants, having enough equipment to keep the pot boiling. They can come and go as they like. They can come across the LoC, via Nepal, via Bangladesh as it is impossible to seal off completely the long Indian border.
s. The Kashmiris are in general happy with the democratic elected Government. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his Ministers are trying to meet their aspirations and expectations and to fulfil the commitments they made. It cannot be overlooked that criticism is there: positive changes are not visible enough and not reaching the Kashmiris. The Government should intensify its efforts to meet the expectations and the wishes of the Kashmiris.
t.
Corruption is adding to the misery and sufferings of the common Kashmiri. It has also a destabilising effect on the normal functioning of the civil society. The Kashmiris who have responsible jobs in the police, in the judicial system, in the administration, etc. are supposed to look after the well functioning of the society. By indulging into corruption they are betraying their own compatriots. It is high time that at all levels in J&K State a serious effort is made to tackle corruption. It is too easy to point to the Centre as being the origin of all evils. One should have the courage and the honesty to recognise the shortcomings in the own system and take the necessary steps to redress the situation.
u. The cry for the right of self-determination by some parties in the Valley is supported by Pakistan. However, accession to Pakistan is the only accepted option.
Indeed, according to the Azad J&K, Interim Constitution Act, 1974, Par 7. (2): No person or political party in Azad J&K shall be permitted to propagate against, or take part in activities prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology of the States accession to Pakistan. This same cry for the right of self-determination is heard in the other regions of J&K, also in the areas under Pakistani administration, but without limitations: all options should be left open, such as accession to India, accession to Pakistan, Azadi (= freedom), total independence, partition.
v. Pakistan has no stand in J&K. Pakistan invaded J&K and is at the origin of the de facto partitioning of the State. As early as 13 August 1948 the UN Commission for India and Pakistan requested Pakistan to withdraw its troops from the State as a pre-condition for organising the plebiscite. The same Commission in its resolution of 5 January 1949 repeated this request. Until this date, Pakistan has not withdrawn its armed forces and consequently the plebiscite has not been held.
This conclusion is confirmed by the Report on Kashmir: present situation and future prospects of Rapporteur Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Union, and almost unanimously adopted by the Committee on Foreign Affairs (March 2007) and by the European Parliament. This report reads as follows: Pakistan continues to point to early UN Security Council Resolutions on Kashmir to support its contention that there should be a plebiscite to determine whether a reunited Jammu and Kashmir should join India or Pakistan. The report notes, however, that the UN-laid down conditions for such a plebiscite have not been, and can no longer be, met by Pakistan. The situation has moved on.
The report is in favour of negotiations with the following wording: In conclusion, the report recognises the ancient and unique heritage of the Kashmiri people, and the rapporteur has nothing but praise for their tenacity. After so many decades of conflict and tragedy in this particularly beautiful and historic part of the sub-continent, it is heartening to see the two great powers, India and Pakistan, coming together with the people of Kashmir and that peaceful solutions are both on the horizon and being implemented, a familiar process which the European Parliament fully supports.
my dear always your ancestors were not fool rather they were very clever to leave the partition agenda uncomplete keepin in mind the longstanding stretegy reagarding arms sale (now its another matter that US had taken lead and UK is far behind) and using the location of Kashmir in future.
Kashmir was independent ????
