From AFP:
"SRINAGAR, India Scores of people held protests on Saturday against alleged human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir and lit candles in a vigil to mark World Human Rights Day.
One of the protests was led by independent lawmaker Sheikh Abdul Rashid outside a small UN office in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, police and witnesses said.
Rashid and his followers lit candles and torches during the demonstration outside the UN office which houses staff monitoring ceasefire violations along the Line of Control dividing Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
"We demand an end to human rights violations in Kashmir and repeal of tough security laws," Rashid said in his address to the followers.
Police later detained Rashid and some of his supporters, an officer said on condition of anonymity.
Security forces are often accused of human rights violations by residents. But officials say they investigate all claims and even punish the guilty.
A two-decade insurgency by militants who oppose New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir has claimed more than 47,000 lives, according to an official count. Human rights groups say the toll is twice as high.
Another vigil was led by prominent separatist Yasin Malik in Srinagar's busy commercial district, where scores of his followers chanted, "We want freedom", and "End human rights violations in Kashmir".
Police swiftly detained Malik and his dozen supporters.
Earlier in the day, activists from the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) also held a noisy protest march in Srinagar, demanding information on the whereabouts of their missing relatives.
APDP says more than 8,000 people are missing in the region, mostly after their alleged arrest by the security forces fighting a waning insurgency in Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Officials put the number of missing at between 1,000 and 3,000 and deny the accusations, saying the men crossed into Pakistan for arms training.
In a surprise move in September, Kashmir's State Human Rights Commission submitted a report detailing the existence of 2,730 bodies lying in unmarked graves in northern Kashmir.
Crucially, the report said 574 bodies had been identified as those of local residents -- a finding that directly challenged the long-held official insistence that any unmarked graves could only be those of foreign militants.
APDP demands DNA testing to determine the identities of the people buried in these graves."
AFP: Protests in Indian Kashmir on world rights day
"SRINAGAR, India Scores of people held protests on Saturday against alleged human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir and lit candles in a vigil to mark World Human Rights Day.
One of the protests was led by independent lawmaker Sheikh Abdul Rashid outside a small UN office in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, police and witnesses said.
Rashid and his followers lit candles and torches during the demonstration outside the UN office which houses staff monitoring ceasefire violations along the Line of Control dividing Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
"We demand an end to human rights violations in Kashmir and repeal of tough security laws," Rashid said in his address to the followers.
Police later detained Rashid and some of his supporters, an officer said on condition of anonymity.
Security forces are often accused of human rights violations by residents. But officials say they investigate all claims and even punish the guilty.
A two-decade insurgency by militants who oppose New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir has claimed more than 47,000 lives, according to an official count. Human rights groups say the toll is twice as high.
Another vigil was led by prominent separatist Yasin Malik in Srinagar's busy commercial district, where scores of his followers chanted, "We want freedom", and "End human rights violations in Kashmir".
Police swiftly detained Malik and his dozen supporters.
Earlier in the day, activists from the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) also held a noisy protest march in Srinagar, demanding information on the whereabouts of their missing relatives.
APDP says more than 8,000 people are missing in the region, mostly after their alleged arrest by the security forces fighting a waning insurgency in Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Officials put the number of missing at between 1,000 and 3,000 and deny the accusations, saying the men crossed into Pakistan for arms training.
In a surprise move in September, Kashmir's State Human Rights Commission submitted a report detailing the existence of 2,730 bodies lying in unmarked graves in northern Kashmir.
Crucially, the report said 574 bodies had been identified as those of local residents -- a finding that directly challenged the long-held official insistence that any unmarked graves could only be those of foreign militants.
APDP demands DNA testing to determine the identities of the people buried in these graves."
AFP: Protests in Indian Kashmir on world rights day
Scores of people.
