Call for peace and respect for human rights in Kashmir

(July 30, 2010) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir, which exploded last month claiming the lives of seventeen people. “He calls on all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and address problems peacefully,” Farhan Haq, Ban’s spokesperson, said in a statement. The predominantly Muslim region, where resistance to rule by Hindu-majority India is strong, has witnessed curfews and strikes for nearly a month after anti-India street protests and clashes surged. On Thursday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch asked Indian authorities to implement juvenile justice laws in Kashmir to protect the rights of children detained for allegedly participating in street protests. Residents accuse government forces of killing at least 17 people, mostly teenagers, in the demonstrations. Earlier on Wednesday, London-based Amnesty International urged India to immediately release two jailed lawyers in Kashmir and repeal a harsh law that allows detention for up to two years without trial. Mian Qayoom, president of the Kashmir Bar Association, was detained on July 7 for “questioning the conduct of government security forces and for his political views,” Amnesty said. Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, the association's general secretary, was detained July 18 for organizing public rallies seeking Qayoom's release. The two were arrested under the Public Safety Act, a harsh law that allows detention for up to two years without trial, which Amnesty called “arbitrary”.