The Hindu : Week-long hunger strike over disappearances begins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 18, 2003

Other States

Other States - Jammu & Kashmir

Week-long hunger strike over disappearances begins

By Shujaat Bukhari

A Kashmiri woman with her children on a hunger strike in Srinagar on Thursday. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

SRINAGAR APRIL 17. On the eve of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's two-day visit to Kashmir, over a dozen members of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) began a week-long hunger strike here demanding an impartial inquiry into "enforced disappearances".

The APDP, founded in 1994, has been championing the cause of the persons who went missing allegedly after being arrested by the security forces.

"We have decided to go on a hunger strike as all other options have been exhausted'', said Parveen Ahanger, one of the founders of association. His son, Javed, was arrested by the Army in 1990 and never returned.

Parvez Imroz, human rights activist and APDP patron, insists that the cases of "enforced and involuntary disappearances'' are increasing. "More than 8,000 people have disappeared after their arrest by law enforcing agencies'' he told The Hindu.

Bilquees, a young woman, is protesting the disappearance of her father 18 months ago. "He was the lone bread winner,'' she said.

Another woman said: "I do not know the fate of my husband but I am not ready to accept that he is dead."

The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) is under flak and the affected families ridicule its promise to help in finding the missing people. "The PDP has failed to keep its election promise'' said a third.

"They are only exploiting the sentiments and doing nothing concrete," she added.

The APDP has been demanding a Commission of Inquiry into the disappearances which have affected hundreds of women and children.

The week-long strike is to invite the attention of Mr. Vajpayee and one Rafiqa said "we expect him to come to our rescue and get us out of our trauma''.

The State Government recently admitted that the number of disappeared persons was around 4,000 but did not give the reasons.

The security forces, however, maintain that most of them have either died while trying to go across the border or are in Pakistan.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

Stories in this Section

Week-long hunger strike over disappearances begins

Blast on eve of PM's visit

Govt. issues progress report of projects