Several activists and experts from the United Nations have come together to criticise and condemn the Indian government’s communication crackdown in the Kashmir Valley. It is in this context that five human rights experts from the United Nations have requested India to remove the communication crackdown imposed in the Kashmir Valley.
The experts have gone on to stress that this action by the Centre is like punishing the entire population of the Valley. It is to be noted that the historic abrogation of Article 370 and the removal of special status from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has brought about diverse reactions from the global community. Several human rights activists and international agencies have condemned the action.It is also to be noted that, since August 4th residents of Jammu and Kashmir have been cut off from all communication channels like mobile phones, television and denied access to the internet. The Centre had decided to completely block all communication in the Valley before introducing the landmark legislation to remove the special constitutional status enjoyed by the Valley guaranteed under Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two distinct union territories.
The United Nations experts who issued a joint statement against the Indian government for its decision on the Valley said that the communication clampdown was like punishing the entire population of the Valley.
The five signatories of the statement constitute a Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
The signatories are Michel Forst, David Kaye, Bernard Duhaime,, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule and Agnes Callamard. They asserted that the crackdown on all information channels went against fundamental norms of human dignity. They also expressed their concern about the imposed curfew and the extensive inflow of forces that restitched free mobility and speech.
They also reflected on the alleged night raids where young people were being picked up from their homes in the Valley and said that these detentions were leading to large scale human rights violations.
They cautioned the Indian state of using minimum force when dealing with protestors and condemned incidences of pellet injury. The Indian government has said that these restrictions are needed to bring the situation under control and avoid casualties in Kashmir.It was earlier this year, that the Indian government refused to engaged with UN experts from Geneva after they had asked for details on extrajudicial killings in Kashmir since 1990.
