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Amnesty's day for 'disappeared' has message for India

Sanjay Suri in London

Amnesty International observed the "Day of the Disappeared" on Wednesday with a demand to prosecute all those who have made people "disappear" in India.

"The disappeared are people who have been taken into custody by agents of the state, yet whose whereabouts and fate are concealed and whose custody is denied," Amnesty said.

In India, Amnesty said "disappearances are most commonly seen in regions which have or have had strong secessionist movements."

"While recognising the responsibility of the state to combat armed insurgency, there is no legal or moral justification for the state to continue to cover up disappearances and to deny justice to thousands of victims and their relatives."

Amnesty estimates about 1,100 people have disappeared in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990, but admits that figures are unreliable.

No one directly or indirectly responsible for these disappearances has been made to face judicial consequences of their actions, Amnesty alleges.

Not a single habeas corpus petition brought to the courts in Jammu and Kashmir has been brought to resolution. None of the families of the disappeared have received any compensation.

Last year, the National Human Rights Commission in India had asked for a list of the disappeared in Kashmir. No information has been given yet, Amnesty claims.

Hundreds of people remain disappeared from the northeast and from Punjab, Amnesty alleges.

It says: "On this anniversary, the government should acknowledge the continuing frustration and helplessness felt by the families of the disappeared. The impact of a disappearance upon the victim's immediate family is itself now internationally recognised as a form of torture."

Indo-Asian News Service

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