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| Omar again demands amending AFSPA | | | | When Chief Minister,Omar Abdullah pleaded, during the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, for the amendment to the Armed Forces (special powers) Act (AFSPA) he had in his mind the idea of , what he said, restoring to the people of Kashmir their pride and esteem. He seems to be not totally incorrect because majority of people in the valley treat the AFSPA as a red rag to the bull.They believe, rightly or wrongly, that the AFSPA has been responsible for the continued human rights violations by the security forces.Well this is not for the first time that Omar Abdullah has reiterated his demand for amending the AFSPA.He has done it as repeatedly as his political foe,Mufti Mohd.Sayeed, has been doing it. Earlier it was only for the Mufti to raise his voice in favour of the repeal of the AFSPA and withdrawal of troops from the civilian areas but Omar followed suit when he harboured fears that the Mufti may hog limelight by chanting slogans that had the backing of the people. For a brief time Omar Abdullah had stopped demanding amendment to the AFSPA since his Government was rattled by the recent incidents of violence and by the growing opposition from the Army authorities to any plan of diluting the AFSPA.He has renewed his demand alongwith the demand for resuming talks with the separatists only after he received a hint that the centre may hold dialogue with separatists and others and it had a plan of diluting the AFSPA in some areas in the state.This way Omar decided to deny the Mufti his right to claim that he had been instrumental in getting the AFSPA amended and in the resumption of Delhi-separatists dialogue. But as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah should have analysed the security scenario that has been witnessed by the valley during the last 45 days and had he done so he would not have pleaded for amendment to the AFSPA.W ell one cannot blame him because events have overtaken his political philosophy and ideology. He and his Government have been cornered by the activities of the separatists supported by groups of militants who have succeeded in inciting people to indulge in violence.He,therefore,wants to take the wind out of the sail of the separatists' ship which he thinks he can be done if he persuades the centre to amend the AFSPA and replace the CRPF.In this context he has sought sanction from the centre for raising 30 additional battalions of the police that were required for replacing the CRPF by the men and women of the state police.Yes, if he gets the sanction it may resolve the problem of unemployment to a great extent. But the way Chief Minister favoured replacing the CRPF reflected either his lack of faith in the capabality of the paramilitary forces in tackling the current incidents of violence or he had been swayed by the propaganda that all the 17 youths,that were killed during the lasy 45 days,had died as a result of firing opened by the CRPF.It cannot be so because as Chief Minister and the Home Minister,Omar Abdullah is supposed to know it better than anyone else that some youths were killed in police firing and the CRPF opened fire only when its men saw policemen on the verge of being lynched by the protesters. Omar should have realised that raising 30 battalions of police was time consuming when it took the state more than three years to select and train men of the five new police battalions.This means that the CRPF cannot be replaced in the near future and hence it will be wrong on the part of tthe Chief Minister to demoralise the CRPF.Now that Chief Minister has reiterated his demand for amending the AFSPA and for replacing the CRPF by the police the centre cannot afford to ignore him.Once the Government of India does not concede any demand it will further erode the credibility of Omar Abdullah. |
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