‘Where are our beloved ones?’ Kashmiri women protest with pictures of disappeared people on Human Rights Day
On the international human rights day the 10th March, women wearing headbands with names of disappeared people written in black took part in a Sit-in program, organised by the association of parents of disappeared person(APDP), to draw the attention of the world towards their plight.
For the relatives of disappeared persons in Kashmir it has become customary to observe the day and seek information of their loved ones, who are missing after their arrests by armed forces since 1989.
APDP, an organisation advocating the cases of these missing persons, has been organising such protests for years now. The organisation castigated both state and central governments for their failure to trace out their family members subjected to enforced disappearance since 1989 across the state.
APDP chairperson Parveena Ahangar said that the main aim of their protest is to make the world community aware of the plight of people of Kashmir. she added that her organisation is committed to take the issue to the international forums so that they intervene and mount pressure on India to provide whereabouts of missing family members. She said despite being a signatory to the international conventions against human rights violations, India does not seem bothered to deliver justice to those families whose loved ones were arrested and then subjected to enforced disappearances by security agencies here.
APDP chairperson said the victim families will not relent until they get their disappeared children back. “We are fighting from last 30 years, we will keep fighting for twenty years more or others will continue this fight but we will not stop protesting the disappearances of our loved ones,” Parveena said.
She said that the relatives of missing persons do not want anything. “We do not need money or employment. We only want our children back. We will keep protesting unless we get the answers where our dear ones are,” she said.
The family members of disappeared youth castigated the successive governments for being indifferent towards their pain and agony. “Neither National Conference nor PDP did anything for them to trace their missing loved ones,” said a woman, whose son according to her was picked up by border security force during a crackdown 18 years ago and since then she does not know where he is.
She alleged that their dear ones have been subjected to enforced disappearances by the security forces and their related agencies from their homes, streets and even roads.
The woman vowed to continue her struggle for truth, justice and accountability till both the state and central governments accept their demand for an impartial probe into the enforced disappearances and custodial killings.
