SRINAGAR — Various separatist leaders and organisations have paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of the Gawkadal massacre on their 25th anniversary, being observed on January 21, reiterating the pledge to take their mission to its logical end.
Over 50 civilians were killed and scores other injured in the Gawkadal area of Srinagar on January 21, 1990, by the armed forces who resorted to indiscriminate firing on peaceful demonstrators protesting against the molestation of women.
Paying rich tributes to Gawkadal martyrs, the Hurriyat Conference Jammu Kashmir (HCJK) leader and Democratic Freedom Party chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah Handwara said, “The nation can never forget these great souls and other martyrs who offered their precious lives during the freedom struggle of Kashmir.”
Reiterating his shutdown appeal on January 21, 25 and 27, in Gawkadal, Handwara and Kupwara, respectively and their adjacent areas, Shah, in a statement today, said, “Our hearts are alive with the remembrance of these martyrs, and we are committed to take their mission forward. People should also organise special prayers in memory of martyrs along with other martyrs of Bijbehara, Hawal, Mash’ali Mohalla, Kani Kadal, Sopore, Hazratbal and Chattergam.”
Remembering the martyrs, Shah said, “Nowhere in the history of the world can the example of such worst massacres be found. But, in our valley, the then Governor Jagmohan, soon after taking over power, gave forces the license to massacre the people. Not only that, the killer officer, Allah Bakhsh, was rewarded with awards and promotions for carrying out such inhuman acts. No one in the world takes serious notice of these barbaric and inhuman massacres taking place in Kashmir.”
Criticising media over ‘subjectivity’ with regard to highlighting these issues, Shah said, “Indian media violates every ethics and values of journalism by adopting criminal silence over these massacres, thereby distorting the realities. The armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir continue to carry out the Jalianwala Bagh-like massacre, but the Indian media cannot see the thousands of Jalianwala Bagh massacres taking place in Kashmir,” Shah said.
Terming the Gawkadal massacre as a ‘milestone’ in the freedom movement of Kashmir, Shah said, “The forces and officers of this massacre were no less than General Dyer who carried out Jalianwala Bagh.’ Commenting on the Handwara and Kupwara massacres, Shah said, “These massacres were pre-planned by the forces.
Appealing to the UN human rights organisation, Amnesty International and OIC to take serious note of these massacres and play their role in stopping human rights violations taking place in Jammu Kashmir and initiate inquiries at the international level against the culprits of these inhuman crimes.
Paying glowing tributes to the Gawkadal martyrs, the National Front (NF) chairman Nayeem Khan said, “Kashmir is a land of tragedies where armed forces committed massacres in every nook and corner. The irony is that the killers involved in these massacres have not been dealt with as per law. Instead, they have been promoted for killing Kashmiri Muslims. Is not the conscience of Panun Kashmir people alive enough to condemn the Gawkadal massacre?” Nayeem Khan said, in a statement today, adding, “During the last three decades, troops and police personnel have killed more than one lakh Kashmiri people for demanding freedom from India.”
Khan appealed to the international human rights organisations to play their role in conducting an impartial investigation into the incidents of all massacres in the territory to punish the perpetrators.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League chief patron, Sheikh Yaqoob, while paying rich tributes to these martyrs, in a statement today, said, “The Kashmiri martyrs centre-staged Kashmir dispute at the international level. We will continue the liberation struggle, despite all odds. Unfortunately, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are still kept deprived of the right to self-determination and the promises. (GKNN)