I am very much pained by the recent killings during the civilian unrest in the Kashmir Valley, more so since a substantial number of victims are teenagers. As much as I deplore the deaths and the actions of the security forces, who seem to have criminally neglected the necessary precautions when dealing with unarmed protesting crowds, I would like to ask where this is all leading to. While what is happening is unjustified, and the actions of the state and central government are shamefully inadequate, it is sad that protests and deaths seem to continue unabated yet without a clear aim in mind. It must be realised that Azadi or any considerable change cannot be obtained by taking to the streets alone. This has been evident in the recent protests in Iran against the farcical election result there, where although those protests were highly publicized, they did not result in anything substantial.
I believe the influential leaders, both in the government and in the separatist camps, should realise this and do everything they can to stop any further loss of precious lives by appealing to the public to soften their mode of protest and to ensure the security forces are responsible and disciplined. For a start they may want to deploy well trained riot-control police equipped with shields, harmless bullets, water-cannons and so on. Also the youth of the valley should be instructed to protest in a less provocative manner.
I appeal to them to urgently put aside differences and do this by working together and reaching a compromise by talks. While it is the basic right of every citizen of a democracy to protest, even for independence, in these circumstances action must be urgently taken, so as to stop any further loss of life of the protesters.

Kesava Chandra ‪
Hyderabad, India
<kesavachandra@gmail.com>‬

Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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