Srinagar, May 31: Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Thursday paid glowing tributes to the memory of victims of Wullar tragedy on their anniversary. He expressed sympathies with the bereaved families.
 22 persons including 20 children of Burning Candle Public School Handwara were drowned in Wular Lake on May 30, 2006, due to negligence of Marcos—an elite operation unit of Navy, deployed in counter-insurgency operations in the Lake since 1990.
 “Despite the lapse of six years the government has failed to take action against the Navy personnel held responsible for the tragedy,” said Geelani in a statement today.
 He said the armed forces in the state were carrying out “genocide of Kashmiris under a well thought out plan and Wallar tragedy was a part of it.”
 “The Navy personnel had deliberately overloaded the boat with school children beyond its capacity as result of which it (the boat) capsized in the lake killing 22 persons including 20 children. The enquiry commission constituted by the government reported that the boat had capsized due to the negligence of Navy officials who were on duty. But no action has so far been was taken against the erring officials.  This all proves that the government has given a license to the armed forces to kill people,” Geelani alleged.
 Geelani appealed to the international human rights organizations to take serious note of the matter and set up an international tribunal for holding an impartial probe into the tragedy.   
 Meanwhile, Geelani has expressed profound grief and sorrow over the death of 13 persons in the road accident on Srinagar-Jammu Highway. He expressed sympathies with the bereaved families.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 31 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 31 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST