[Onthebarricades] KASHMIR 2 of 3 - ongoing protests, August 2008

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES - Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/


Protesters have mobilised on a massive scale in Kashmir, firstly to protest 
a land deal to transfer land to a Hindu shrine, in breach of the 
constitution, then later in an ongoing series of protests against Indian 
rule.  The reversal of the transfer decision did not end the protests as 
Kashmiris continued to turn out against police violence and the Indian 
occupation.


ANALYSIS:
*  Successful protest gives Kashmiris in India a sense of freedom
*  Protests, killings could be Kashmir's tipping point
*  The (up)rising: Young blood fuels J-K protests

FURTHER PROTESTS:
*  Hindu attacks, police shooting spark further protests
*  Protesters blockade highway to protest police shooting
*  Hotel, car torched in protests
*  Aug 9:  Srinagar shutdown as hunger striker's condition worsens
*  Aug 12:  100,000 rally in defiance of curfew, 13 killed by police 
including a protest leader
*  Aug 13:  death toll increases as police again shoot protesters
*  Aug 14:  surprise demo near midnight responds to late-night police raids
*  Aug 15:  2 more protesters shot
*  Aug 16:  thousands rally to mourn victims of police shootings
*  Protesters march on UN headquarters in Kashmir
*  Separatists protest at media coverage
*  Protests continue despite divisions in leadership
*  Aug 24:  protests continue, police lathi-charge protesters
*  Aug 25:  3 more protesters killed by police as hundreds defy curfew

MISCELLANEOUS:
*  Member of parliament threatens to resign over police violence
*  Kashmiris in Bangalore protest against continuing violence
*  Politician arrested for protest over inclusion in Kashmir talks

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kashmir27-2008jul27,0,2685991.story?track=rss

Successful protest gives Kashmiris in India a sense of freedom
Many youths in the Indian-held part of Kashmir remain disaffected. But a 
surprisingly strong uprising over a land transfer has revived hopes of 
self-rule.
By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 27, 2008
SRINAGAR, INDIA -- The students at the University of Kashmir have freedom on 
their minds.

Not from the tyranny of exams and professors, or of too-strict parents. What 
many young people here are dreaming of is freedom for their divided land, 
instead of being caught in the middle of a decades-old tug of war between 
India and Pakistan.

They got a taste of self-rule recently when thousands of residents rose up 
against a government decision to set aside forest land for use by Hindu 
pilgrims visiting a shrine here in India's only predominantly Muslim state, 
Jammu and Kashmir. The protests, in which at least six people were killed, 
were the biggest in years and forced not only an official reversal but the 
collapse of the state government this month.

It was a rare triumph of people power in the eyes of many Kashmiris, none 
more so than the youthful agitators in their teens and 20s who formed the 
majority of those chanting in the streets.

"It was like we were celebrating our freedom," said law student Saaqib Amin, 
27, savoring the memory. "People on the roads talked about when we get 
freedom how much we will celebrate."
India and Pakistan each control parts of the contested Himalayan region, but 
both claim it in full and have gone to war twice over it. If nothing else, 
the protests put India on notice that it has yet to convince the younger 
generation of the benefits or justice of its rule in this part of Kashmir.

After nearly two decades of fighting between the Indian army and Kashmiri 
Muslim militants, some backed by Pakistan, New Delhi has won few hearts and 
minds here on its side of the divide, where unremitting bloodshed is almost 
all that many have ever known.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since disaffected groups took up 
arms in 1989 to press for independence or a merger with Pakistan, according 
to human rights groups. Civilians have been slain by militants' bombs and 
grenades; others have been kidnapped, tortured and killed by Indian security 
forces.

Violence has receded in the last few years amid peace talks between India 
and Pakistan, but tragedy still scars this land of breathtaking natural 
beauty, where an estimated half a million Indian troops remain posted, their 
fatigues and automatic weapons everywhere in evidence.

Here in Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian state, there is anger at 
both the militants and the Indian security forces. But much more of it is 
reserved for the latter.

"We are the children of conflict. That shaped our minds," said Shahid 
Mohammed Lon, 22. "I've seen people butchered before me by Indian troops. I 
see that India is not my friend."

His dormitory mates nodded in agreement as they sat around talking on the 
leafy campus of the University of Kashmir.

They nodded even more vigorously when Lon, a mass-communications major, 
explained that, for members of his generation, those slogans of the '90s 
that demanded unification with Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan have 
given way to shouts for full-blown independence.

That is anathema to the leaders of both India and Pakistan. But such a 
scenario may not be so unacceptable to the Indian and Pakistani public. In a 
rare survey of attitudes toward Kashmir on either side of the de facto 
border, a U.S.-based polling firm reported this month that only 35% of 
Indians and 11% of Pakistanis would oppose independence if the majority of 
Kashmiris wanted it.

Despite the more peaceful atmosphere these days, it is difficult to find 
anyone here who is content with the status quo.

"We can't stay in an environment like this. Change is necessary. You cannot 
stay in an occupied land," said Maroosha Muzaffar, 23.

"It's up to youth to come out and stage protests and change things for 
themselves," she added. "They have the passion. They have the energy."

The recent land protests were a timely vehicle for channeling that energy. 
The uproar centered on the state government's decision to transfer 99 acres 
of land to a Hindu trust that runs a pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine in 
southern Kashmir, where a giant ice stalagmite inside a cave is worshiped as 
a symbol of the god Shiva. Each year, thousands make the pilgrimage during a 
two-month period in the summer to see the stalagmite as it waxes. The land 
was to be used for rest stops and other facilities for pilgrims.

To many Kashmiris, for whom land is a highly emotive aspect of local 
identity, the transfer was too much. Some suspected a government plot to 
bring more Hindus to Kashmir to dilute its Muslim majority. 
Environmentalists also opposed the move.

The strength of the ensuing protests, which erupted in mid-June and 
continued for two weeks, took many aback, including the demonstrators 
themselves, who turned out in numbers not seen since the 1990s. Hindu 
activists mounted counter-protests after the government decided July 1 to 
rescind the land grant.

Ironically, it was the decline in violence and the improving relations 
between India and Pakistan that, in many ways, made such agitation possible.

During the blood-soaked years of militant attacks and army reprisals, there 
was no space for a popular grass-roots movement. Now, civil society has 
begun cautiously to bloom.

With the land protests, "the movement became again purely indigenous, purely 
Kashmiri," said political scientist Gul Mohammed Wani. "It was quite 
unprecedented. . . . Suddenly the people took it on their own shoulders."

That so many of those shoulders belonged to the young was due in part to 
demographics. In the Kashmir Valley, more than two-thirds of the population 
is younger than 35.

But beyond that, experts detect a rising sense of political and economic 
discontent among Kashmiri youths. About 400,000 young people are unemployed, 
half of them with bachelor's degrees. Many complain of discrimination when 
they apply for jobs in other parts of India, where human rights groups say 
police routinely detain and harass young Kashmiri men.

The pent-up resentment and anger helped drive young people out to protest 
and to support the demonstrations from behind the scenes. On the university 
campus, students organized blood drives as the number of people injured in 
clashes with security forces grew.

After the government reversed itself, they celebrated along with millions of 
other Kashmiris, and hoped it would be a sign of things to come.

"Surely India will take heed of what the Kashmiri people are demanding," 
said Lon, the mass-communications major. "Kashmiri people are not to be 
taken for granted. . . . They were trying to push [us] to the wall, but 
Kashmiris bounced back."

henry.chu at latimes.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080814/india_nm/india350068

Protests, killings could be Kashmir's tipping point
By Alistair Scrutton Thu Aug 14, 7:24 AM ET
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A land row in Kashmir may have achieved what years of 
militant violence largely failed to do -- fuse Muslim separatist sentiment 
into mass protests that seriously challenge Indian rule and South Asia's 
stability.

The dispute over land for a Hindu shrine trust and the killing of 21 Muslim 
protesters by police has galvanised separatists after years of relative 
stability in Kashmir that saw some hope for India negotiating a political 
solution.
"All this crisis in Kashmir has played into the hands of the separatists," 
said Ashok Mehta, a retired Indian army commander and security expert.
"It is all a huge setback for a political solution to Kashmir. We are back 
to where we were many years ago."
Unsteady progress between India and Pakistan over a region both claim in 
full but rule in parts also might have been dashed by the biggest 
demonstrations in Kashmir in two decades.
Indeed, some fear Kashmir will become a diplomatic football once again 
between the two nuclear rivals, with New Delhi unsure of a new civilian 
government in Islamabad that it perceives is in a dangerous vacuum.
Kashmir has been racked by militant violence since 1989, when an insurgency 
against Indian rule erupted. Around 43,000 people have died but the past few 
years had seen some progress.
State elections in 2002 were regarded as largely fair despite a separatist 
boycott and violence. Insurgency attacks fell in the past few years. 
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf made some peace proposals in 2006 that 
were seriously discussed in India.
"Looking back, it seems like one missed opportunity," said Siddharth 
Varadarajan, diplomatic editor of the Hindu newspaper.
"One lesson is that the Indian government cannot just allow Kashmir to drift 
along. There has been a level of simmering resentment that the government 
has been unwilling to deal with."
An Indian government with eyes on 2009 elections might do just that -- drift 
along and hope protests fizzle. For the most part, Kashmir is not an issue 
for voters in the rest of India.
Some analysts predict a doomsday scenario, with more protests leading to the 
breakup of Kashmir state, split between the Hindu-majority Jammu region and 
the mainly Muslim Kashmir valley.
Others predict mass protests forcing the government to appease separatists 
with some negotiations, from issues such as tentative demilitarisation to 
relaxation of border controls.
Experts say perceived Indian oppression of protests could spark tension 
between Pakistan and India as well.
"The most worrying issue is Kashmir seems to be returning to be a point of 
tension with Pakistan," said Varadarajan.
He pointed to a war of words this week between Pakistan and India, with New 
Delhi criticising Islamabad for meddling in its internal affairs after a 
call for U.N. intervention.
STATE ELECTIONS
With Pakistan seen as in limbo, with President Pervez Musharraf under 
pressure to resign or face impeachment by the new government, the focus for 
peace might now fall on Kashmir itself rather than the uneasy South Asian 
neighbours.
"Protests have changed the whole parameters of the conflict," said Sajjad 
Lone, leader of the main separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat 
Conference, which rejects militant violence.
"The peace process was for years seen through the eyes of Pakistan and 
India. Kashmir was confined to being an ornament. There is increased 
relevance being given to Kashmiris."
That new focus could fall on state elections due later this year. The state 
government is leaderless and the first step to a peaceful solution might be 
free and fair elections.
Separatists want elections boycotted. Mainstream parties that accept New 
Delhi rule and participate in elections are overshadowed by separatists.
To make matters worse for New Delhi, once-split separatists have shown some 
unity. Indeed, one political winner seems to be hardliner Syed Ali Shah 
Geelani, for years seen as marginalised.
"Kashmir's tipping point could be the election," said Mehta.
"India's claim to legitimacy in Kashmir rests on the holding of free and 
fair elections. The last election had more than 40 percent participation. 
What happens if a separatist boycott leads to 7-8 percent participation?"
It would mean, some say, a new political scene in Kashmir.
"What we have seen in Kashmir is the start of non-violent and mass protests. 
A new generation has taken over," Lone said.

 http://www.ibnlive.com/news/the-uprising-young-blood-fuels-jk-protests/68171-3.html?xmlThe (up)rising: Young blood fuels J-K protestsAasim Khan / CNN-IBNPublished on Wed, Jul 02, 2008 at 12:47, Updated at Wed, Jul 02, 2008 inNation sectionTags: Amarnath Shrine Board, Land Transfer , SrinagarE-mail this report | Print this reportSrinagar: Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing the biggest protests in twodecades over the transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.While state government has revoked the order on the transfer of the shrineland, the crisis has given a fresh lease of life to Kashmiri separatistleaders.Not one political party in the valley has claimed leadership of the protestson the streets - neither the mainstream parties and nor the ones who havepreviously indulged in open defiance of Central Government.So will these protests fuel a new wave of separatist sentiment in Kashmir -a sentiment that was on the wane or hidden all the time?Leader of Separatist Group Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq isconfident. He feels his stand has been vindicated."The CBMs, the economic supports, loans, subsidies, all this just does notmatter. New Delhi should understand the basic sentiment of the Kashmiris,"he says.While Mirwaiz might sound confident, the truth remains that in the latestcrisis, even the Hurrriyat served a volunteer's role."No one was in control. It was spontaneous and the most worrying thing isthat participants were born after 1990. They were all young people," saysjournalist Muzammil Jaleel.While it is still too early to suggest if the separatists can sustain thepresent emotion, with elections slated later this year, the mainstreamparties will have a tough time convincing the people.http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200808050534DOWJONESDJONLINE000145_univ.xmlPolice, Protesters Clash Amid More Fury In Indian Kashmir 8-5-08 5:34 AMSRINAGAR (AFP)--Muslim protesters throwing bricks battled police Tuesday inIndian Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, as anger intensified over attacks onMuslims by Hindus.Tensions were stoked by the death a day earlier of a Muslim protester, whowas hit by a police tear gas shell in Srinagar.Protesters blocked roads and set fire to vehicles, and police used tear gasand batons to disperse hundreds of demonstrators.The attacks on Muslims in the region's Hindu-dominated Jammu area weretriggered when the state government reneged on a plan to transfer land to aHindu shrine.The move plunged Kashmir - which is India's only Muslim-majority state andis already gripped by an Islamic revolt - into new turmoil.Muslims in the mainly Hindu southern part of Kashmir alleged that Hindurioters set fire to many of their houses were set and that they beingthreatened and told to leave the region."We're living in constant fear," says Shah Mohammad Chowdhary, a Muslimleader in Jammu. He said police did not intervene when "our homes were beingtorched." Police reported a "few arson incidents.""We're doing our best to restore order," a police officer said, asking notto be named.Two Hindu protesters were killed in the Jammu area on Monday when policefired shots after demonstrators attacked cars and buses.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi summoned an all-partymeeting for Wednesday to discuss how to defuse tensions in Kashmir.Singh hopes to get assurances from the main opposition Hindu nationalistBharatiya Janata Party that it will not fuel tensions in the state amidreports that party activists were halting trucks carrying supplies for theKashmir valley.Kashmir, where a 19-year revolt against Indian rule has killed least 43,000people, had been enjoying a lull in violence against the backdrop of India'speace process with neighboring Pakistan to settle the disputed region'sfuture when more conflict erupted in June.Both India and Pakistan claim all of the Kashmir region, which is dividedbetween them.On Monday much of Kashmir was shut down by a strike to protest the attacksin Jammu and attempts by Hindus to impose an economic blockade on the area.http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-6833.htmlProtestors lay siege to Jammu-Pathankot highway over police firingJammu, Aug 5 : Hundreds of people lay siege to the Jammu-Pathankot NationalHighway Tuesday, demanding that the policemen who fired on protesters in theregion's Samba town Monday, killing two men and injuring 28 others, bebrought to book.Police officials said traffic came to a standstill on the highway even asmost parts of the Jammu region continued to be under curfew for the fourthday Tuesday. Army and police personnel were deployed to guard strandedtrucks."There is no fixed formula to deal with such a situation. It has to behandled with care and this time we don't want any escalation in thetension," a police officer told IANS on condition of anonymity.The Amarnath land row has taken a communal tone in Jammu and Kashmir asprotests, violence and shutdowns have been going on for weeks now.On Tuesday, two protesters were killed and at least 28 injured when policeopened fire to disperse a mob that had gathered in Samba on theJammu-Pathankot National Highway and held demonstrations seeking allocationof 40 hectares of forest land in north Kashmir to the shrine board.Authorities fear violence at the cremation of the two youth killed in thepolice firing. Community elders are being asked to persuade people to allowthe last rites to be held in peace.The government allotted the land to the board of the Amarnath cave shrine insouth Kashmir May 26. But the order was revoked July 1 following 10-day-longviolent protests in June in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. Therevocation silenced the protests in the valley but ignited passions inHindu-dominated Jammu.Some Hindu groups, united under the umbrella organisation of the AmarnathYatra Sangarsh Samiti, have been demanding the restoration of the land tothe temple trust. The plot, according to the government, was meant forcreating facilities to hundreds and thousands of pilgrims to the Himalayanshrine.But the protesters in Kashmir have alleged that the allocation of the plotwas meant to settle outsiders to change the Muslim-majority character of thevalley.--- IANShttp://arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=112469&d=6&m=8&y=2008Wednesday 6 August 2008 (05 Sha`ban 1429)Violent protests continue in KashmirRUNNING FOR COVER: Indian policemen try to save themselves fromstone-pelting protesters in Srinagar on Tuesday. (Reuters)SRINAGAR: Thousands of Hindu and Muslim protesters clashed with governmentforces in different parts of Indian Kashmir yesterday as anger over agovernment decision relating to land and a Hindu shrine continued to grow.Eighteen protesters and 12 policemen were injured in a clash at Jurian, avillage on the outskirts of Jammu city, Ramesh Kumar, a police officer said.Kumar said police had to fire in the air and use tear gas shells afterthousands of Hindu protesters burned a police post and a government office,he said. Three policemen were seriously injured.Railway traffic between Jammu and rest of the country was halted yesterdayafter rioting protesters damaged part of the tracks, he added. On Monday,one Muslim protester was killed when a tear gas shell fired by police hithis chest. Muslims in Srinagar are protesting against alleged assaults byHindus on Muslims in Jammu.Muslim protesters yesterday pelted stones at the police and paramilitaryforces which responded by firing tear gas shells to break up thedemonstrations at many places in Srinagar, said Prabhakar Tripathi, aspokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force."We will continue peaceful protests against the economic blockade andharassment of Muslims by Hindu extremists," said Syed Ali Shah Geelani, ahard-line separatist leader. The protests have led India's government toreach out to the main Hindu nationalist opposition, the Bharatiya JanataParty, to defuse the crisis.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting of India'spolitical parties today to discuss the situation. Shops, businesses andschools remained closed for the second day yesterday in Srinagar, thebiggest city in the state.The Kashmir Valley was running short of food, fuel and medical supplies.Traders associations said lorries loaded with vital goods like medicines,vegetables, meat and fuel were stranded on the region's main 300-km (185mile) highway, the only surface link between the Kashmir Valley and the restof India.Anger between Hindus and Muslims in the Himalayan region has flared sinceJune when the government in Jammu-Kashmir decided to award 99 acres of landto the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.http://www.hotelsmag.com/articleXml/LN833344097.htmlVIOLENT PROTESTERS SET ON FIRE HOTEL AND CAR IN SOUTH KASHMIRReport from UNI brought to you by HT Syndication. -- UNI (United News ofIndia), August 6, 2008 Wednesday 5:59 PM ESTSrinagar, Aug 6 (UNI) A hotel, allegedly selling liquor and a car were seton fire in south Kashmir where thousands of people today took to streets inprotest against economic blockade and attack on Muslim and Kashmiri driverin Jammu. Official sources said thousands of people today took to streets inAnantnag raising anti-communal organisationS and anti government slogans.Marching through different streets peacefully, when the processioinstsreached near a hotel in the town, a group of people went inside and allegedthat liquor was being sold. They show liquor bottles to processionists andlater set on fire the hotel, owned by a local. A car was also set on fire bythe mob, they said. They alleged that the hotel was being used for the saleand consumption of liquor besides other immoral activities.Published by HT Syndication with permission from UNI.http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/09aha.htmSrinagar shuts down in protestMukhtar Ahmad In Srinagar | August 09, 2008 21:27 ISTLast Updated: August 09, 2008 21:52 ISTSrinagar observed a sudden shutdown on Friday after the health of Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik, who is on anindefinite fast, got deteriorated.Even though there was no shutdown call and separatist groups had asked forresumption of the normal business and social activity, yet parts of capitalcity shut itself down to continue the protests for the sixth day.Almost all the separatist leaders had asked the people not to observe shutdowns without any call. However, people did not heed to it.Clashes erupted yet again in the city centre Lal Chowk, where protestorsshouting pro-freedom slogans.Police responded with tear smoke shells and repeated baton charges, chasingthe protestors, who continued to re-group and stone the police.Areas of old city were also rocked by police- protestor clashes.The southern town of Anantnag was tense this morning, following allegedbeating of civilians by the paramilitary last evening.Movement in the town was restricted as security forces enforced restrictionsto obviate eruption of protests. The town observed a complete shut down.Ganderbal district which is located on either side of the Srinagar BaltelCave Shrine route in north also witnessed protests and clashes betweenpolice and slogan shouting mobs against continued harassment of minoritycommunity members in parts of Jammu.Condition of Yasin Malik who was admitted to Soura Medical Institute kept ondeteriorating, causing grave concern and anxiety to his supporters.Despite repeated attempts by doctors to feed him, Malik has staunchlyrefused to take any food.Meanwhile, both groups of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) havedecided to march with the Kashmir fruit growers to Muzaffarabad on Monday.The fruit growers association has announced that they would cross the Lineof Control (LoC) Monday for carriage of their fruit to Muzaffarabad fromwhere they intend to carry their produce to Amritsar in the Punjab.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080812/world/kashmir_shrine_protestsFresh violence rocks Kashmir; 13 protesters killed in police firingModule bodyTue Aug 12, 1:10 PMBy Aijaz Hussain, The Associated PressSRINAGAR, India - Indian forces shot and killed at least 13 Muslimprotesters Tuesday as tens of thousands of people defied a blanket curfew inIndian Kashmir, the bloodiest day in nearly two months of unrest that hasrocked this long-troubled Himalayan region.Police and protesters battled each other through clouds of bullets, tear gasand rocks, while in New Delhi, politicians again failed to find a solutionto the crisis that threatens to shred the last tenuous threads binding thepredominantly Muslim region of Kashmir to Hindu-majority India.Angry Muslims took to the streets of cities and towns across Kashmir inspite of the first total curfew imposed on the region in 18 years to protestMonday's killing of prominent separatist leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, and fourothers.In Srinagar, the main city, about 100,000 people gathered at MartyrsGraveyard for Aziz's funeral, vowing to fulfil his legacy and achieveindependence for Kashmir from India.Violence has roiled the region since June 23 when Muslims and Hindus begantit-for-tat protests over a government proposal to transfer land to a Hindushrine in India's only Muslim-majority state.The protests have crystalized anti-Indian feeling in Kashmir just as Indianforces appeared to be gaining an upper hand in their nearly two decade fightagainst the region's separatist rebels.Huge crowds thronged Aziz's emotionally charged funeral, setting tiresalight and waving green Islamic flags. Chants of "We want freedom," and"Blood for blood," rang through the cemetery."Our struggle for complete independence from India will continue. No poweron earth can deter us from achieving this," Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, anotherseparatist political leader told the crowds who huddled together in therain, straining to hear the speeches delivered without microphones."It's a do or die for us. India can take as many lives of Kashmiris as itcan, but it must leave," said Rafiq Ahmed, a protester waiving green flag.Six protesters were killed in several incidents Tuesday in Srinagar, policesaid. Two more died in Nagbal village on the city's outskirts and threeothers were killed in Paribal, a village 65 kilometres to the north, theysaid.Two protesters died in Jammu, the only Hindu-majority city in the region,when police opened fire at an angry Muslim mob that attacked Hindu shops andhomes, said Sudhanshu Pandey, a senior government official.Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which have fought two oftheir three wars over the region and both claim it in its entirety.More than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting since 1989 forKashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan. Some 68,000 people havebeen killed in the fighting.Aziz was killed Monday when police fired into a large crowd of Muslimsattempting to march to the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir to protesta blockade by Hindus of the highway linking the Kashmir Valley with the restof India.The Hindus had blocked the roads to protest to the government's decision notto allocate land to a Hindu shrine in the region, after initially saying itwould. The reversal came after protests by Muslims, who accused thegovernment of trying to change Kashmir's demographics in favour of Hindus.Traders say the region faces shortages of food and medicine because of theblockade, and complain that hundreds of truckloads of Kashmiri fruit arespoiling because they cannot be delivered.On Tuesday the government announced that the road was now clear. However, itsaid it was open to the idea of traders exporting their products across theborder to Pakistan - a move that would further reduce Kashmir's ties toIndia."However, a decision in the matter can be taken only through mutualarrangements between India and Pakistan," the Home Ministry said in astatement, warning against unilateral action.http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-08-12-voa13.cfm?rss=topstoriesDeath Toll Rises as Protests Continue in KashmirBy Shahnawaz KhanSrinagar12 August 2008Khan report - Download (MP3)Khan report - Listen (MP3)At least 13 people have died as Indian security forces opened fire onprotests led by Muslim separatists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. ShahnawazKhan reports for VOA from Srinagar that police killed four people Monday whowere trying to lead a march to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-controlledterritory.Kashmiri Muslims look at burnt vehicle belonging to one of party workers ofa pro Indian political party after it was set on fire by protesters inSrinagar, 12 Aug 2008At least three of the protesters were shot in the town of Bandipora, locatedabout 60 kilometers north of Kashmir's summer capital of Srinagar. The otherprotesters were killed at separate demonstrations near Srinagar and inKishtwar District.The demonstrations were held despite a curfew imposed Monday, after Kashmiriseparatist leader Sheikh Aziz and three other people were shot and killed byIndian forces trying to stop thousands of Muslim protesters from marching tothe Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir.Kashmiri separatist leaders held the march to protest what they say is aneconomic blockade by Hindu extremists in the Himalayan region.Kashmiri Muslims wave Pakistan's national flag during the funeral processionof Sheik Abdul Aziz, leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, in Srinagar,12 Aug 2008Hindu protesters have blocked a major highway leading to theMuslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, disrupting the flow of supplies to theregion. The fruit industry, in particular, has taken a big hit."By this economic blockade they have completely finished the apple industryat least for this year. Because our crop was ready and it came back," saidMubeen Shah is the President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The Hindus are demanding that the government re-instate a land transfer to aHindu shrine. The government recently backed off the plan after Muslims heldviolent protests against what they termed "Hindu colonization."Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, and claimed by both. Muslimseparatists have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or forthe region's merger with Pakistan.http://arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=112715&d=12&m=8&y=2008&pix=world.jpg&category=World12 August 2008 (11 Sha`ban 1429)Police kill APHC leader during mass protestMukhtar Ahmad I Arab NewsBRUTAL BASHING: Indian policemen beat a Kashmiri Muslim protester during amarch on Srinagar-to-Muzaffarabad Road in Srinagar on Monday.SRINAGAR: Indian troops shot dead a prominent Kashmiri separatist leader andfour other protesters yesterday as they tried to halt huge Muslimdemonstrations in the revolt-hit region, witnesses said. Sheikh Abdul Aziz,a former militant turned moderate political leader, was killed while takingpart in a protest march close to the Line of Control, which separates theIndian and Pakistani parts of the Himalayan region.A police official said four other protesters were killed on a day of fierceclashes in the disputed Kashmir Valley. Police said the day's violence hasalso left at least 200 people injured.A doctor at Srinagar's main hospital, Manzoor Ahmed, confirmed that AllParties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Aziz died of a gunshot wound. "Wewill spill blood for blood," Aziz's supporters chanted as they carried hisbody out of the hospital, signaling the killing could unleash a new round ofviolence after several years of relative calm.Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew across the valley and moved inpolice and paramilitary troops in full strength. Thousands of people carriedthe body of the separatist leader to the historic Jamia Masjid from where itwould be taken to his native Pampore town in south Kashmir.Aziz, a senior separatist leader and chairman of the People's League (PL)joined the moderate APHC headed by Mirwaiz Maulvi Omar Farooq in Januarythis year after his release. He was jailed several times since 1988 whenmilitancy erupted here."This is the real face of Indian democracy," said Farooq, adding that Aziz'sdeath was a "big loss" to the separatist movement. "For demanding lifting ofan economic blockade we get bullets, while Hindu fanatics who are attackingMuslims in Jammu and setting their property on fire are allowed to dowhatever they want," he fumed, appealing for international action.Aziz, who had been jailed on several occasions for demanding Indian Kashmirbe handed to archrival Pakistan, is the third prominent separatist leader tohave been killed since the eruption of the Muslim insurgency in 1989.The shooting came as Indian security forces tried to prevent about 100,000Muslims from marching toward the de facto border with Pakistan - one of thebiggest protests ever seen in Kashmir.The marchers had reached a point just 40 kilometers from the heavilymilitarized border despite repeated efforts by Indian police andparamilitary forces to stop them with tear gas, rubber bullets and warningshots.http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-08-13-voa47.cfm?rss=warNew Protests Break Out in Kashmir, Across IndiaBy VOA News13 August 2008Kashmiri Muslims shout pro-freedom slogans during a protest in Srinagar,India, 13 Aug 2008For a second day, police in Indian-controlled Kashmir have opened fireduring protests in the main town of Srinagar.Thousands of Muslims took to the streets Wednesday to mourn fellowprotesters killed in skirmishes with police. Demonstrators chanted sloganscalling for revenge and independence from India, while destroying policebunkers.Others scrambled to stock up on supplies as Indian forces briefly eased atotal curfew.Officials say at least 21 people have been killed since Monday, when Muslimseparatists began demonstrating against an economic blockade and India'srule over the region. Many others have been wounded in clashes.Muslim separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today called for three days ofmourning and urged people to protest peacefully.United Nations spokesman in New York, Farhan Haq, today said the HighCommissioner for Human Rights is monitoring developments and SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon is aware of the situation.Muslim protesters oppose the Hindu blockade of a major highway leading tothe Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley. The blockade has disrupted the flow ofsupplies to the region.Meanwhile, the demonstrations spread throughout India - as Hindunationalists in New Delhi, Mumbai and the tourist city of Agra blockedtraffic and railway lines for several hours, bringing the cities to atemporary standstill.Hindu protesters are demanding that the government re-instate a landtransfer to a Hindu shrine.Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, and claimed by both. Islamicseparatists have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India, or forthe region's merger with Pakistan.http://www.indianexpress.com/story/348738.htmlMidnight protests rock Srinagar, Governor says replacing CRPF IGExpress News ServicePosted online: Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 1142 hrs Print EmailJ&K: Musharraf speech refers to Kashmir situation, India slams Pak forsaying it will raise it with UNSrinagar, New Delhi, August 13: In chaotic scenes in Srinagar an hour beforemidnight Wednesday, people, responding to calls made over loudspeakers ofmosques, poured into the streets in protest after security forces allegedlybarged into some houses in downtown localities and assaulted people.There was confusion all around with hundreds packing the streets andchanting slogans. There were unconfirmed reports that CRPF personnel hadentered homes in Rozabal, Safakdal, Kamangarpora and Zaina Kadal - thesecurity forces are already under fire for the manner in which protestorshave been dealt with in the last three days.As the authorities tried to persuade people to return to their homes,Governor N N Vohra told The Indian Express: "We have sought the immediatereplacement of the Inspector General of CRPF. We are trying our level bestto calm people. It is in nobody's interest".The police, however, said that apart from one incident in the evening theydid not have reports of security forces breaking into homes. "We know of onesuch incident. The other incidents are not true," said Srinagar SSP SyedAhfad-ul-Mujtaba.Security forces were trying to avoid moving into the city to break up theprotests. "We do not want to create a scene. We will let them stay out," asenior police officer told The Indian Express.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Kashmir_simmers_42_injured_in_protests/rssarticleshow/3361992.cmsKashmir simmers; 42 injured in protests13 Aug, 2008, 2145 hrs IST, PTISRINAGAR: Forty two persons were injured on Wednesday, including 23 inpolice firing at various places in Kashmir, as demonstrations continuedacross the city over the economic blockade in the Valley by Shri AmarnathSangharsh Samiti in Jammu. ( In Video )Four persons received bullet injuries when CRPF personnel opened fire on agroup of protesters being chased by police in Delow village of Rajpora areain Pulwama distict, official sources said.The protesters were engaged in clashes with police when the latter firedtear smoke shells to chase them away. As the protestors were retreating intothe village, CRPF personnel from nearby camp opened fire on them, injuringfour of them.Three of the injured have been referred to a hospital here in criticalcondition, the sources said.Police and paramilitary forces opened fire at Kralkhud area of the city,injuring six persons, two of them critically, they said.The group of agitators had tried to dismantle a bunker of CRPF in Kralkhudarea, promoting the law enforcing agencies to open fire, the sources said.The protesters fought pitched battles with the security personnel promptingthe latter to open fire in which five persons were injured at Habbakadal inthe city, they said.The injured where shifted to hospital where condition of one of the injured,Tanveer Ahmad of Tankipora locality, was stated to be critical.In Bemina, one person was injured when CRPF personnel opened fire on a groupof protesters, the sources said, adding the mob then set afire the buildingof Srinagar Development Authority.The agitators pelted stones at security personnel in Karan Nagar, FatehKadal, Nawa Kadal, Safakadal, Natipora and Chanapora areas of the city.Police used batons and tear smoke shells to chase away the protesters whocontinued to pour on to the streets of the Valley.Four persons were injured when police used batons and tear gas shells todisperse protesters in Tral area of Pulwama district, the sources said.There were also protests in Pampore, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kupwara, Bandiporaand Charar-e-Sharief towns of the Valley.Curfew relaxed for few hours in SrinagarEarlier, the administration extended the relaxation period in the curfew bythree more hours as the first six-hour period passed off peacefully with nomajor untoward incident reported from anywhere in the city.Curfew was relaxed from 8 am to 11 am initially and later extended to 2 pmto allow the people to buy essential items as the Valley has remained shutfor almost six days owing to strikes called by separatists and curfewimposed by the authorities.People were seen buying essential items like vegetables, grains andmedicines.http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Asia&set_id=1&click_id=126&art_id=vn20080813060118145C991751Indian police gun down protesters    August 13 2008 at 07:37AMIndian security forces shot and killed at least 10 Muslim demonstrators inKashmir on Tuesday amid a new wave of anger against New Delhi's control overthe disputed region.Casualties mounted the day after a leading separatist politician and fourother protesters were killed by troops in the scenic valley, which is in themidst of some of the worst violence of a 19-year insurgency.Police and soldiers enforced a daylight curfew across the Himalayan regionin an attempt to prevent large-scale rioting, but opened fire in the face oflarge crowds of stone-throwing youths, witnesses said.Police, medical doctors and witnesses said 10 Muslim protesters were gunneddown on Tuesday, and at least 80 others were wounded, in various parts ofJammu and Kashmir state, including inside the summer capital, Srinagar.The city's two main hospitals called in extra staff, and local televisionchannels issued appeals for blood donors."India is holding our region by force," fumed local businessman AbdulHameed. "Until the Kashmir dispute is resolved, the anti-India sentimentswill stay. The protests should open the eyes of Indians that Kashmiris arenot with them."On Monday Sheikh Abdul Aziz, a moderate political leader at the forefront ofthe political struggle against Indian rule, was shot and killed by securityforces during a protest near the Line of Control, which divides the Indianand Pakistani parts of Kashmir.Indian police said they were investigating the shooting.Aziz's funeral went ahead on Tuesday after mourners managed to break apolice cordon and free two senior separatist leaders - Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,a moderate, and Syed Ali Geelani, a hardliner - who were under house arrest,so they could lead funeral prayers.'We will spill blood for blood!'Aziz's body was driven through Srinagar accompanied by an estimated 50 000people, many of whom chanted: "We want freedom!" and: "We will spill bloodfor blood!"The unrest also underscores what locals say is the boiling resentment aboutthe fact that the peace process between India and Pakistan - launched in2004 - has led to no progress on the thorny Kashmir issue."The Indians were flaunting it that the freedom sentiment among theKashmiris has ended. They can't make such claims now," said Farooq. "We wantfreedom and we will continue our struggle until we are free."The current unrest, which has shattered several years of relative calm, wastriggered by an order by the Kashmir government in June to donate a parcelof Kashmir land to a Hindu pilgrimage trust.The land transfer was cancelled after a first wave of protests, but thatsparked riots in the Hindu-dominated south of Jammu and Kashmir state, whereHindu hardliners began blocking the only road access to the Kashmir valley -a move that has badly hit Muslim traders.The blockade has led to shortages of essentials, prompting a massive protestmarch towards the Line of Control on Monday so fruit growers could selltheir goods on the other side of the border. That was the clash in whichAziz was killed. - Sapa-AFPhttp://story.indiagazette.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/701ee96610c884a6/id/393992/cs/1/Finally, protests ease in Kashmir Valley, anger persistsIndia GazetteWednesday 13th August, 2008(IANS)After a day of police firing and huge protests, mass anger over the Amarnathland row finally eased Wednesday in the Kashmir Valley. But the authoritieswarned that the situation remained serious as the death toll in Tuesday'smayhem rose to 15.In comparison to the 40,000 who marched through Srinagar Tuesday with thebody of Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who the police gunned down a dayearlier, the biggest of the dozen demonstrations Wednesday attracted no morethan 4,000 slogan-shouting people.But violence persisted on the streets.A policeman was beaten up and his motorcycle burnt in Srinagar, the urbanhub of Jammu and Kashmir's separatist campaign and the scene of the mostviolent protests over the allotment of land to the Amarnath shrine board --a decision since taken back by the government.Mobs also torched the office of the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) onthe city's outskirts and destroyed a bunker of the Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF), the paramilitary force blamed for firing at crowds.Angry crowds made up mostly of young men fought pitched battles with thepolice at several places in Srinagar.A portion of the SDA complex at Bemina was saved because the police reachedthe site soon after it was set on fire, officials said.A mob in Charar-e-Sharief town in central Badgam district attacked a policepost after policemen tried to disperse them following the burning of aforest department hut nearby.Thousands of people shouting slogans demanding independence from Indiamarched through Solina, Safa Kadal, Rajouri Kadal, Batmaloo and some otherareas of Srinagar.Curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley after large-scale violence Mondaywhen thousands tried to march towards Pakistan, alleging an 'economicblockade' of the valley by Hindu protestors in the Jammu region.On Wednesday, the authorities relaxed curfew first from 8 a.m to 11 a.m. Therelaxation was later extended to 2 p.m. and then again till 5 p.m.Mobs resorted to violence during the curfew relaxation. A policeman drivinga motorcycle in Safa Kadal area of the Old City during the curfew relaxationperiod was stopped and thrashed.'Although the cop was in civvies, the mob identified him from his identitycard,' a police officer said. 'They set fire to his motorcycle and beat himup mercilessly.'Protesters gathered near Safa Kadal, Rainawari and Bana Mohalla policestations of Old Srinagar and stoned them, said another officer.'We are maintaining utmost restraint and trying to ensure that the situationis brought under control with minimum use of force,' the officer told IANS.A petrol tanker was also set ablaze by protesters at Bemina. Officials saidthe arson attack immediately halted traffic on the road linking Jammu andthe Kashmir Valley, causing hardships to people.As the state continued to reel under protests, Governor N.N. Vohra called ahigh-level meeting at the Raj Bhavan to take stock of the situation.Meanwhile, three people wounded in Tuesday's firing by the police and armypersonnel succumbed to their injuries in hospitals, taking the death toll inTuesday's violence to 15.Also Wednesday, massive protests were reported from Baramulla and Ganderbaldistricts in north Kashmir and Anantnag district in the south.For the last two months, both the Hindu-majority Jammu region and the MuslimKashmir Valley have been locked in unparalleled strife on communal linesover the transfer and subsequent revocation of 40 hectares of land to theAmarnath board. The board manages the annual pilgrimage to the shrinededicated to Lord Shiva.The burning issue set off a wave of protests, shutdowns and violence firstin the Kashmir Valley, then in Jammu -- and now back in the valley -virtually paralysing the state.http://www.dawn.com/2008/08/15/top7.htmWidespread protests test India's hold on KashmirSRINAGAR, Aug 14: Police shot dead a Muslim protester as huge crowdsshouting "we want freedom" took to the streets of occupied Kashmir onThursday over a land row that is testing New Delhi's hold on the troubledHimalayan region.Police have now killed at least 22 demonstrators this week and more than 500people have been injured during some of the biggest protests since aseparatist revolt against New Delhi broke out in the region 20 years ago.Seven other demonstrators were wounded when police opened fire to disperseprotesters in downtown Srinagar. Protesters torched a police vehicle andhoisted green flags in several areas of the occupied valley.The row pits Muslims against Hindus in one of the toughest challenges facingPrime Minister Manmohan Singh's government since it took office in 2004.India reacted angrily to a statement from the Organisation of the IslamicConference expressing "deep concern over the deteriorating situation inIndian Occupied Kashmir.""OIC has once again chosen to comment upon Jammu and Kashmir and India'sinternal affairs on which it has no locus standi (legal standing tointervene). We reject such comments," India's foreign ministry said late onThursday.In the Jammu region a Hindu activist committed suicide by swallowinginsecticide in protest against the government, police said. The disputebegan after Kashmiri authorities promised to give forest land to a trustthat runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. Many Muslimswere enraged.The government then rescinded its decision, which in turn angered Hindus inJammu who attacked lorries carrying supplies to Kashmir valley and blockedthe region's highway, the only surface link with the rest of India.The dispute has snowballed into a full-scale anti-India protest, unitingKashmiri leaders and reviving calls for independence.Authorities relaxed a curfew for a few hours in Srinagar late on Thursday,but most of the streets were deserted except for security patrols.Police and soldiers increased security around a stadium in Srinagar whereIndia's independence day celebrations are to be held on Friday. Separatistgroups called for a general strike and labelled Friday a "black day"."I strongly condemn the reign of terror let loose by the Indian forcesagainst the besieged people of Kashmir," said separatist leader MohammedYasin Malik, who led a protest in Srinagar.-Reutershttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1080815/jsp/nation/story_9697441.jspYouth, doctor die in protestsOUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTSrinagar, Aug. 14: Deaths continued to scar Jammu and Kashmir as theAmarnath protests raged on.Police gunned down a young protester in the old city of Srinagar while aretired doctor in Jammu allegedly "sacrificed his life for the Amarnathcause".The police said the youth was part of a mob that had tried to attack apolice station in Safakadal, prompting them to open fire. Three persons wereinjured.Two police vehicles were torched at Rawalpora in the Civil Lines area.Pakistani flags were unfurled at some places in the old city and in LalBazar.Today's death has taken the toll in the blood-soaked Valley to 24. CRPFinspector-general S.K. Jain has been summoned to New Delhi followingrepeated complaints about his men using excessive force against protesters.B.R. Khajuria, a 65-year-old retired doctor, committed suicide in Jammu'sHira Nagar after consuming poison.Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti leader Suchet Singh said Khajuria had"sacrificed" his life after he saw some pilgrims returning from the caveshrine being beaten up by people in Banihal. "That event disturbed him."Singh, a retired brigadier, said Khajuria had left a suicide note saying hisorgans should be donated and that nobody should mourn his death but insteadrecite Om Namah Shivaye five lakh times.But, Singh added, Khajuria's wish could not be fulfilled as his organs hadbeen damaged by poison.Governor N.N. Vohra had organised an all-party meeting today. It wasattended by People's Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti, NationalConference's Abdul Rahim Rather and several other local leaders.They appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony and said alldisputes must be resolved through "dialogue and reconciliation".The governor urged the leaders to use their influence "in clearing theatmosphere of mistrust and suspicion".State chief secretary S.S. Kapoor told the meeting vehicles would be allowedon the Srinagar-Jammu highway twice a day, but in convoys and under policeprotection.http://www.stuff.co.nz/4656959a12.htmlTwo dead as Muslims continue protest in KashmirReuters | Friday, 15 August 2008Police shot dead one Muslim protester as huge crowds shouting "we wantfreedom" took to the streets of Kashmir over a land row that is testing NewDelhi's hold on the troubled Himalayan region.Seven other demonstrators were wounded when police opened fire to disperseprotesters in downtown Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir. Protesterstorched a police vehicle and hoisted green flags in several areas of Kashmirvalley.The row pits Muslims in Kashmir against Hindus in Jammu - the two mainregions which make up the state of Jammu and Kashmir - in what is one of thehardest challenges facing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government sinceit took office in 2004.The crisis has also raised tensions with nuclear rival Pakistan. India hascriticised Islamabad for interfering in its internal affairs by calling forUN intervention in the region that both claim in full but rule in parts.In Jammu, the winter capital of Indian Kashmir, a Hindu activist committedsuicide by swallowing insecticide in protest against the government, policesaid.The dispute began after the Kashmir government promised to give forest landto a trust that runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. ManyMuslims were enraged.The government then rescinded its decision, which in turn angered Hindus inJammu who attacked lorries carrying supplies to Kashmir valley and blockedthe region's highway, the only surface link with the rest of India.Police in the Kashmir valley have killed at least 22 Muslim protesters thisweek, inflaming tensions. More than 500 people have been injured in clashes.The protests are some of the biggest since a separatist revolt against NewDelhi broke out in the region 20 years ago. (See analysis.)The dispute over land allocated to Hindu pilgrims visiting the shrine inKashmir has snowballed into a full-scale anti-India protest, unitingKashmiri separatists and reviving calls for independence.Authorities relaxed a curfew for a few hours in Srinagar late on Thursday,but most of the streets were deserted except for security patrols.Police and soldiers increased security around a stadium in Srinagar whereIndia's independence day celebrations are to be held on Friday.Separatist groups called for a general strike and labelled Friday as a"black day"."I strongly condemn the reign of terror let loose by the Indian forcesagainst the besieged people of Kashmir," said separatist leader MohammedYasin Malik, who led a protest in Srinagar. "Indian troops cannot suppressour struggle."Challenging the blockade, Kashmiris took to the streets.Through Wednesday night, thousands of Kashmiri protesters shouted anti-Indiaslogans, condemning security forces. Hundreds of Muslims also assembled inmosques and shrines which relayed the slogans on loudspeakers.The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged India to show restraint."The Indian government should order troops and police to refrain from usinglethal force against violent protesters in Jammu and Kashmir unlessabsolutely necessary to protect life," it said.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10527132&ref=rssProtesters injured after police open fire5:00AM Friday August 15, 2008Police try to remove the wreckage of a Government car which was burnt byprotesters in Srinagar. Photo / APIndian police opened fire again wounding dozens of Muslims protesting inIndian Kashmir after hundreds of demonstrators pelted officers with rocks,as bloody riots that have rocked the restive Himalayan region continued.Police in jeeps using loudspeakers warned that residents would be shot ifthey broke a curfew imposed after 16 people were killed earlier this weekprotesting the death of prominent separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz whowas shot by police.In the village of Dellow, some 50km south of the region's main city ofSrinagar, paramilitary police opened fire on hundreds of protesters who hadsurrounded their camp throwing rocks. Police officer Abdul Gani said 34 werewounded. At least 13 were taken to Srinagar and were in critical condition,said Asif Drabu, a doctor at Srinagar's main hospital.Violence has rocked Kashmir since June 23 when Muslims and Hindus began aseries of protests over a plan to transfer land to a Hindu shrine in India'sonly Muslim-majority state.The protests have crystallised anti-Indian feeling in Kashmir just as Indianforces appeared to be gaining an upper hand in their two-decade fightagainst the region's separatist rebels, who seek Kashmir's independence orits merger with Pakistan.Several thousand protesters also took to the streets in Srinagar again,attacking police posts and chanting slogans that called for revenge."Blood for blood" and "We want freedom," they shouted as they ransackedsand-bagged police bunkers across the city. Police fired at hundreds ofrock-throwing protesters at Fateh Kadal, a suburb in Srinagar, said a policeofficer who asked for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak tothe media. Three people were wounded, he said.In Srinagar's Bemina neighbourhood, thousands of protesters clashed withpolice, then torched a Government complex, according to a police statement.Dozens of protesters and police were wounded, police said, but they couldnot provide exact figures. Doctors at Srinagar's two main hospitals saidthey received 58 injured.INDIAN KASHMIR:It has two capitals, Jammu in winter (November-April), Srinagar in summer(May-October). It has 10 million people. New Delhi claims the whole of Jammuand Kashmir as an integral part of India.PAKISTANI KASHMIR:Consists of the smaller Azad Kashmir (Free Kashmir), which has its ownpresident and legislature, and the Northern Areas, which also formed part ofthe state before independence and is administered directly from Islamabad.Three million people live there.- APhttp://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2008/08/15/2003420364Thousands protest in Indian Kashmir'QUESTION OF OUR HONOR': The protests overnight in Srinagar followed rumorsthat security forces were breaking into homes and beating women and childrenAP, SRINAGAR, INDIAFriday, Aug 15, 2008, Page 5Thousands of Muslims poured into the streets of Kashmir overnight, demandingindependence from India hours after Pakistan called on the UN to stop whatit characterized as gross human rights violations in the divided Himalayanregion.Pakistan's statement drew a sharp rebuke from India yesterday, which calledthe comments "deeply objectionable."Nearly six weeks of unrest in India's part of Kashmir have pitted the region's Muslim majority against its Hindu minority and left at least 33 peopledead, many of them protesters shot during violent clashes with police andsoldiers.Villages have been attacked, police stations torched and, in at least onetown, security forces have been ordered to shoot on sight any protestersviolating a curfew.The protests were sparked by a plan to transfer land to a Hindu shrine inKashmir, which was quickly abandoned.But in the weeks since, the unrest has unleashed pent up tensions betweenKashmir's Muslims and Hindus, threatening to snap the bonds between Indiaand its only Muslim-majority state.There are also growing fears that the violence could drive a wedge betweenHindus and Muslims in other parts of India, where Hindu nationalistpolitical parties have been organizing rival protests and calling for thegovernment to give the land back to the shrine.The protests overnight in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, followed rumorsthat security forces were breaking into houses there and beating up womenand children."This is a question of our honor, come out of your homes," saidannouncements played over the public address systems at various mosques inSrinagar.The people of Srinagar - a mountain town once famed for its cool summerweather and the houseboats that ply the lake in its center - responded bythe thousands, pouring into the streets and chanting "Long Live Pakistan!"and "We Want Independence!"Perhaps more than anything seen in the last six weeks, it's those sentimentsthat are most worrying to India.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1948 and is at thecenter of their six-decade rivalry.The insurgents want to see the part of the region that is controlled byIndia merged with Pakistan or given independence.On Wednesday, the Pakistani foreign ministry called on the UN to step in andcurb "the gross violation of human rights" in Kashmir.Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf followed up a few hours later, saying:"I strongly condemn the human rights violation and the suppression on theseoppressed people."India's reaction was angry."To call for international involvement in the sovereign internal affairs ofIndia is gratuitous, illegal and only reflects reversion to a mindset thathas led to no good consequences for Pakistan in the past," the foreignministry said in a statement released soon after Musharraf's remarks.http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/india/2008/08/14/169996/Kashmir%2Dprotests.htmKashmir protests spread to Indian cities; curfew imposedBy Aijaz Hussain, APThursday, August 14, 2008SRINAGAR, India -- Police jeeps drove through the deserted streets of a townin Indian Kashmir on Wednesday blaring warnings from loudspeakers thatresidents would be shot if they broke a curfew imposed after 16 people werekilled in the riots that have rocked the restive Himalayan region.The violence, which has roiled Kashmir since June 23 when Muslims and Hindusbegan a series of protests over a plan to transfer land to a Hindu shrine inIndia's only Muslim-majority state, also spread to other parts of India.The extreme measures in Kishtwar town come a day after tens of thousandsviolated the blanket curfew to attend the funeral of a prominent separatistleader shot by police. Kishtwar is some 155 miles (250 kilometers) north ofJammu, the region's only majority Hindu city."Curfew has to be implemented fully," said Hemant Lohia, aenior police officer. "This last option becomes the first in order not tolet the situation go out of hand."In the village of Dellow, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of theregion's main city of Srinagar, paramilitary police opened fire on hundredsprotesters who had surrounded their camp throwing rocks. Thirty-four werewounded, said police officer Abdul Gani.At least 13 were taken to Srinagar and were in a critical condition, saidAsif Drabu, a doctor at Srinagar's main hospital.Several thousand protesters also took to the streets in Srinagar againWednesday, attacking police posts, chanting slogans that called for revenge."Blood for blood" and "We want freedom," they shouted as they ransackedsandbagged police bunkers across the city. Police fired at hundreds ofrock-throwing protesters at Fateh Kadal, a suburb in Srinagar, said a policeofficer on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak tothe media. Three people were wounded, he said.The protests have crystalized anti-Indian feeling in Kashmir just as Indianforces appeared to be gaining an upper hand in their nearly two decade fightagainst the region's separatist rebels, who seek Kashmir's independence orits merger with Pakistan.In Srinagar's Bemina neighborhood, thousands of protesters clashed withpolice, then torched a government complex, according to a police statement.Dozens of protesters and police were wounded, police said, but they couldnot provide exact figures.Doctors at Srinagar's two main hospitals said they had received 58 injuredWednesday.On Tuesday, police firing into groups of protesting Muslims killed at least16. Five more, including the political leader, were killed Monday. No newdeaths were reported Wednesday.Separatist political leaders called for three days of mourning and urgedpeople to keep their protests peaceful."Kashmiris will continue to agitate peacefully and we should not give Indianoppressors any chance to use brute force," said Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, aseparatist leader.State police chief Kuldeep Khoda said police would investigate "all theincidents of firing that led to killings."While the violence appeared to be subsiding in Kashmir, the protests spilledover to other parts of India, with Hindu nationalist groups blocking trafficand railway lines for several hours in New Delhi, Mumbai and the tourist hubof Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.The activists demanded that the government transfer about 100 acres (40hectares) to a Hindu shrine, as it had earlier proposed. The plan wasshelved after widespread protests by Muslims, who accused the government oftrying to change the demographics of the state in favor of Hindus.Some 50 protesters were detained in Mumbai, said police officer PranGokhale.Earlier Wednesday, thousands of people streamed out of their homes inKashmir to buy supplies as authorities relaxed the curfew for several hours.The lockdown, the first to be imposed across the entire Kashmir region in 18years, was ordered after separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz was killedMonday while attempting to march to the Pakistan-controlled portion ofKashmir to protest a blockade by Hindus of the highway linking the KashmirValley with the rest of India.Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which have fought two oftheir three wars over the region and both claim it in its entirety.Since 1989, more than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been trying torend Kashmir from India in fighting that has killed more than 68,000 people.http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=150611Thousands protest at UN office in KashmirTens of thousands of Muslims marched past the United Nations office inIndian Kashmir on Monday, protesting against New Delhi's rule in thedisputed Himalayan region.Demonstrators shouting "Oh tyrants and oppressors leave our Kashmir" marchedto police barricades within a few hundred metres of the UN Military ObserverGroup in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) office in Srinagar, summer capital ofIndian Kashmir. The organizers, Kashmir's main separatist All PartiesHurriyat (Freedom) Conference alliance, handed over a petition againstIndian rule. A row over land allocated to Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrinein Kashmir has snowballed into full scale anti-India protests, unitingseparatists and reviving calls for Kashmiri independence. Marches last weekled to police killing at least 22 Muslim demonstrators, including a seniorseparatist leader, inflaming passions in one of the biggest separatistprotests since a revolt against Indian rule broke out in 1989. UNMOGIP, oneof the oldest UN missions, monitors a 1949 cease-fire line dividing Kashmirbetween India and Pakistan.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/08/200885135522448873.htmlSecond day of protests in KashmirMuslim Kashmiris have accused India of trying to alter the demography of thestate [AFP]Hundreds of Kashmiri Muslim protesters have clashed for a second day withgovernment forces in the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir, officialssaid.Police and paramilitary troops fired tear gas to disperse the crowd inSrinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Jammu-Kashmir on Tuesday.The clashes come a day after a Muslim protester was killed demonstratingagainst alleged attacks on Muslims by Hindus in the Jammu region ofJammu-Kashmir.Sajjad Haider, editor-in-chief of the Kashmir Observer told Al Jazeera thatin Jammu, "where the agitation has been alarming, Muslims have been targetedby right-wing Hindu groups"."The unfortunate part is that the government of India has been totallycaught off guard and the situation has developed into full-scaleconfrontations.Land promiseThe spate of violence comes after the government in Jammu-Kashmir, India'sonly Muslim-majority state, decided in June to award 99 acres of land to atrust that maintains the Amarnath shrine, a revered Hindu site.The Jammu-Kashmir government had planned to build shelters for Hindupilgrims visiting Amarnath.Kashmiri Muslim leaders say the confrontations will continue [AFP]But the state government was later forced to revoke the land transfer afterprotests by Muslim Kashmiris who called the move an attempt to alter thedemography of the state.The provincial government's decision to stop the transfer of land inresponse to protests by Muslims, triggered protests by Hindus, who have beenaccused of attacking Muslim protesters, sparking further demonstrations.Haider said: "They have let things worsen in Jammu. There have been nomeasures taken so far to contain the violence which has been exerted againstminority [Muslim] members and government property."On the other hand we have seen in the Kashmir valley that the [Indian]government has come down heavily on protests [by Muslims] against theviolence on minority [Muslim] members, which have been peaceful."In Jammu, they have taken a soft approach against protesters who areobviously a minority there."Muslim Kashmiri leaders say the confrontations will continue.Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a separatist leader fighting Indian government forcesfor a Kashmir with closer ties to Pakistan, said the "peaceful protests"would continue after "harassment of Muslims by Hindu extremists".A Hindu group leader, Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangrash Samiti, who organisedsome of the protests, said: "We stick to our core demand, restoration ofland."Monday violenceTwo Hindu protesters were shot dead and at least 14 police and paramilitarysoldiers were injured in Jammu city on Monday, during Hindu protests againstthe government's U-turn, a government statement said.Shops and businesses in Srinagar have closed in response to the allegedassaults on Muslims by Hindus.Demonstrations by Hindus in the Kashmiri valley have stopped transport alongthe region's major highway, preventing food, fuel and medical supplies fromreaching towns and cities.Trader associations said lorries loaded with vital goods such as medicines,vegetables, meat and fuel were stranded on the region's main 300km highway,the only surface link between the Kashmir valley and the rest of India.About a dozen Muslim groups in the state have been fighting Indiangovernment forces to carve out a separate homeland or to merge Jammu-Kashmirwith Pakistan.More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the startof the conflict in 1989.http://www.ajc.com/services/content/shared-gen/ap/Asia/Kashmir_Shrine_Protests.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=1&cxcat=0India asks Kashmiri separatists to end protestsBy AIJAZ HUSSAINAssociated Press WriterSRINAGAR, India - Tens of thousands of Muslims took to the streets againFriday in India's part of Kashmir, ignoring a plea by the country's primeminister for an end to weeks of violence that has left 34 people dead.A curfew that had been in place throughout much of Kashmir was liftedearlier Friday because the day appeared calm with streets deserted and shopsclosed as Kashmiris fell in line with a call by separatist leaders toobserve the Indian Independence Day holiday as a "black day."(enlarge photo)A Kashmiri Muslim cyclist is seen through a hole in a black banner held byprotestors as a mark of protest, in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008.India's prime minister called Friday for an end to weeks of violence thathas left 34 people dead in India's part of Kashmir as Muslims in thetroubled Himalayan region boycotted the country's Independence Daycelebrations. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)But soon after Muslim Friday prayers ended, tens of thousands of peoplepoured into the streets of Kashmir's towns and cities. In Srinagar, theregion's main city, protesters burned Indian flags and raised an Islamicgreen flag at the clock tower in the city's main bazaar.They also burned effigies of Indian soldiers. Security forces kept theirdistance from the protesters to avoid provoking another deadly clash.More than six weeks of unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir have pitted theregion's Muslim majority against its Hindu minority and left at least 34people dead, many of them protesters shot during violent clashes with policeand soldiers. Villages have been attacked, police stations torched and, inat least one town, security forces were ordered to shoot on sight anyprotesters violating the curfew.The crisis began in June with a dispute over land near a Hindu shrine. TheHindu minority was angered when the state government reversed a decision togive 99 acres (40 hectares) of land to a Hindu trust to build facilities forpilgrims near the shrine. Muslims had complained that the gift of land wouldalter the religious balance in the region.The spiraling unrest has unleashed pent-up tensions between Kashmir'sMuslims and Hindus and threatened to snap the bonds between India and itsonly Muslim-majority state.There are also growing fears that the violence could drive a wedge betweenHindus and Muslims in other parts of India, where Hindu nationalistpolitical parties have been organizing rival protests and calling for thegovernment to give the land back to the shrine.In New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for an end to theprotests and violence."It is my conviction that all issues can be resolved only through dialogueand peaceful means," Singh said in an Independence Day speech.He spoke from behind a bulletproof screen atop the ramparts of the historicRed Fort, the massive 17th-century sandstone structure built by the MuslimMogul emperors who ruled much of India before the British arrived.Singh's call was promptly dismissed by a key Kashmiri separatist leader,Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, who said the protests symbolize the "total rejection ofIndia's rule in Kashmir.""It's a people's movement and Indian forces are trying to break it by use offorce," he told The Associated Press.There is a long history of separatist movements in Kashmir, which has beendivided between India and Pakistan since 1948. Most were peaceful until1989, when a bloody Islamic insurgency began. The insurgents want to seeIndia's part of the region merged with Pakistan or given independence.The rebellion has so far killed an estimated 68,000 people. India accusesPakistan of aiding the insurgents - a charge Pakistan denies.India and Pakistan gained independence when the departing British colonizerssplit the subcontinent in 1947, sparking one of the most violent upheavalsof the 20th century and creating a rivalry that has led to three wars, twoof them over Kashmir.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24192366-12335,00.htmlThousands rally to mourn protestersFont Size: Decrease IncreasePrint Page: PrintFrom correspondents in Srinagar | August 16, 2008TENS of thousands of people shouting freedom slogans massed in revolt-hitIndian Kashmir today to mourn 22 protesters killed in police firing duringhuge demonstrations in the mainly Muslim region.Mourners in cars, buses, jeeps and trucks streamed to Pampore town, justoutside the main city Srinagar, to take part in the outpouring of grief andanger and shout, "We want freedom," Indians go home" and "Kashmir is ours"."This is a day we want to protest the slaying of 22 innocent Kashmiris,"Mohammed Latief, 32-year-old truck driver, said as the town's centre wasthronged by a sea of people.Longtime separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the region's chief Muslimcleric, was carried to the rally podium on the shoulders of supporters."These demonstrations should open the eyes of Indians. Every soul wantsfreedom," said Farooq ahead of leading the crowd in prayers for the shootingvictims.Police said they would not disrupt the event where many of the demonstratorshoisted black flags, a Muslim symbol of mourning, and green and blackIslamic flags."Authorities have said no force should be used against peacefuldemonstrations," said police chief Kuldeep Khuda as security forces remainedat a distance to avoid provoking further deadly clashes.Street battles earlier this week left at least 22 dead in police firing andhundreds injured. Police have promised to investigate every shooting death.Srinagar and other parts of the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley have beenrocked by some of the biggest protests since an insurgency against NewDelhi's rule erupted in 1989.Veteran separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz was among those who died earlierthis week and Pampore, where the mourners gathered, was his home town.Aziz was a former militant who had renounced violence and joined IndianKashmir's political separatist alliance to seek independence for the region."He is our hero - he has laid a fresh foundation for our freedom strugglewith his martyrdom," said Ayub Laway, one of Aziz's supporters.Many mourners carried photographs of the slain separatist leader as asecurity helicopter carrying police and state administration officialshovered overhead."We are here to demonstrate against India's rule," said Mehraj-u-Din, aproperty dealer.The rally in Pampore came a day after India's Independence Day celebrationswhen thousands of Muslims in Srinagar protested against New Delhi's rule -some burning the national flag.Addressing the nation in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called itan "hour of crisis" and urged dialogue to resolve the violence in Kashmir,held in part by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.The unrest was triggered by a Kashmir government move in June to donate landto a Hindu shrine trust. The decision was later reversed, angering Hinduswho dominate the south of Jammu and Kashmir state.Hindu extremists then began blocking the only road link to the Kashmirvalley, sparking a fresh wave of protests in Muslim areas and furtherpitting the two communities against each other.http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=74e1216a-1a0b-4dae-9a18-5645fdf6663bAmarnathLandRow_Special&&Headline=Tens+of+thousands+march+in+Kashmir+protestTens of thousands march in Kashmir protestTens of thousands of Muslims marched in Kashmir on Saturday in honor of aprominent separatist leader killed in a recent wave of violence that hasrocked the volatile Himalayan region.The streets were a sea of black protest flags and Islamic green flags asdemonstrators filled Srinagar, the region's main city, and headed south tothe hometown of Sheikh Abdul Aziz. Aziz, the leader of the All PartiesHurriyat Conference, was shot Monday by police firing into a crowd ofprotesters. On Saturday, security forces kept their distance from thedemonstrators to avoid provoking another deadly clash. The protesters wereheading to Aziz's hometown of Pampur, 15 kilometers south of Srinagar.The march comes a day after the India's Independence Day holiday, whichKashmir observed as a "black day" by burning Indian flags and effigies ofIndian soldiers.More than six weeks of unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir has pitted theregion's Muslim majority against its Hindu minority and left at least 34people dead, many of them protesters shot during violent clashes with policeand soldiers.Villages have been attacked, police stations torched and, in at least onetown, security forces were ordered to shoot on sight any protestersviolating the curfew.The crisis began in June with a dispute over land near a Hindu shrine. TheHindu minority was angered when the state government reversed a decision togive 99 acres (40 hectares) of land to a Hindu trust to build facilities forpilgrims near the shrine. Muslims had complained that the gift of land wasactually a settlement plan meant to alter the religious balance in theregion. The spiraling unrest has unleashed pent-up tensions betweenKashmir's Muslims and Hindus and threatened to snap the bonds between Indiaand its only Muslim-majority state. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singhcalled Friday for an end to the protests and violence, saying "all issuescan be resolved only through dialogue and peaceful means."Singh's call was promptly dismissed by a key Kashmiri separatist leader,Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, who said the protests symbolise the "total rejection ofIndia's rule in Kashmir."There is a long history of separatist movements in Kashmir, which has beendivided between India and Pakistan since 1948. Most were peaceful until1989, when a bloody Islamic insurgency began. The insurgents want to seeIndia's part of the region merged with Pakistan or given independence.The rebellion has so far killed an estimated 68,000 people. India accusesPakistan of aiding the insurgents, a charge Pakistan denies.India and Pakistan gained independence when the departing British colonizerssplit the subcontinent in 1947, sparking one of the most violent upheavalsof the 20th century and creating a rivalry that has led to three wars, twoof them over Kashmir.http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=395020Nocturnal protests create panic in KashmirIANS     Saturday 16th August, 2008An uneasy quiet descended here early Saturday after nocturnal protestscalled by the separatist Hurriyat Conference, during which people in someareas beat tin roofs and shouted slogans against security forces, creatingpanic in the Kashmir Valley.Repeated announcements were made through mosque loudspeakers late Friday,asking people to come out on their rooftops and protest against the allegedpolice and paramilitary excesses.People also observed a 'black out' for one hour by switching off electricbulbs in many areas.A few private vehicles could be seen plying in the summer capital of Jammuand Kashmir Saturday morning after days of shutdown and curfew.Though there was no shutdown call for the day, separatist leaders askedpeople to take out processions to the south Kashmir town of Pampore, 16 kmfrom here, where they will pay tributes to their slain colleague SheikhAbdul Aziz.Aziz was killed in police firing Aug 11, when thousands of Kashmiris,alleging an 'economic blockade' by Jammu protesters, attempted to cross overthe the Line of Control (LoC) - the de-facto border between India andPakistan - in north Kashmir.The valley has been witnessing unprecedented violence and public frenzyfollowing the bitter Amarnath land row, which has nearly brought the stateto the brink of division on religious lines.More than 40 people have died, mostly in police firing, in the last twomonths of violent protests in Hindu-dominated Jammu and mainly MuslimKashmir Valley.http://news.aol.com/story/_a/scattered-protests-held-in-indian/n20080817093709990007?ecid=RSS0001Scattered protests held in Indian KashmirBy AIJAZ HUSSAIN,APPosted: 2008-08-17 09:37:23SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Scattered groups of protesters across Indian Kashmirrepeated their call for independence Sunday as Muslim separatist leadersprepared for a march expected to draw large crowds.The streets of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir, were relativelyquiet Sunday, a day after tens of thousands of demonstrators shut down thecity to honor a slain separatist leader and demand Indian forces leaveKashmir.Protests were reported in several towns in southern Kashmir, includingBijbehara and Anantnag, but security forces were sparse to avoid provokinganother deadly clash.At least 34 people have been killed in more than six weeks of unrest inIndian-administered Kashmir that has pitted Muslims against the region'sHindu minority.Separatist groups prepared for a march Monday through downtown Srinagar thatMasarat Aalam, a prominent leader, expected would draw tens of thousands ofpeople.Leaders planned to deliver a petition to the United Nations office inSrinagar citing human rights violations by Indian authorities and demandingU.N. intervention, Aalam said.Indian authorities have discouraged the march and warned of a showdown ifthe separatists go ahead with their plans, senior police officer AfabulMujataba said.The crisis began in June with a dispute over land near a Hindu shrine. TheHindu minority was angered when the state government reversed a decision togive 99 acres (40 hectares) of land to a Hindu trust to build facilities forpilgrims near the shrine. Muslims had complained that the gift of land wasactually a settlement plan meant to alter the religious balance in theregion.The growing unrest has unleashed pent-up tensions between Kashmir's Muslimsand Hindus and threatened to snap the bonds between India and Jammu-Kashmir,its only Muslim-majority state.There is a long history of separatist movements in India's portion ofKashmir, but most were peaceful until 1989 when an Islamic insurgency beganthat has killed an estimated 68,000 people. The insurgents are seekingindependence or a merger with Pakistan.India accuses Pakistan of aiding the insurgents - a charge Pakistan denies.The neighbors have fought three wars, including two over Kashmir.http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=96091INDIA: Protesters blame media for 'improper' coverageSeparatist leader says the national media needs to be more objective whenreporting events in KashmirThe Times of IndiaSaturday, August 16, 2008By M Saleem PanditSRINAGAR --- The Jammu and Kashmir-based journalists have rubbed theprotesters the wrong way. While the Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, spearheadingthe Jammu protests, blamed the national media for not giving proper coverageto its agitation, the separatist Hurriyat Conference flayed Delhi-based TVchannels for "downplaying the grave situation in Kashmir".About a fortnight back, mobs at Lakhanpur near Jammu attacked OB vans of twonational channels, while protesters in Srinagar assaulted the Srinagarcorrespondent of Aaj Tak on Wednesday."The channels need to do some introspection and report objectively. Theycan't play up the protests in Jammu and downplay the situation in theValley," separatist leader Nayeem Ahmed Khan said. "Media should report theincidents in the right perspective."Date Posted: 8/16/2008http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=396010Protests continue in Kashmir valley as leadership divided over futureIANS     Monday 18th August, 2008Srinagar/Jammu/Tens of thousands of people were out on the streets inKashmir Valley Monday chanting secessionist slogans even though theirleaders appeared quite divided over the future direction of the movement.The threatened mass march to UN observers' office did not materialise asauthorities only allowed little groups to go there in batches.In Hindu-majority Jammu thousands of protesters courted arrest over theAmarnath land row. But the new volatile edge in the state did not translateinto any violence.In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed concern over thegrowing divide between the two regions that form the troubled state butthere was little sign of the deadlock being resolved amicably.'All political parties, all right thinking people must work together tobring the situation under control,' the prime minister told reporters.'Everybody has an obligation to contribute, all political parties... this isnot a partisan issue.'His comments did little to assuage tensions and there was no indication ofwhat the government was planning to do to calm the troubled waters.Tens of thousands supporting the cause of a 'free Kashmir' congregated inSrinagar from all over the valley Monday and marched towards the UN officeshouting pro-Pakistan slogans while security forces, asked to exercisemaximum restraint, watched on.The march to the United Military Observers' Group (UNMOG) office in uptownSrinagar was sponsored by the separatist Hurriyat Conference to seek UNSecretary General Ban Ki-moon's intervention to resolve the long-standingissue of the future of the Kashmir Valley.Leader of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Syed Ali Shah Geelani said:'Our memorandum seeks UN intervention for the permanent resolution ofKashmir issue in the wake of the economic blockade imposed on the valley.'Upping the ante, Geelani told the mammoth gathering at the Tourist ReceptionCentre, a short distance from the UN office: 'We are Pakistanis and Pakistanis us because we are tied with the country through Islam.'But the ideological clash with the moderate faction of the Hurriyat wasapparent.Taking a dig at the moderate Hurriyat leaders who shared the stage with him,Geelani said the leadership issue of the Kashmiri separatist movement was'solved today'.'Do you have faith in my leadership? I will be faithful to you till my deathand will carry everyone along,' he said, as the crowd applauded him shoutingin unison 'zaroor' (certainly).In his speech, moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called for atrilateral dialogue over Jammu and Kashmir, whose ownership is disputed byIndia and Pakistan.'We ask India to start a dialogue over Kashmir, open theSrinagar-Muzaffarabad road for trade and release all Kashmiris in Indianjails,' he said.Pro-independence leader Yasin Malik said that Kashmiris want 'completefreedom' -- implying from both India and Pakistan.The two factions of the Hurriyat Conference had been at loggerheads tillrecently but got united when the Kashmir Valley saw protests against thetransfer of government land to the Amarnath shrine management two monthsago.The state government cancelled the order -- provoking protests in Jammuregion and triggering an unprecedented communal divide in the state.On Monday, the 24th day of the shutdown in Jammu, many thousands came out tocourt arrest but police said they did not have vehicles to accommodate them.'Hum matwale kahan chale, jail jail chale!' (Where are we heading, to jail,to jail!) they shouted along with chants of 'Bam Bam Bhole' for Lord Shiva,to whom the Amarnath shrine is dedicated to.What appeared to be crowd of few hundreds first swelled and the streets soonfilled up.In Udhampur, the garrison town on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, 66 km north ofJammu, the police lobbed teargas shells to disperse a crowd of more than15,000.Monday's demonstrations by the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti (SASS), theconglomerate of various groups coordinating the agitation, would be followedby women courting arrest on Tuesday and children on Wednesday, saidBrigadier Suchet Singh, a Samiti leader.'We have no count of how many came to court arrest. It was a never endingprotest it seemed,' said a police official while the SASS put the figure at300,000 people.The charged mob ransacked the Jammu office of NDTV after the TV news channelwas labelled partisan by the SASS. The mob also searched for the channelstaff who had to run for their lives, an employee said.'It was quite scary,' one of the NDTV staffers, not wishing to beidentified, told IANS.http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080062748Protestors cane-charged in KashmirPress Trust of IndiaSunday, August 24, 2008, (Srinagar)Security forces lobbed tear gas shells and cane-charged protesters whodefied curfew orders and took to streets in Beerwah town of Budgam districton Sunday morning.Men, women and children trooped onto streets and hurled stones at personnelforcing them to resort to cane-charging. However, agitators refused todisperse prompting security forces to lob tear gas shells, sources said.Agitated over the imposition of indefinite curfew in all the ten districtsof the Valley since 4am ahead of separatists rally to Lal Chowk on Monday,people at several places defied curfew.Groups of people at Khanyar, Nowhatta, Gojwara, Jamia Masjid in interiorcity and in uptown areas including Maisuma, Nowgam, Natipora, Rambaghassembled in mosques and raised slogans against the Central and stategovernments.Meanwhile, the Coordination Committee of Separatists said Monday's march toLal Chowk would take place as planned. "Our programme 'Lal Chowk Chalo' onMonday stands", Committee spokesman Masrat Alam said.The Committee has called upon people to stage peaceful demonstrations in theevening.Alam and two other leaders including Shabir Ahmed Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khanevaded arrest as they were not present at their houses when security forcesconducted raids.Holding that the curfew was imposed as a precautionary measure, a governmentspokesman said steps were taken as some of the leaders face threat from"vested interests."http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200808250503DOWJONESDJONLINE000078_univ.xmlOne Killed As Police Open Fire On Kashmir Protesters - Police8-25-08 5:03 AMEDTSRINAGAR, India (AFP)--One man was shot dead Monday when Indian securityforces opened fire to break up a march by hundreds of independenceprotesters in Muslim-majority Kashmir, police said.Two others were critically wounded in the police firing that erupted ashundreds of people defied a curfew to try to reach a separatist rally slatedfor later in the day in Kashmir's main city Srinagar, police said."Security forces had to open fire when protesters attacked them with stonesand sticks," police officer Imtiaz Ahmed said.The death of the protester on the outskirts of Srinagar came as more 40people were injured Monday across the Kashmir valley in clashes betweensecurity forces and demonstrators, police said.Indian authorities imposed a curfew on the region Sunday in a bid to calmtensions in the scenic region that has been shaken by massive separatistdemonstrations in recent weeks.The demonstrators were planning a protest in a square in Srinagar where in1948 India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmiris theright to self-determination through a referendum - a pledge still to befulfilled.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/JK_Curfew_defied_protesters_lathi-charged/rssarticleshow/3398405.cmsKashmir Valley tense ahead of Hurriyat rally25 Aug 2008, 0331 hrs IST,TNNCRPF troops question a man during curfew in Srinagar. (AFP Photo)More PicturesSRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: The government has decided to clamp down on massmobilisation by separatists in the Kashmir Valley with the administrationimposing curfew in the entire region ahead of Hurriyat's 'Lal Chowk chalo'call for Monday and launching a manhunt against the show managers.The crackdown -- with house arrests of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz UmerFarooq and Yasin Malik and arrests of second-rung leaders -- was accompaniedby action on all fronts seen as hostile by the establishment, in whatsignals that the Centre may have drawn the red line against the continuingHurriyat protests.While the Army has been put on standby, a ban has also been slapped on local'unregistered' news channels identified by the administration as 'agentsprovocateur' in the raging Valley fire.The decision to flag down the separatists' call to gather in the heart ofSrinagar -- which officials explained was necessary as there was threat tolives of separatist leaders -- could test the administration as prevailingsentiments on the ground and a defiant Hurriyat leadership may result inpeople trying to defy curfew, leading to clashes with security forces. Over30 people have died till now in police firing.Sunday marked an ominous setting for an overstretched administration. Whilethe divisional commissioner of Kashmir Masood Samoon said, "Curfew will notbe lifted for 2-3 days and no one will be allowed to march towards Lal Chowkon Monday", an unfazed Mirwaiz warned, "People will defy the curfew to jointhe sit-in at Lal Chowk."The crackdown marks a sharp change in the "hands-off policy" adopted by thegovernor-ruled state where separatists, riding the crest of theirmobilisation in the wake of Amarnath land transfer controversy, were given afree run to "spend their anger".The policy saw the Hurriyat factions, working in close coordination,organise massive gatherings in Pampore, Srinagar-based UN office and Idgah,besides general calls for strike every now and then. It exposed theCongress-led government to attacks from BJP which said the Centre wasindulging the separatists at the cost of security.But now, indications from North Block and security agencies are that itcould be an end to the shows of strength and uncontested agitations in theValley, as the "threshold of tolerance" had been breached.It could be a prelude to similar action in Jammu where, besides theagitation on Amarnath land issue, there is strong intelligence that"outsiders" were moving in to fish in troubled waters. It is felt that the"outsiders" would try to scuttle a compromise between the administration andthe agitators for political or vested reasons.Action in Jammu -- where talks have started between agitating SangharshSamiti and governor's panel, with a likely solution being temporary transferof land during the yatra period -- would also look to balance the perceptionin Kashmir that the government was lenient in its treatment of pro-landtransfer agitators.http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1426759.php/3_killed_70_injured_as_protestors_defy_curfew_in_Kashmir__1st_Lead_3 killed, 70 injured as protestors defy curfew in Kashmir (1st Lead)South Asia NewsAug 25, 2008, 10:46 GMTvote nowBuzz up!Srinagar, Kashmir - Three people were killed and 70 injured when crowds ledby Muslim separatist activists defied a curfew and clashed with securityforces in India-administered Kashmir on Monday, officials said.Police earlier arrested three prominent separatist leaders, Syed Ali ShahGeelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik, to foil a major anti-Indiarally called by them in state capital's Srinagar Lal Chowk area.Violence erupted in various areas of Srinagar as activists violated curfeworders and tried to march to Lal Chowk, in the latest protest action byseparatists demanding an end to Indian rule.A separatist demonstrator was killed and 12 injured when Indian securityforces opened fire to contain stone-pelting protestors in the Narbal area onthe outskirts of Srinagar.Protests were reported from other areas in Srinagar as local people andactivists tried to march toward the Lal Chowk area shouting pro-freedomslogans, violating the curfew.'Two protestors including a middle-aged woman, were killed in firing inviolence in the Pulwama and Handwara areas,' an administration officialsaid, requesting anonymity.Police sources said at least 70 people, including some policemen, wereinjured in similar clashes in other areas in the Muslim-dominated KashmirValley.Meanwhile, troops enforced the curfew in Srinagar as authorities mountedunprecedented security arrangements to thwart the planned march.The Lal Chowk area resembled a fortress as it came under heavy securitycover, with hundreds of police deployed in the area to break up anyprotests.In all, four people have been killed and more than 100 injured since acurfew was imposed in all 10 districts in the valley Sunday to thwart themarch by separatists.Daily life in the region has been disrupted by the strike by theseparatists, with shops, banks, schools and most government offices closed.The unrest, the most widespread in the region in over a decade, has seenclashes between protestors and security forces in the Kashmir valley thatled to the deaths of 23 people over the past two weeks.The protests, triggered by a row over the allocation of government land to aHindu cave shrine called Amarnath, have taken an anti-Indian turn in theKashmir Valley and led to a deep communal division in the Jammu region inthe south, which has a large Hindu population.While the Hindu groups in Jammu region have been holding protests to demandland be given to the Hindu shrine, the Muslims in the north have beenprotesting against it.The disputed Kashmir region is divided into two parts - one administered byIndia and the other by Pakistan. The South Asian neighbours have fought twoof their three wars over Kashmir.While a section of Kashmiri separatists wants to join Pakistan, anotherwants independence for India-administered Kashmir.'We will fight for self-determination for the region. It is no longer amatter of land for the Amarnath cave shrine,' Shabbir Shah, a prominentseparatist leader who has gone underground to evade arrest, told theDeutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.'The agitation will gather momentum and people will take to the streets inlarge numbers whenever the curfew is lifted,' he added.http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/I-will-quit-LS-if-protesters-brutalized-Omar/349837/I will quit LS if protesters brutalized: OmarPosted online: Sunday , August 17, 2008 at 05:26:53Srinagar, August 17: Threatening to quit Parliament if excessive force wasused against protesters in Kashmir, NC chief Omar Abdullah said a sustaineddialogue between the coordination committee of various separatist groups andShri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti could resolve the shrine land row."If police continue to use excessive force, then it will be difficult forpeople like me to continue in Parliament," the National Conference leadersaid."Talks between the coordination committee and the Sangarsh Samiti should bea sustained one to find an acceptable solution to the crisis generated bythe land transfer row," he told reporters.http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/18/stories/2008081858470300.htmKarnataka - BangaloreProtest against J&K violenceStaff Reporter- Photo: K. Murali KumarConcern: Kashmiris of Bangalore staging a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhistatue on Sunday.BANGALORE: Several Kashmiris on Sunday protested against the continuingviolence in Jammu and Kashmir.The protesters, including those selling garments, and students, expressedconcern over the hardships caused to people there by the continuingviolence.They said the protests had made it hard for them to get money from or sendmoney back home. They said that people there were finding it difficult toget even medical help.http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-7771.htmlUma Bharati stages protest outside PM residence, heldNew Delhi, Aug 6: Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader Uma Bharati was Wednesdaytaken into police custody when she tried to stage a protest outside theprime minister's official residence here.She was upset after her party was not invited at an all-party meeting at theprime minister's residence to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,which has been simmering for the past 36 days over the cancellation of landtransfer to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharati reached the 7 Race CourseRoad house, but was apparently denied entry by security personnel. She thenattempted a sit-in outside the prime minister's residence and was taken tothe Tughlaq Road police station.Delhi Police officials were tight-lipped whether she was taken intopreventive custody or if she was arrested.Uma Bharati demanded that the central government immediately recall Jammuand Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra and the disputed land be transferred to theshrine board.On Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir police had in Jammu taken Uma Bharati andSadhvi Ritambhara into preventive custody amid renewed violence over theAmarnath land row.Jammu's Hindu population is protesting the revocation of a land transferorder that gave about 40 hectares of forest land in north Kashmir to theshrine board, which manages the Himalayan cave shrine.