Kashmir Insurgency

Thousands mourn freedom fighters killed in Kashmir
* Strike in Srinagar pays tribute to martyrs
Daily Times, May 22, 2007

SRINAGAR: Thousands of people thronged a graveyard in Indian Kashmir on Monday to pay tribute to two slain separatist leaders as a strike called to mark the event paralysed the region.

The strike was sponsored by the moderate wing of the region’s separatist alliance, the Hurriyat Conference, to honour Maulvi Mohammed Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone who were killed on the same day 12 years apart. “We swear by these martyrs, the struggle will be taken to its logical conclusion,” Farooq’s son Umar said as supporters at ‘Martyr’s Graveyard’ in Srinagar where the two leaders were buried cried, “We want freedom.”

Farooq, chief priest at Kashmir’s main mosque, was killed by gunmen at his Srinagar home on May 21, 1990. His son, Umar, 35, now is chief priest and a popular moderate separatist leader in Indian Kashmir.

Lone was gunned down in 2002 also on May 21 at a ceremony for Farooq’s death at Martyr’s Graveyard where many separatist politicians, rebels and civilians who died in insurgency-related violence are buried. Militants and Indian security forces seeking to suppress the insurgency that has claimed at least 42,000 lives traded blame for the deaths.

Monday’s strike closed most shops, businesses, schools and banks in Srinagar, while traffic on the normally busy streets of the state summer capital was scant. Thousands of separatist supporters gathered at the graveyard to offer prayers and listen to speeches by Umar and other leaders, filing past police metal detectors set up to prevent gunmen from entering the site.

Umar has been the target of several assassination attempts that authorities believe were staged by those opposed to his attempts to bring peace to the region. In his speech, Umar renewed his support for President Pervez Musharraf’s proposal to demilitarise the Himalayan region as many in the graveyard chanted pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and pro-Islamic slogans.

New Delhi has stationed an estimated half a million troops and paramilitary soldiers in Kashmir. With violence down in Indian Kashmir thanks to a peace process between the South Asian rivals, Pakistan has linked the region’s demilitarisation to lasting peace, with Musharraf calling for demilitarisation, softer Kashmir borders and self-rule for Kashmiris. “We appreciate President Musharaff’s formula. It can go a long way in resolving the dispute (over Kashmir),” said Umar.

New Delhi has said it is considering reducing the army’s massive presence as a gesture towards Indian Kashmir’s people. afp

Also See: India lacks political will to resolve Kashmir issue: Hurriyat chairman
The Hindu, May 22, 2007