HVK Archives: Army showed utmost restraint in Kashmir
Army showed utmost restraint in Kashmir - The Hindu
UNI
()
July 13, 1998
Title: Army showed utmost restraint in Kashmir
Author: UNI
Publication: The Hindu
Date: July 13, 1998
A top Army officer has accused the foreign media of spreading
canards regarding security excesses in the Kashmir Valley and
said the Army has exercised utmost restraint in dealing with
militancy. The Army has used minimum force as it has been trained
to respect human rights, Lt. Gen (retd) S. S. Grewal, who has
seen action in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-east, said at a
workshop on "terrorism and humanitarian law" organised by the
Peace and Human Rights Bureau, here.
The other important dignitaries who spoke on the occasion
included the former Chief justice of India and former National
Human Rights Commission Chairman, Mr. Ranganath Mishra, legal
adviser to the Red Cross, Mr. Claudio Santorium and director of
the bureau, Mr. R. C. Hingorani.
Lt. Gen. Grewal said the record of the Indian Army was
outstanding given the fact that it had to operate under hostile
and difficult conditions, especially when the terrorists had
acquired the latest weaponry and communication facilities.
In comparison to the other armies operating in similar
situations, the record of the Indian Army was excellent, he said.
He said terrorists were not fighting for a cause but were
mercenaries. They were puppets in the hands of anti-national and
international vested interests. He said 5 0 per cent of the
economics of the developed nations depended on army exports.
Narrating his personal experience in the trouble-tom States. Lt.
Gen. Grewal said wherever people had stood up against terrorists,
the latter lost ground very fast.
He said stories of human rights violations were highly
exaggerated and this was part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to
spread disinformaton. On the other hand the Army suffered high
casualties as the terrorists possessed state-of-the-art
technology. A close look at the terrorist movement in various
parts of the country showed that it was directed at putting a
stop to the development and progress of the nation. This leads to
misdirection of funds away from productive uses, he added. Mr.
Mishra desired that human rights as enshrined in the Constitution
should be translated into reality so as to help in building civil
society. He however, said there had been greater awareness of
political, civil and economic rights during the past few years.
Mr. Hingorani said the Indian Army had done a wonderful job but
had been maligned because of some aberrations. He said in a
democratic society there should be no place for terrorist
activity because all issues could be solved through negotiations
across the table.
The human rights expert said terrorists should be prosecuted for
the crimes they have committed, but should not be denied the
right for a fair trial with a lawyer of choice and cross-
examinations of witnesses.
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