Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: IND31365 Country: India Date: 2 March 2007 Keywords: India – Jammu & Kashmir – Sikhs –Sikh Student Federation – Lashkar-e-Taiba – Security forces This response was prepared by the Country Research Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Questions 1. Are the authorities targeting Sikh Student Federation members or Sikhs generally in Jammu? 2. Are Lashkar-e-Taiba targeting Sikh Student Federation or Sikhs generally in Jammu? 3. Can the authorities adequately protect Sikhs in Kashmir, or in Jammu? 4. Has there been any relevant activity reported in Badila? 5. Would it be correct to say that Sikhs involved with the Sikh Student Federation could freely live elsewhere in India as Indian nationals from Jammu? RESPONSE 1. Are the authorities targeting Sikh Student Federation members or Sikhs generally in Jammu? There were no reports in the available information regarding the authorities targeting Sikh Student Federation members in Jammu and Kashmir. The available information also does not suggest that Sikhs generally are a specific target of the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir, although there have been clashes between Sikhs and security forces. However, according to a number of government reports and human rights groups, there have been ongoing human rights abuses against civilians generally, by both security forces and militant groups. Members of the security forces continued to enjoy impunity for human rights violations. Clashes between Sikhs and security forces The US Department of State reported that there had been violent clashes between Sikhs and police in 2001 as a result of perceived inaction over targeted killings of Sikhs. The report states: Early in 2001, eight Sikhs were killed, allegedly by an obscure militant group. On February 3, 2001, two gunmen killed six Sikhs and wounded at least four others in Srinagar…The Government sent a four-member team to Kashmir to investigate the killings; however, no one had been charged, and there was still no reported progress in the investigation of the killings as of the end of the period covered by this report. Sikhs protested the killings, which led to violent clashes with police (US Department of State 2003, International Religious Freedom Report for 2003 – India, 18 December, Section III – Attachment 1). The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) report on human rights in India for 2006 states that security personnel continued to use “disproportionate force to control public protests.” An article dated 27 May 2001 in the Daily Excelsior reported that “[p]olice lobbed tear gas shells and used batons [in Srinigar] today to disperse stone-pelting demonstrators protesting the alleged ‘secret mission of police’ to kill a Sikh family in the area.” Various Kashmir separatist groups issued statements accusing the State Government of “using its forces to kill a Sikh family” and “sabotage” peace efforts in Jammu and Kashmir. The All India Sikh Student Federation demanded an investigation into the incident. An article dated 6 February 2001 details violent statewide clashes between protesting Sikhs and security forces, after six Sikhs were killed by unidentified gunmen. The clashes resulted in the death of one of the Sikh protesters when police fired into the crowd. Curfew restrictions were placed on a number of cities, and highways were closed (Asian Centre for Human Rights 2007, ‘India: Human Rights Report 2006’, ACHR website, January – Attachment 2; ‘People protest against Police bid to ‘kill’ Sikh family’ 2001, Daily Excelsior, 28 May http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/01may28/news.htm#4 – Accessed 19 February 2007 – Attachment 3; ‘Cremation of youth passes off peacefully’ 2001, The Tribune, 7 February http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010207/main1.htm – Accessed 19 February 2007 – Attachment 4). There were no recent reports in the available information of clashes between the Sikh community and security forces. However, human rights violations and the killing of civilians by security forces during counterinsurgency operations has continued. According to the latest US Department of State report on human rights in India: During the year the killing of civilians continued in the course of counterinsurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Human rights activists stated that accurate numbers were not available due to limited access to the region, but ACHR alleged that 733 civilians were killed in 2004. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Disturbed Areas Act remained in effect in Jammu and Kashmir…The Disturbed Areas Act gives police extraordinary powers of arrest and detention, and the AFSPA provides search and arrest powers without warrants…Human rights groups alleged that security forces operated with virtual impunity in areas under the act. …Security forces committed thousands of serious human rights violations over the course of the insurgency, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture (US Department of State 2006, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005 – India, 8 March, Section 1 – Attachment 5). The use of civilians as “human shields” by the security forces is detailed in reports by the US Department of State and the Asian Centre for Human Rights (US Department of State 2006, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005 – India, 8 March – Attachment 5; Asian Centre for Human Rights 2007, ‘India: Human Rights Report 2006’, ACHR website, January – Attachment 2). A 2006 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report titled “Everyone lives in fear” – Patterns of impunity in Jammu and Kashmir details numerous human rights violations committed by security forces – police, army and paramilitary – in the state (Human Rights Watch 2006, “Everyone lives in fear” – Patterns of impunity in Jammu and Kashmir, September – Attachment 6). The Amnesty International 2006 report on India states that in Jammu and Kashmir: Civilians were repeatedly targeted by state agencies and armed groups. • In July, four juveniles aged between 11 and 15 were shot dead by paramilitary Rashtriya Rifles in Kupwara district. Local people said that the boys had participated in a marriage party and gone for a stroll but ran away when ordered to stop. They said that the army had been informed of possible movements of people attending the party late at night (Amnesty International 2006, Amnesty International Annual Report 2006 – India – Attachment 7. The 2006 Freedom House report on India-administered Kashmir states that: In a continuing cycle of violence, several thousand militants, security force personnel, and civilians are killed each year. Approximately 500,000 Indian security forces based in Kashmir, including soldiers, federal paramilitary troops, and the police, carry out arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, “disappearances,” and custodial killings of suspected militants and alleged civilian sympathizers. From 3,000 to 8,000 people are estimated to have disappeared during the course of the insurgency. As part of the counterinsurgency effort, the government has organized and armed pro-government militias composed of former militants. Members of these groups act with impunity and have reportedly carried out a wide range of human rights abuses against pro-Pakistani militants, as well as civilians. Local activists report that human rights violations continue to occur at levels similar to those of previous years (Freedom House 2006, Freedom in the World – Kashmir [India] (2006) – Attachment 8). Background Information The following includes information on Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Sikh Student Federation (SSF), and a brief background on the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir The available information indicates that Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir experience difficulties in regards to employment, education and government representation, as well as access to adequate security. An article dated 6 February 2006 reports that representatives of Sikh organisations were requesting measures that could fix some quota for Sikhs in government jobs along with allowing representation of Sikhs in the state legislature and in the state Cabinet. An article dated 6 February 2001, states that the “Sikh community in Jammu and Kashmir was facing immense problems of employment, education and feeling increasingly alienated” (‘Sikhs seek say in Indo-Pak talks’ 2006, Kashmir Today, 6 February http://www.kashmirtoday.com/ – Accessed 27 February 2007 – Attachment 9; ‘Give security to Sikhs: Talwandi’ 2001, The Tribune, 7 February http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010207/main1.htm – Accessed 19 February 2007 – Attachment 4). A 2002 article details complaints made by Sikh groups, including the All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF), that the State Government was discriminating against Sikhs. The article states: the participants said that Sikh youths are being discriminated against with regard to providing Government jobs, selection in professional colleges and recruitment in departments particularly in State Police. It was stated in the meeting that whenever the Government issued selection list of candidates, proper share was not given to Sikh community as a result of which youth of Sikh community are falling prey at the hands of anti-social elements. The meeting passed resolutions