|
News | Web Resources | Yellow Pages | Free Advertising | Chat
Bangladesh |
Immigration |
E-cards |
Horoscope |
Matrimonial |
|
Change Your Life! |
Kashmir's separatists urge boycott of elections |
|
News
|
|
|
January 3, 2001
SRINAGAR-- (UNB/AP) - Kashmir's main separatist alliance Tuesday urged people to boycott the first village elections in two decades in the insurgency-wracked province, calling it an "undemocratic drama" by the government. But the All Parties Hurriyat Conference said it would continue its peace attempts by sending a team of leaders to Pakistan, India's western neighbor and bitter rival, to talk to government leaders and Islamic guerrilla groups fighting the army in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The alliance has 23 member groups. The council authorized its chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat to nominate members who would travel to Pakistan. The political alliance and the rebel groups want to separate Kashmir from India, but there are different views on whether it should become an independent nation or a part of Pakistan, which also controls one-third of the Himalayan province. The state government of Jammu-Kashmir has announced elections to the village councils beginning Jan. 15, spread over 10 weeks. The voting has been postponed three times in the past four years because of the fighting between government forces and the separatist groups. Panchayats, or village councils, organize community programs and help build local infrastructure in India, a country where most of its people live in hundreds of thousands of villages. The Hurriyat, which does not accept Indian control over Kashmir, has boycotted previous state and federal elections in 1996 and 1999 respectively. "The election is aimed at sabotaging Kashmir's freedom struggle," the alliance said in a statement after a meeting of its seven-member executive committee, the highest decision making body. "On one hand, they are talking about resolving the problem, and on the other, one more undemocratic drama is being staged against the wishes of the people of Kashmir," the statement said. "We appeal to people to boycott the elections." Meanwhile, in another part of the state, riots broke out in Kishtwar town, 210 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of Jammu, the state's winter capital, after its main mosque was gutted in a fire. Muslims spilled into the streets of Kishtwar on Monday night as the wooden Jamia Mosque burned to ashes within an hour. The sight enraged the crowd, which rampaged through the streets, setting aflame two shops and the car of the area's chief administrator. Police tried to control the agitated mob using batons and tear gas, and later imposed an indefinite curfew when the situation threatened to spin out of control, an official said on customary condition of anonymity. He said the crowd was infuriated by a rumor that the mosque caught fire during a gun battle between security forces and separatist militants. District authorities said the fire was sparked off by a short circuit in the mosque's electric wiring.
|