From: Habib Yousafzai <yousafzai49@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 7:24 PM
Subject: [bangla-vision] NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENT REACTS TO KASHMIR MASS GRAVES DISCOVERY
NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENT REACTS TO KASHMIR MASS GRAVES DISCOVERY
Oslo: Norwegian parliament has raised the issue of existence of unidentified mass graves in Kashmir and vowed that Norway will continue to monitor developments as the challenges of the human rights situation in Kashmir develops.
In this regard Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Jonas Ghar Støre has called upon the state chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to create a special commission for truth and reconciliation.
Mr. Jonas Ghar Store made these remarks while responding to a parliamentary question on how can Norway follow up on this report, including within the UN system, to ensure that possible crimes against humanity that lie behind these findings are investigated and prosecuted?
Senior leader of Christian Democratic Party Mr Dagfinn Høybråten who is also the member of All Party Norwegian Parliamentary Group on Kashmir raised this question in the parliament during a session on Wednesday.
Mr. Jonas Ghar Store said that the report's findings are disheartening reading, though it is encouraging that this work has been completed and the results made available.
He said that the report exposes the difficult conditions investigators struggled with and indicates that the government (of India) is now willing to take the responsibility that we had, in general, emphasized during the parliamentary debate last year.
"We follow the developments in Kashmir through our embassy in New Delhi and in the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also take up issues related to the changing political dynamics and the human rights situation through political discussions and consultations", said the Foreign Minister.
"I will therefore take this opportunity to also refer to two other government initiatives that can provide the basis for increased optimism. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed, one year ago, an independent group of eminent persons who have the mandate to impartially consult with all parties involved in conflicts in Kashmir and propose different actions to assure lasting solutions. The group's report is expected to be available in autumn," Mr Støre said while referring to the appointment of Kashmir interlocutors by India and expected final report of the draft.
Mr Store also urged the state chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to create a special commission for truth and reconciliation. The aim of this includes finding answers to the many disappearances, to understand how conflict has affected people's life situations and living conditions, and to investigate the extent of forced migration as a result of the conflict.
Foreign Minister also vowed that Norway will continue to monitor developments as the challenges of the human rights situation in Kashmir develops, and the various initiatives and processes that Indian authorities have taken to address these, with alertness, with interest, and with a hope that the openness of the recently published report declares will prove increasingly robust.
Mr Ali Shahnawaz Khan executive director of Kashmiri-Scandinavian Council who is also the advisor of the All Party Norwegian Parliamentary Group on Kashmir has welcomed the Foreign Minister's remarks for taking serious note on existence of unidentified mass graves in Kashmir.
It is important to note that the All Party Norwegian Parliamentary Group on Kashmir has been actively engaged in monitoring the situation in disputed Kashmir for about a decade. The group was first formed in 2000, Mr Lars Rise a senior leader of the Christen Democratic Party and Mr Knut Arild Hareide, the Chairman of the Christen Democratic Party is currently its head.
Palash Biswas
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