[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 121 (Monday, August 22, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       SENATE RESOLUTION 251--RELATING TO THE CONFLICT IN KASHMIR

  Mr. WALLOP submitted the following resolution; which was read and 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 251

       Whereas U.S. policy calls for a solution to the conflict 
     through negotiations between India and Pakistan taking into 
     consideration the wishes of the people of Kashmir and further 
     states that it is up to the people of Kashmir to determine 
     who best represents their interest;
       Whereas India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the 
     Kashmir conflict, and tensions in the region continue to 
     escalate;
       Whereas India and Pakistan possess the capability to 
     assemble and deliver nuclear weapons;
       Whereas reports of significant human rights abuses continue 
     in Kashmir particularly as a result of the excessive and 
     unrestrained force used by the Indian Security Forces against 
     the civilian population;
       Whereas the Muslim population of Kashmir has organized the 
     All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference an umbrella 
     organization of 34 political parties to engage in 
     negotiations with the Indian and Pakistani authorities 
     without precondition;
       Whereas the Hurriyat believes that all representatives of 
     the Kashmiri people should be represented in any dialogue 
     including: The Kashmiri Pandits, the Dogra, the leadership of 
     Azad Kashmir, the Ladakhis and all other legitimate 
     representatives of the people;
       Whereas the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in 
     January, 1994 brought together representatives from the 
     central participants to the conflict--India, Pakistan and 
     Kashmir--to engage in a dialogue for peace;
       Whereas the USIP concluded that, ``It is essential that 
     people of Jammu and Kashmir be central participants in this 
     political process, along with the governments and citizens of 
     India and Pakistan.'' The report further states that the 
     formation of the Hurriyat could potentially facilitate 
     possible negotiations.
       Resolved, that it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States condemns the use of coercive force 
     being employed by Indian military and paramilitary forces 
     against civilians in Kashmir and similarly denounces any acts 
     of violence by the Kashmiri militants;
       (2) the United States urges the government of India to take 
     specific steps to respond to human rights concerns including: 
     Releasing political prisoners; opening Kashmir to 
     international human rights groups and electronic media; 
     permitting the International Red Cross to visit prisons and 
     detention centers; prosecuting security personnel involved in 
     wanton violence against the civilian population;
       (3) the United States reiterates the need for all parties 
     to the dispute--the governments of India and Pakistan as well 
     as the legitimate representatives of Kashmir--to enter into 
     negotiations and resolve the conflict peacefully;
       (4) the United States Senate urges the Administration to 
     work with the United Nations and the international community 
     to facilitate a peaceful negotiation for the final settlement 
     of the Kashmir crisis.

 Mr. WALLOP. Mr. President, I rise to submit this resolution 
which seeks to encourage a negotiated settlement to the conflict in 
Kashmir through dialog between all parties to the conflict--India, 
Pakistan, and the people of Kashmir. It is my hope that through Senate 
action the United States will take a leadership role in dealing with 
this conflict which has the potential to evolve into a nuclear 
confrontation.
  In 1948 and again in 1949, the United Nations passed two resolutions 
in which the Kashmir people were promised the right to determine their 
own future through a free and impartial plebiscite. These resolutions 
were never implemented. To this day the United Nations and the United 
States recognize that Kashmir is a disputed territory whose final 
status has yet to be determined.
  Kashmir has already been the cause of two wars between India and 
Pakistan. As a result of this dispute, the two nations have accumulated 
massive weaponry, including a sophisticated nuclear arsenal, to stare 
each other down along a U.N.-demarcated cease-fire line.
  Mr. President, it is the people of Kashmir who suffer. Their calls 
for self-determination have been brutally suppressed by India's border 
security forces. These human rights abuses have been well documented by 
international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch 
and Amnesty International.
  There are no democratic freedoms in Kashmir. The political process 
has been suspended. Court decisions are overruled in the name of state 
security. Under India's Public Safety Act, the border security forces 
have the ability to act at will without fear of retribution or justice. 
This has led to a record number of Kashmiris who have been tortured, 
and raped, or who die in custody. In the past year, Amnesty 
International has dedicated two special reports detailing these abuses.
  Mr. President, every day, a larger segment of the Kashmiri population 
becomes alienated. Every day, more Kashmiri youths turn to violence. 
And every day, those who advocate a peaceful negotiated settlement lose 
critical support.
  Mr. President, serious talks between the involved parties must be 
initiated.
  The Moslem population of Kashmir has organized an umbrella 
organization consisting of 33 political parties. It is called the All 
Parties [Hurriyat] Freedom Conference. It was formed in January 1993 to 
pursue a peaceful dialog with the Indian Government in order to find a 
resolution to this crisis.
  The Government's response to this development has been tragic. They 
have refused all dialog with the organization and have beaten and 
imprisoned its leaders.
  Today, messengers Abdul Gani Lone, Syed Ali Geelani, and Shabir Shah, 
all moderate leaders of the Hurriyat, are in jail. Lone and Geelani are 
both in their sixties and in poor health. These men have been 
identified as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. Mr. 
President, I would like to commend my colleagues, Senator Helms and 
Senator Kennedy, for drawing attention to their plight and calling for 
their immediate release.
  Mr. President, the United Nations can no longer be silent on this 
issue. If not for the sake of the people of Kashmir, then for the sake 
of the stability of South Asia and the United States interest in 
avoiding a further nuclear buildup on the subcontinent.
  Mr. President, as India seeks closer economic relations with the 
United States, we have not only the opportunity but the obligation to 
call on India to stop the abuses of the security forces in Kashmir and 
to encourage a dialog among all parties to the dispute.
  The status quo that the United States has established holds grave 
consequences for the Kashmiri people. Left unattended, the tensions 
will only increase, placing the subcontinent and, indeed the world, in 
a dangerous position.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution so that 2 or 3 
years down the road, we are not faced with a crisis whose cost in human 
and material resources would be enormous.

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