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Amnesty International on Thursday urged Indian authorities to promptly and independently investigate the use of live fire during protests in Leh, Ladakh, after at least four people were reported killed and more than 50 were injured.
Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India’s board, called for de-escalation and respect for the right to peaceful protest, stating: “Any use of firearms in the context of an assembly must be an absolute last resort … The indiscriminate use of firearms against protesters is always unlawful.”
Local officials and witnesses said the clashes erupted as demonstrators pressed long-standing demands for statehood and constitutional protections for land and jobs. Police said they responded after parts of the crowd turned violent, with vehicles and a ruling party office set ablaze, and claimed officers fired in self-defence. Authorities imposed a curfew in parts of Leh and temporarily restricted mobile internet services.
The protests follow years of mobilization by Ladakhi groups seeking statehood and inclusion under India’s Sixth Schedule, which offers limited self-governance to tribal areas. Organizers say federal control since 2019 has sidelined local decision-making and left the region’s fragile ecosystem and livelihoods exposed to outside pressures. Civic platforms, including the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, have led marches, sit-ins, and hunger strikes. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent face of the movement, ended a 14-day fast after this week’s violence and was later detained by police.
Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory on October 31, 2019, when the former state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized. While many in Leh initially welcomed separate administration, concerns have grown over land safeguards, demographic change, and limited local autonomy. The region’s strategic location borders both Pakistan and China, along with accelerating glacial melt and extreme weather, has added urgency to calls for stronger local say over development and environmental policy.
Amnesty International said any inquiry should determine why less-lethal crowd-management options were not exhausted before live rounds were used, and whether firing complied with necessity and proportionality standards.
Ladakh representatives and the central government are expected to meet for further talks in early October.
The post India urged to investigate lethal force against Leh demonstrators appeared first on JURIST - News.
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Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India’s board, called for de-escalation and respect for the right to peaceful protest, stating: “Any use of firearms in the context of an assembly must be an absolute last resort … The indiscriminate use of firearms against protesters is always unlawful.”
Local officials and witnesses said the clashes erupted as demonstrators pressed long-standing demands for statehood and constitutional protections for land and jobs. Police said they responded after parts of the crowd turned violent, with vehicles and a ruling party office set ablaze, and claimed officers fired in self-defence. Authorities imposed a curfew in parts of Leh and temporarily restricted mobile internet services.
The protests follow years of mobilization by Ladakhi groups seeking statehood and inclusion under India’s Sixth Schedule, which offers limited self-governance to tribal areas. Organizers say federal control since 2019 has sidelined local decision-making and left the region’s fragile ecosystem and livelihoods exposed to outside pressures. Civic platforms, including the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, have led marches, sit-ins, and hunger strikes. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent face of the movement, ended a 14-day fast after this week’s violence and was later detained by police.
Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory on October 31, 2019, when the former state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized. While many in Leh initially welcomed separate administration, concerns have grown over land safeguards, demographic change, and limited local autonomy. The region’s strategic location borders both Pakistan and China, along with accelerating glacial melt and extreme weather, has added urgency to calls for stronger local say over development and environmental policy.
Amnesty International said any inquiry should determine why less-lethal crowd-management options were not exhausted before live rounds were used, and whether firing complied with necessity and proportionality standards.
Ladakh representatives and the central government are expected to meet for further talks in early October.
The post India urged to investigate lethal force against Leh demonstrators appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.