In a letter to the chief of police of the Indian province Jammu-e-Kashmir, Ashok Suri, RSF protested the attack on Surinder Oberoi, a journalist with Agence France-Presse (AFP) and RSF correspondent, by a police officer in Kashmir. The organisation expressed concern that no serious investigation was conducted and that no sanctions were taken against the officer responsible for this attack. RSF asked to be kept informed of progress in the inquiry. "If this attack on a journalist who is well known for his professional integrity is not punished, the entire profession could feel threatened by some elements of the security forces in Kashmir," noted RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.
According to information collected by RSF, on 19 January 2001, Oberoi, a journalist in the Jammu-e-Kashmir province (north-western India), was beaten and issued a death threat by a police officer in a Srinagar street. The journalist went to a street near his office where a bomb had exploded in order to help injured people and cover the event. A few minutes later, policemen arrived on the spot and asked the people to leave, fearing a second blast. G. M. Dar, an officer with the police special forces (Task Force) leading the security forces, ordered journalists to "go away." He attacked Oberoi, insulting him and pointing his AK 47 rifle at him before beating him several times. Following the intervention of others journalists, the police officer stopped the assault. A few minutes later, the AFP correspondent complained to a senior officer about the attack. His attitude angered officer Dar who, along with other policemen, beat the journalist again with rifles. According to the reporter, the officer told him: "This is the last normal day in your life." Witnesses were present during the attack and pictures of the incident were published in local newspapers. Oberoi lodged a complaint with the Kashmir police chief, who promised an inquiry and sanctions against the authors of the attack would follow.
In this Himalayan province claimed by India and Pakistan, several separatist groups have been waging a war against India for several years in which more than 50,000 people have died. Journalists covering the conflict are often caught in the crossfire. They are the targets of separatist bombs and threats. In August 2000, a car bomb in the streets of Srinagar killed Pradeep Bhatia, a photographer and reporter with the "Hindustan Times" (see IFEX alert of 11 August 2000). Police attributed the attack to the Lashkar-e-Taiba group. Six activists were arrested and accused of leading the attack that killed eleven people. According to the testimony of a journalist from local newspaper "Greater Kashmir", the new methods of armed groups, which include the use of remote-controlled landmines and bombs and grenade attacks, put the media professionals who cover the daily assaults in the province in great danger. Fearing reprisals, the newspaper, like the majority of publications in the Valley, systematically publishes separatist organisations' press releases. "The local publications never write about conflicts between armed movements. This is too sensitive a subject. Similarly, we report on human rights abuses, but we do not identify the government agency involved. The generic term we use instead is 'the security forces'", the journalist added. Separatist groups also attack the buildings which house state-owned media, which are accused of relaying government propaganda. In March and April, the buildings housing Radio Kashmir, the local branch of government All India Radio, and public television were hit by landmines and grenade attacks.
The security forces are regularly accused of press freedom violations. In April 1998, four journalists were badly beaten up by members of the security forces in Soura. Oberoi has previously been assaulted by policemen.
The local press often denounce the violent acts committed by Indian security forces. To counter this coverage of the conflict, judged subjective, the armed forces recently decided to launch a newspaper in Urdu (the language spoken in Kashmir). According to an officer in charge of this newspaper project, "separatists walk into newspaper offices threatening the editors to force them to publish their statements. We cannot do that."
Ten journalists have been killed in Kashmir since the beginning of the uprising in 1989. Most of these crimes remain unpunished.
