Kashmir anger over Iraq war

Kashmir anger over Iraq war

Jill McGivering BBC correspondent in Srinagar

People in Indian-administered Kashmir are following the war in Iraq particularly closely.

Customers like Roshan want up-to-the-minute news

Many people in this Muslim majority state angrily oppose the US-led military action.

Some see the use of force without the support of the United Nations as a dangerous precedent which might prove relevant to the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

I visited the Browsing Centre internet cafe, down a muddy side street off one of Srinagar's bustling main roads, noisy with auto rickshaws and jeeps.

The entrance is up a series of rickety wooden steps, down dark littered corridors.

Inside it is smart and modern with two rows of computers squeezed into tiny wooden cubicles with split saloon doors.

Looking for news

The owner, 24-year-old Shahnawaz Ahmed, started his Internet cafe three years ago.

Nowadays, he says, many people come looking for news of the war in Iraq.

There have been some heavily policed anti-war protests

"One of my friends, he comes early in the morning at 10 o'clock every day to see, most probably, Al-Jazeera network," he said.

"This time everyone wants to use Al Jazeera but the connection doesn't work very well. Then they turn to CNN and BBC."

One of the customers browsing for news of Iraq was Roshan Khan, a 29-year-old studying for her Master of Philosophy in zoology.

She was so angry about the war, her hands started shaking with emotion as she told me why. "We condemn the war," she said. "It's not a solution.

"They say Saddam is a brutal dictator but what is Bush doing? He's even worse. He's attacking ordinary people there. What they have done to him?"

I asked her if she saw a direct link between events in Iraq and the Kashmir dispute.

"It may affect Kashmiris," she said.

"Maybe tomorrow they'll attack us too. They label us as terrorists or people who've supported terrorism so maybe tomorrow Bush will attack us too."

'Innocents'

Another customer in the internet cafe, 26-year-old Showkat Ali, accused President Bush of behaving like a terrorist himself.

Shahnawaz says his cafe helps keep people informed

"He should analyse what he's is doing. It's like terrorism. People are killing innocent children and women," he told me.

"As a human being, I feel sad. I don't want to kill anybody. Why is he behaving like that?"

Since the military action began, the Kashmir Valley has seen some of India's most passionate and well-attended anti-war demonstrations.

The usual Kashmiri separatist slogans of "Freedom!" are now being supplemented by new rallying cries such as "Down with American policy!" and "This is a war against Islam - Iraq is just an excuse!"

Politicians cautious

In a way, it's ironic that President Saddam Hussain has found such vocal support here.

He has always been a staunch ally of the central government in Delhi and never expressed support for the Kashmiri separatist cause.

Despite the strength of feeling on the street, most separatist leaders here have been cautious about condemning the war in public.

One who has spoken out is Omar Farooq of the separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

He has found unusual common ground with leaders of the main party in the federal coalition, the BJP, in accusing Washington of double standards.

He says the coalition action against Iraq encourages everyone else to think they too should have the right to use force to settle their own disputes - including Kashmir.

"We used to look towards countries like America and Britain who used to be pioneers of human rights, telling the whole world that issues should be resolved through dialogue and not through force," he said.

"Now that moral authority to prevent violence has been lost. That could prove dangerous next time there are tensions between India and Pakistan.

"We know it's not going to be that easy for any government in India to do the same thing as the US did in Iraq - but definitely tensions are mounting."

Disquiet

US Secretary of State Colin Powell recently announced that, after Iraq, Washington's attention will turn to Kashmir.

His remark annoyed politicians in Delhi who have always been opposed to any third-party intervention.

The prospect of being next on Washington's list has also sparked disquiet here.

American involvement used to be welcomed by many in the Kashmir Valley as part of hopes for a political solution.

But that was before Iraq.