SRINAGAR: The preparatory meeting between Ladakh leaders and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials in New Delhi, intended to set the stage for the key talks on 6 October, has been rescheduled for 29 September following the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wanghuck by police on Friday.
Leh Apex Body (LAB) co-chairman Chering Dorjay told TNIE that the preparatory talks between the MHA and a seven-member delegation of Ladakh leaders, including three each from LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and the Member of Parliament from Ladakh, which were originally scheduled for 27 September (Saturday) in New Delhi, have now been postponed.
“The meeting between Ladakh leaders and MHA officials will now be held in New Delhi on 29 September,” he said.
The preparatory meeting is expected to discuss the prevailing situation in Ladakh and finalise the agenda for the 6 October talks between Ladakh leaders and the Union Minister of State for Home in New Delhi.
Both LAB and KDA have stressed that the October 6 talks should focus on their demands for statehood and inclusion under the 6th Schedule.
An uneasy calm continues to prevail in Leh following Wednesday’s violence, in which four people were killed and 80 others injured. Offices of the BJP and the Chief Executive Council (CEC) of Leh Hill Council, as well as police and CRPF vehicles, were set on fire by mobs.
Rejecting allegations of foreign involvement in the Ladakh protests, LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay said, “Ladakh Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta and others have claimed that there was a foreign hand in the violence and, to justify their claim, they said people from Doda in J&K, Nepal, Tibet and Bihar were among those injured. These people were bystanders and were injured in the clashes.”
“We had already made it clear that we will intensify our agitation if we are not invited for talks by the MHA. We had stressed our movement would be peaceful and nonviolent. Before the start of Wangchuk’s 35-day hunger strike on 10 September, an all-faith prayer meeting was held. In the initial days, 7-8 people joined Wangchuk’s hunger strike, but later more people joined,” he said.
The youth organisation affiliated with LAB had given a strike call in Leh for 24 September after two people on the hunger strike fell seriously ill and had to be hospitalised. On 24 September, emotionally charged youth staged a protest in Leh, clashed with police, and attacked offices of the BJP and CEC Leh Kargil Hill Council, Dorjay said.
He alleged that policemen fired indiscriminately on the protesters and made no attempt to control the mob through other means such as water cannons or warning shots. “They directly fired on the mob. It further increased anger among the youth, who were in the age group of 15-26 and were literate. It seems they were unemployed and frustrated,” he said.
Dorjay added that nearly 95 per cent of the injured had suffered bullet or pellet injuries, which clearly indicates the excessive use of force. The LAB has demanded an independent inquiry into the deaths to “ensure that the persons responsible for the shooting of our people are held accountable and brought to justice.”
The LAB co-chair rejected the charge that Sonam Wangchuk and Congress instigated the youth. “Whatever happened was spontaneous. The youth had genuine demands and, when they saw the government was not serious and had given a lengthy date for talks with Ladakh leaders, they were angry and frustrated.”
Regarding the deployment of the CRPF in Ladakh, he said, “The CRPF deployed was a deliberate plan to suppress our movement. Normally, CRPF is not deployed in Ladakh.”
The LAB has urged the administration and police to refrain from harassing “our youth leaders and locals.”
