Indian Troops Fire on Anti-Israel Protesters in Kashmir, Killing Teenage Boy

[JI7]

Source: star

Police say a teenage boy was killed when government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir fired on protesters rallying against Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

A police officer says troops opened fire Saturday after the protesters clashed with security forces in Khudwani, a village south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir. The officer spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

Police didn’t give the boy’s age, but residents said he was 15 or 16.

More protests erupted following the boy’s death and spread to at least two nearby towns where police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

Kashmir has witnessed massive pro-Palestinian protests almost every day since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza. Protesters have burned Israeli flags and clashed with government forces at several places in the region.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/07/19/indian_troops_fire_on_antiisrael_protesters_in_kashmir_killing_teenage_boy.html

[cosmicone]

1. Pakistan sponsored acts to destabilize n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Do you have a link to support that?

Preferably from a reliable source.

[JI7]

3. India Refuses to Criticize Israel

The Indian parliament witnessed a day of ruckus after the government “blocked” a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Israel-Gaza situation. The reason given to block such a debate during the house’s question and answer hour was that the government did not want “discourteous” reference to any friendly countries.

“We have diplomatic ties with both (Israel and Palestine) nations. Any discourteous reference to any friendly country can impact our relations with them,” said an unamused external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/standpoint-why-india-will-maintain-ambiguity-over-israel-gaza-situation-2003121

[fujiyama]

5. Interesting article.

India has nothing to gain from passing meaningless initiatives condemning Israeli actions. Israel has proved to be a pretty reliable ally and is certainly important as a defense supplier to India.

Besides, for about fifty years India was a very reliable vote for the Palestinians in the UN and it didn't gain India much support from the Arab states on any issue. India is smart to simply "show concern" regarding the violence in the region and say little else.

That said, incidents like this killing of the teenage protester could cause the state to flare up with violence again after some modicum of stability. Hopefully this will not lead to further unrest.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. I think this must be an Indian-Kashmir problem, not an Israel problem.

Not sure why we have to drag Pakistan into it, either. I am sure that India is more than capable of staging its own brutal suppression of protests without any help from a foreign country.