August 3, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 23,1423

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NEW DELHI, Aug 2: India’s election chief said on Friday that prescriptions from the ubiquitous “white-man” on conducting democracy were not avoidable but he also admitted that the proposed polls in Jammu and Kashmir were not being held under “normal conditions” and that voters would need “personal courage” to exercise their right to franchise.

Announcing a four-phase schedule from Sept 16 of the controversial polls, Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, told a news conference that “it will be a good and credible election”.

The polls to the state assembly would be held on Sept 16, Sept 24, Oct 1 and Oct 8.

Turning down a US suggestion for international observers for the polls, Lyngdoh said: “We believe observing means white-man coming and observing what the native is doing. If somebody wants to come, they can come in their individual capacity and they will not represent these commissions.”

“They are not going to teach us a lesson,” Lyngdoh said and added that the commission in the country enjoyed more authority and powers than any other body in the world.

“One does hope that after all efforts that have gone into the exercise, this will be a good and credible election,” Lyngdoh said.

“We have taken this election more seriously than any other election in India in the past,” the CEC said.

The term of the existing Assembly ends on Oct 17 and the election process for constituting the new State Assembly would be completed by Oct 12, he said. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nirupama Rao urged Islamabad to ensure that there was no violence in the state by cross-border forces in the run-up to the poll process.

“It is incumbent upon Pakistan to ensure that violence and terrorism is not generated, created or fomented before elections,” spokesperson she told reporters.

“The onus is on Pakistan to ensure that there is no violence created in J&K by cross-border forces, by cross-border terrorism and by infiltration of terrorist elements in the run-up to the elections,” she said.

APHC: Meanwhile, the head of Kashmir’s All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was quoted as saying in Srinagar that pro-freedom leaders have been discussing the issue of state polls with the American diplomats, but there has been no pressure by the United States on them to contest the same.

“We have been discussing the issue of polls regularly,” said Abdul Gani Bhat, the chairman of 23-party alliance. “But there has been no pressure on us by the United States to contest the state Assembly polls,” Bhat told the newspaper Today.

“They (Americans) have their own point of view,” he said, “and we have our own on the issue of polls.”

Newspapers reported on Thursday that senior US diplomats met the representatives of APHC in New Delhi after US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s last week’s visit to the region and assured them that if elected they would be part of a dialogue over Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

“I have absolutely no knowledge about this,” said Bhat. The newspapers also said Hurriyat is not averse to contesting polls now, but is waiting for some kind of assurance from the government through a “reliable emissary from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.”

“Our stand on polls is clear. We will not contest polls for forming a government,” said Bhat. “We are ready to contest polls meant for choosing the representatives who would represent Kashmiris in talks with India and Pakistan.” Bhat said such polls should be held under the supervision of the United Nations.