Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should also meet Irom Sharmila
- Save Democracy Repeal AFSPA (Group) -

New Delhi, 03rd December 2011 *

Hon'ble Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should also meet Irom Sharmila and more than 1000 of widows and family members who have been killed by the state security forces with the impunity of AFSPA in the Imphal Visit from 3rd December to 4rd December2011. It should not be a visit just for inaugurating some goverment's funded project works and infrastructure and also not a visit to buy people by giving some packages or projects in the time of election to get votes if they really concern for the people.

People of Manipur in particulate and All over India in general still remember Prime Minister's promised on 20 November 2004 in Imphal and categorically said that AFSPA is an "inhuman Law" and Government of India would act according to the recommendation of Jeevan Ready Committee report. Prime Minister of India is obliged to declare a position on AFSPA publicly in this visit.

Save Democracy Repeal AFSPA Group (SDRAG) strongly condemns the act of terror on the people that a helpless rickshaw puller was killed by a bomb blast at the Sangai festival on 29 November.

SDRAG also strongly condemn the Chief Minister of Manipur's irresponsible statement justifying imposition of AFSPA in Manipur related with the incident of 29 November bomb blast in Imphal. Any other bomb blast in any place of Manipur should not be used as a legitimisation of AFSPA by the Government of Manipur. It is an act of foolishness of a chief Minister of Manipur.

No other chief Minister in Delhi, Karnataka, Utter Pradesh, Gujarat who has been a targeting place of bomb blasts had never said to impose AFSPA in their states. If bomb blast has to be dealt by the imposition of AFSPA than Delhi and Mumbai would heve been put under AFSPA from the very beginning. These activities have to be dealt by Law and order not by a declaring war on people by the state. AFSPA is a declaration of war by a state that is why army are directly involved in the disturbed area.

Unfortunately, Chief Minister of Manipur, Okram Ibobi said "When the acts of hurling bombs and firing shots in civilian areas go on unabated in connection with monetary demands, how can the State Government ask the Centre to repeal AFSPA from Manipur?" (The Sangai Express, Imphal, November 30 2011)"With crimes of all sorts including bomb blast and other arms related incidents occurring even in the heart of Imphal where AFSPA has been removed and where enough security personnel are deployed, there is no question of removing it from the whole of the state", expressed Chief Minister O Ibobi.

Instead of justifying AFSPA, O. Ibobi should take action against responsible security person who were given charge of security of the area where bomb blast was happened and required to learn from the Chief Minister of Delhi and Mumbai, Gujarat how to handle in this kind of situations.

Many bomb blast were occurred in different states in India and AFSPA was never been an option to address to the problems. It will be a wise act for the CM, Manipur, O .Ibobi to see how Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mr. Omar Abdhullah has been strongly fighting to de- notified disturb area from J&K.

For the knowledge of the chief Minister of Manipur, some of the bomb blasts occurred in India are mentioned in this press statement.

NEW DELHI: Eleven people were killed and at least 62 others injured in a powerful blast outside Delhi high court gate number 5 on September 2011, Wednesday morning.

2008 Bangalore serial blasts occurred on 25 July 2008 in Bangalore, India. A series of nine bombs exploded in which two people were killed and 20 injured.

The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. 56 people were killed and over 200 people were injured.

2010 Vanarasi bomb blast occurred on 7 December on Tuesday .A two-year-old girl named Swastika Sharma was killed and about 30-40 people, including four foreigners, were injured in a bomb blast at the Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of Ganga River in Varanasi at around 6.30 pm.

Bomb blasts in Mumbai include:

March 12,1993 - Series of 13 bombs go off, killing 257
December 6 , 2002 - Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar, killing 2
January 27, 2003 - Bomb goes off on a bicycle in Vile Parle, killing 1
March 14, 2003 - Bomb goes off in a train in Mulund, killing 10
July 28, 2003 - Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar, killing 4
August 28, 2003 - Two Bombs go off in cars near the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar, killing 50
July 11, 2006 - Series of seven bombs go off in trains, killing 209
26 November 2008 to 29 November 2008 - Coordinated series of attacks, killing at least 172.

Many bomb blasts occured in Delhi

May 23, 1996: At least 16 people were killed in bomb blasts in Lajpat Nagar Central Market.
October 1, 1997: Two bomb explosions near a procession in the Sadar Bazar area left 30 injured.
October 10, 1997: One person was killed and 18 injured in the bomb blast in Kingsway camp.
October 18, 1997: Twin bomb blast in Rani Bagh market left One killed, 23 hurt.
October 26, 1997: 34 persons were killed and 1 injured in twin bomb blasts in Karol Bagh market.
November 30, 1997: Three persons were killed and 73 were injured in twin blasts in Chandni Chowk.
December 30, 1997: Four people were killed and 30 injured in a bomb blast near Punjabi Bagh.
May 22, 2005: Bomb explosions rocked two cinema halls in Delhi. At least 40 people were injured. One person was killed in the explosion. The blasts took place in Liberty Cinema in central Delhi and Satyam Multiplex in Patel Nagar.
October 29, 2005: At least 62 people were killed and 210 injured in three explosions. The bombings came only two days before the important festival of Diwali. The bombs were triggered in two markets in central and south Delhi and in a bus in the Govindpuri area in the south of the city.
September 13, 2008: 24 people were killed and more than 100 injured in Delhi in the series of five explosions. The explosions hit crowded markets in Karol Bagh, Greater Kailash-I and Connaught Place. Terrorist group Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the bombings.
September 27, 2008: At least four people were killed and 15 others injured in an explosion in a flower market in Mehrauli, close to historic Qutub Minar.

Issued by

Seram Rojesh
Suhela Kapur
Save Democracy Repeal AFSPA group, New Delhi