Imphal, March 22: Even as the members of the Committee set up to review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act are set to arrive at Senapati tomorrow to conduct a public hearing, Working Committee of the Apunba Lup activists today set on fire effigies of the Prime Minister and Chairman of AFSPA Review Committee at Naoremthong area to protest the proposed visit.

The effigies were burnt at near Epa Thoukok at around 2 pm.

The AFSPA panel members, who will be arriving tomorrow for the second time since it was set up will hold public hearing at Senapati district headquarters Mini Secretariat tomorrow itself.

Meanwhile, Senapati District Meetei Social Development Committee (Sadar hills) firmly stating that it would boycott the public hearing of the AFSPA Review Committee has fervently appealed to all concerned not to meet the delegate members.

Recalling the mass anti-AFSPA movements and the staunch opposition to the continued imposition of the Act, the Committee reiterated that only total repeal of the Act will satisfy the people.

The people have made their point clear that the Act should be discarded at the earliest and there is no ground to conduct public hearing, which is just another way to delay justice, said the body.

The review team consists of the Chairman Justice (Retd) Jeevan Reddy, journalist Sanjoy Hazarika, Dr SP Nakade, PP Shrivastav and Lt General (Retd) VR Raghavan.

Sources said that the team will fly in from Dimapur on a helicopter and the hearing will be held at the Mini Secretariat.

The hearing will be held from 10 am till 12 pm, said sources adding that the team will fly back to Dimapur at 12.30 pm.

The earlier timing fixed for the hearing was from 9 am to 1 pm.

The review committee was constituted after a representative of the Apunba Lup led by Dr Arambam Lokendra met Prime Minister at New Delhi in October last year.

The Prime Minister during his visit to Manipur on November 19 and 20 last year had announced that the outer time frame given to the Committee to submit its report is six months.

Soon after its formation, the Committee held its first public hearing in Imphal at the office of the Manipur Human Rights Commission in contradictory situation.

While one group of the Apunba Lup had boycotted the visit of the review team, the other group met the team and highlighted the gross excesses committed by the security personnel under the immunity granted by the Act.

Giving in to the rising pressure to repeal the Act, Chief Minister O Ibobi had in August last year repealed the DDA from the Imphal Municipal areas making the AFSPA redundant in these areas.

However despite the standing demand to totally repeal the Act, Chief Minister O Ibobi had stated on the floor of the Assembly on March 21 that the total repeal of the Act from the entire State was impossible.

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