Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Imphal, September 11, 2010:
Human rights activists in Manipur today demanded that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act should be repealed at once.
The rights activists also draconian laws such as AFSPA-1958 should not be in existence in a country where Mahatma Gandhi was born.
A panel discussion on AFSPA-1958 was organised by Senior Citizens for Society (SCS) at Manipur Press Club in Imphal today.
It is an issue of the politicians.
They brought the Act in the state.
It is in the hand of the politicians to repeal it.
But due to differences among the politicians, the Act is still being enforced even though people of all sections of the society are against it, said N Binoy, president of the Senior Citizens Manipur.
The Act has been suppressing the democratic rights of the people.
It has been suppressing a people 2000 year old civilization of its own.
This age old civilization of Manipur is being destroyed by the politicians, he added.
Participants in the discussion lauded chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah who advocated and pressurised strongly to New Delhi for repealing the Act from his state.
The Manipur based activists want Manipur chief minister Ibobi Singh to do the same.
At the end of the programme, the participants took some resolutions of which one of them is to urged New Delhi to repeal the Act from Manipur as India is a signatory to the United Nations's many covenants pertaining to human rights.
The participants also said that AFSPA is anti-democracy, anti-people and inhuuman.
The activists then noted that after the imposition of AFSPA in Manipur the sufferring of the people are increasing.
Human Rights Alert executive director Babloo Loitangbam, noted advocate Khaidem Mani and Prof Sadananda are among the participants.resolutions of which one of them is to urged New Delhi to repeal the Act from Manipur as India is a signatory to the United Nations's many covenants pertaining to human rights.
The participants also said that AFSPA is anti-democracy, anti-people and inhuuman.
The activists then noted that after the imposition of AFSPA in Manipur the sufferring of the people are increasing.
Human Rights Alert executive director Babloo Loitangbam, noted advocate Khaidem Mani and Prof Sadananda are among the participants.