CCSO urges for repeal of AFSPA, effective ILPS
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 12 2021: Strongly condemning the 'intentional' killing of 13 coal mine workers in Nagaland's Mon district by Assam Rifles, the Collectives of Civil Society Organisations (CCSO), Manipur has demanded trial of all the Army personnel involved in the massacre in a proper Court.

CCSO is a conglomerate of IPSA, ACOAM-Lup, PANDM, IPAK, Kanglamei, KIL, CLK and KSA.

In a statement, the organisation said that AFSPA 1958 grants special powers to the armed forces to detain or even kill whomever they suspect on the pretext of counter insurgency operation.

Saying that firing upon the group of innocent civilians at Mon's district Oting without confirming their identities first is a testament that the AFSPA is inimical to the people of North East, the statement reminded that the people of Manipur had staged a series of protests for the abolition of the 'draconian law' .

"Though Irom Chanu Sharmila fasted for 16 long years in protest against the AFSPA, the Government didn't pay any attention to her demand, " it added.

Recalling that the Jeevan Reddy Commission and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had termed AFSPA as "inhumane," the CCSO urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to put pressure on the Central Government so as to get AFSPA repealed as done by his counterparts of Meghalaya and Nagaland.

MPs Agatha Sangma (Meghalaya) and Dr Lorho S Pfoze (Outer Manipur) have also raised the issue of AFSPA in Parliament recently, it added.

"Instead of projecting themselves as people's Government, the State Govern- ment should understand the aspiration of the people and do the needful to repeal AFSPA," the statement demanded.

It also said that removal of AFSPA is imperative to save the people of the North East.

Continuing that North East India is not a shooting range of Assam Rifles, the CCSO urged all concerned to repeal AFSPA from the region.

On Inner Line Permit System, the CCSO said that formulating a comprehensive guideline for ILP is indispensable to check the influx of non-locals in Manipur rigorously.

The committee also urged the Government to establish Manipur State Population Commission and reconstruct NRC at the earliest The statement stated that the second anniversary of ILP extension in Manipur was observed at Khoya-thong.

The observance was graced by the presidents of eight organisations- Birjit Tourungbam (IPSA), Sanjit Soraisam (ACOAM-Lup), Yumnamcha Dilipkumar (PANDM), Ksh Somorendro (IPAK), Y Leirikleima (Kanglamei), RK Sanahanbi (KIL), Ch Pakpi Chanu (CLK) and Bidyananda Sukham (KSA).

At the function, Bidyananda Sukham stated that a permit system was enforced to regulate entry of non-locals in Manipur when the latter was a princely State by opening a Foreigners Office.

Following the merger with India in 1949, Manipur was treated as Part-C State, he said and added the permit system was abolished by then Chief Commissioner of Manipur Himmat Singh in 1950.Saying that the issue of foreigners aggravated in 1979 and 1980 as a large number of non-locals and foreign Nationals started entering Manipur, the CCSO stated that the All Manipur Students Union (AMSU) and All Manipur Student Coordinating Committee (AMSCOC) launched a movement to drive off the outsiders.

As a result of the movement, a consensus was brought with the then Chief Minister RK Dorendro Singh and AMSU on July 22, 1980 to identify foreigners based on the electoral roll of 1948, census report of 1951, National Register of Citizens 1951 and Village Directory of 1951 with 1951 as the base year, he added.

However, the agreement never materialized, Bidyananda said.

Saying that the movement was again launched by Poramlen Apunba and it demanded implementation of ILP in Manipur and banned selling of lands to non-locals, Bidyananda added that the ILP movement was carried forward by IPSA in 1997.To give more teeth to the movement, the Inner Line Permit Demand Committee was formed by seven CSOs in 2006, he said and added that the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) was formed in 2012.Maintaining that the State Cabinet resolved to implement Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 on July 11, 2012, Bidyananda added that the Government of India clarified that the State Cabinet didn't have the authority to implement ILPS under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 in Manipur.

Further stating that the Manipur People Bill 2018 was passed unanimously in the State Assembly after the Hill Areas Committee gave its clearance on July 23, 2018, he said that the Bill, however, was sent to the President instead of giving her assent by then Governor Najma Heptulla.

At this juncture, the issue of Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 intensified, he said and added that Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared implementation of ILPS in Manipur on the floor of the Parliament on December 9, 2019 .

Though implemented, the ILPS is not able to check the influx of non-locals into the State, he claimed and urged the Government to formulate a proper guideline and identify native people with 1951 as the base year.

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