Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 30:
Reiterating its stand that nothing short of complete withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act will do, the Working Committee of the Apunba Lup today said that the assurances of the Prime Minister that the Act will be reviewed should not fool the people.
In a statement, the Lup said that the past is the testimony that the Act is not here to tackle militancy but is merely a tool to empower the security personnel to trample upon the rights of the people.
Linking this Act to tackling militancy is nothing but a big lie, it said.
Questioning the rationale of trying to review the Act and replacing it with another Act, the Lup said that this goes against the basic principle that all problems and issues should be settled through political negotiations.
Though the Indian Government has been maintaining that all issues can be settled only through a political process, it has not stopped it from imposing one repressive Act or the other in the North East region.
The only way to bring about a conducive atmosphere for a long lasting solution is to repeal AF-SPA and not some cover up work like reviewing it or replacing it, it said.
No one should try to mislead the people by stating that the assurances of the Prime Minister is a progress in the right direction, said the statement and added that the lifting the Disturbed Area status from the Imphal Municipal Council areas on a trial basis is a misnomer.