AFSPA deliberated
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 14 2016:
Most people of mainland India do not have adequate knowledge about AFSPA and they think people of NE and Kashmir are anti-Army as they demand repeal of the controversial Act, said senior journalist A Mobi.
He was speaking at a consultation programme organised by Youths Forum for Protection of Human Rights on the topic, 'United Nations and AFSPA' at Classic Hotel today.
He said that instead of checking insurgency movement, the draconian Act has turned out to be one of the major reasons for seeing more insurgent groups in the North East region.
The region alone has more than 100 armed groups now, Mobi said.
He said that AFSPA was first enforced in India as an Ordinance by the then British-India Government to suppress the freedom movement.
However, after India got independence, AFSPA was passed by the Parliament without much discussion in 1958, Mobi said.
On the other hand, it seems that the Government of India takes the anti-AFSPA movement as a revolt against the Indian Union, he said.
As such, there is need to impart awareness on the ills of AFSPA to mainland people as well.
In her keynote address, Nomita Takhelchangbam said that the Government of India is still not ready to adopt the recommendations of Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission, 2005, Second Administrative Reforms Committee, 2005 and Justice Santosh Hegdre Commission 2013.These commissions had recommended the Government to review AFSPA, she said.
Stating that prolonged imposition of the draconian Act has encouraged rampant human rights violations in NE region, Nomita said that according to the report of Directorate of Intelligence Bureau for the North East, 8993 people were killed in alleged in fake encounters between 1991 and 2012 in Manipur and 6023 persons between 2001 and 2012 in Assam.