RPF lambasts Indian Army-II
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 12 2013: Between June 3-8, the sacred Golden Temple for Sikhs was not only defiled but hundreds of devotees were also massacred and many others wounded as a result of Operation Blue Star which was carried out in the name of suppressing the Punjab insurgency movement.

The Indian forces also launched another operation called Shudhee Karan in Punjab which allegedly meant 'rape Punjabi women' under which hundreds of women were raped.

In Assam, 16 women were gang-raped by the Indian military right in front of their children and husband between 1991 and 1998 in the name of suppressing the revolutionary movement.

Another 16 innocent people were murdered in Assam in 1997 alone.

As for Manipur, the cases of atrocities committed by the Indian military since AFSPA 1958 was imposed were countless.

Heirangoithong Massacre (1984), Oinam Massacre (1987), Tera Massacre (1993), RMC Massacre (1996), Tousem Lamkhai Massacre (1999), Malom Massacre (November, 2000) and the murder of Manorama are some of the most shocking cases of atrocities committed by the Indian military, RPF asserted.

Given such precedents and conduct of the Indian military, the Indian Army chief's claim that the Indian Army respects human rights sounds awkward and out of place, it remarked.

The army chief's opposition to amend or repeal AFSPA is a clear manifestation of the Indian military's intention to carry on their repressive measures against civilians in States like Manipur.

Even as the UN constituted De-colonization Committee and resolved to stop any form of colonialism in the aftermath of World War II, India which was born out of British imperialism, started annexing all the smaller nations in its neighbourhood.

After annexing the smaller countries, India imposed draconian like AFSPA in the occupied territories to keep the smaller nations under permanent suppression.

Although millions of Indian people have been reeling under abject poverty, India has somehow achieved a status of being a significant economic as well as military power.

Buoyed by this new status, India has started lobbying for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

But India does not fulfil one fundamental criteria of protecting human rights.

The recent initiative to amend AFSPA is aimed at hoodwinking the international community, particularly UN that India is committed to protection of human rights.

The Indian Supreme Court's directive to probe into some cases of fake encounters and extra-judicial killings in Manipur is just a hogwash, the outfit alleged.

It questioned as to why the Indian authority paid no serious attention to all these issues of AFSPA, fake encounters and extra-judicial killings when people launched sustained and intense mass protest movements following the killing of Manorama and again after the killing of Rabina.

Moreover, the International Committee on Human Rights Convention observed on March 19, 2007 that AFSPA is not an Act for tackling insurgency movement but a tool for extermination an entire nation purposefully.

It also directed the Government of India to scrap the Act immediately.

Atrocities committed by the Indian military in the small Northeastern States was also raised during the South Asian Regioal Cooperation summit held at Delhi on April 6, 2007 .

Given this long history of atrocities and human rights violation committed by the Indian military, the recent move to amend AFSPA was initiated only to hoodwink the international community by keeping an eye on the UNC Security Council permanent seat, the outfit alleged.

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