Meet resolves to repeal AFSPA
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, January 05 2014: A Manipur People's Convention to Strengthen the Campaign to Repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 held here today has resolved to constitute a representative Working Committee of the highest integrity and accountability with the responsibility to substantively contribute towards determined push to realize the long standing demand to repeal AFSPA from the State by all legitimate means during this year.

The People's Convention was held at Lamyaanba Shanglen, Palace Compound here with Khangembam Anandi, Justice C Upendra, Prof Lokendra Arambam and Ibotombi Khuman as presidium members.

The Convention also resolved that the Working Committee should adopt an action plan at the earliest opportunity and work out with all sections of society in order to intensify the ongoing campaign.

Giving a concept note of the convention at the outset, Executive Director of Human Rights Alert (HRA) Babloo Loitongbam said that the year 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of the Manipuri people's uprising against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

In the aftermath of the rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama in July 2004, Manipuri mothers staged a nude protest in front of the Kangla and challenged the predatory rapist in uniforms protected by AFSPA.

Thousands of ordinary men and women thronged the streets and bye-lanes of Imphal and daringly defied prohibitory orders, faced torture and baton charge of the security forces.

Student leader Pebam Chittaranjan took the ultimate step of immolating himself to protect the right to life of his fellow human beings.

In an effort to pacify the fury of the people of Manipur, the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh promised to consider "replacing the AFSPA" with a more humane law.

But he seems to be still complacent to the matter even after a decade of his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) holding power, Babloo noted.

Irom Chanu Sharmila has been on hunger strike demanding the repeal of AFSPA since November 2000.Whereas a few days hunger strike of Anna Hazare results in enticing immediate response from the political class of India, the only response from the Government to Sharmila's epic protest is to criminalize her as attempting to commit suicide and subject her to extreme isolation.

Only a recent visit by the NHRC gave some relief to the strict regime of isolation but even the premier human rights institution failed to address the fundamental issue of criminalization of her non-violent struggle, the Executive Director of HRA said.

Babloo further maintained that various civil society groups across India and beyond are rendering solidarity to the just anti-AFSPA struggle.

Also, all officially constituted committees and commissions, including the Committee to Review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (2005), the Second Administrative Reform Commission (2007), the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law (2013) etc.

are joining the call to repeal or at least review the AFSPA.

Internationally, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, almost all the Committees monitoring major UN human rights treat bodies to which India is a party, all UN Special Rapporteurs who visited India recently as well as the Working Group on Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council that reviews India's human rights record during the first and second cycle have all called for the repeal of AFSPA.

Even though the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of AFSPA in the Naga People's Movement for Human Rights judgment in 1997, in the ongoing Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families' Association, Manipur (EEVFAM) case the Supreme Court Appointed Commission headed by Justice Santosh Hedge, after minutely examining six cases of extrajudicial executions identified by the Court, clearly pointed out "�though the Act gives sweeping powers to the security forces even to the extent of killing a suspect with protection against prosecution, etc., the Act does not provide any protection to the citizens against possible misuse of these extraordinary powers�normally, the greater the power, the greater the restraint and stricter the mechanism to prevent is misuse or abuse.

But here in the case of the AFSPA in Manipur, this principle appears to have been reversed", Babloo asserted.

He further contended that the concerned civil society societies of Manipur were convening this one-day convention to deliberate upon the ways and means to make a final push to realize the just demand of repealing the draconian AFSPA by all means during the year 2014 .

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