'I want nothing but public participation' : Irom Sharmila
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, February 07 2013: "It is not awards or some titles conferred by an individual or a group that I want but participation of the people and their unending support to the demand for repealing Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 1958", Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on an indefinite fast demanding the repeal of military Act for more than 12 years now, has stated.

She was speaking to mediapersons after being produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Alec Muivah here today.

Sharmila asked for the permission of the court to meet mediapersons and the court granted her wish and let her to talk to the waiting mediapersons for about 7 minutes.

Sharmila said that a Professor of Sociology from Delhi University recently contacted her to convey that he wants to sponsor a scholarship for students affected by AFSPA.

The Professor also told her that the amount of the scholarship would be Rs 50,000 a year and he would provide the amount from his salary.

Irom Chanu Sharmila speaking to mediapersons

"When a professor from outside the state has taken the matter so seriously and has come forward for such a noble cause, why not a single professors from out of the hundreds in the state, have ever come up with such proposals", she questioned.

The proposal of the Delhi University professor should be a lesson to people of Manipuri society, she added.

Sharmila further said that she would be released on March 12 again and her wish is to see that all the people of Manipur coming out to participate in her movement.

"Instead of contacting me for awards and titles, please come forward, participate and support the movement and raise your voice against the Act and strengthen the movement" she exhorted.

Sharmila recalled that recently some organisations of Assamese and Manipuris living in Assam contacted her and told that they want to honour her with the title Kuranga Nayani.

But in lieu of the title, she would like their participation in the movement.

Some days back, some foreigners also came to meet her and told that they are organising a mass rally in support of her movement.

They also told her that they would be organising a mass hunger strike on her birthday on March 14 to show solidarity to her movement, she said.

She went on to say that her movement against the AFSPA is a revolution.

It certainly will take much time to make the leaders and people of the State to come to their senses.

Government is now taking up another strategy to divert the public movement against AFSPA through a poster campaign which shows a civilian in the middle guarded by two security forces on either side.

The campaign is aimed at diverting the issues and hardships faced by the people of the State from the security forces under the shadow of AFSPA.

If people of the state do not raise their voices against the inhuman law and remove it from the soil of the land, they would remain forever as stepsons of India, Sharmila observed.

On the other hand, Finance Minister P.Chidambaram has stated that Army's rigidness against any dilution or amendment to the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is making it difficult for the Government to move forward on this proposal.