PREPAK questions sincerity of India govt over AFSPA
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 03 2012: While expressing satisfaction over the remarks of UN Special Rapporteur Prof Christof Heyns, who reccomended India government to repeal draconian act AFSPA from the entire country, the banned revolutionary group PREPAK has appealed to the people of the state to speed up the revolutionary movement and make India government accountable for all oppressions meted out to the people since imposition of the Act.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary, Publicity and Propaganda of the outfit, Leibakngakpa Luwang recalled that UN Special Rapporteur had told Indian media that Acts like AFSPA has no place in a democratic country and such Acts which provide immunity to legal actions against security forces for crimes they committed should be abolished from Indian Constitution and pressed India government to repeal the Act from the North East states and Jammu and Kashmir.

UN Special Rapporteur had also expressed dissatisfaction over denial of permission by Indian government to enter Manipur where there is manycases of extra judicial killings in the name of counter insurgency.

He also told media that he would try his best to enter Manipur in his next visit and assured that he would be submitting his report with recommendation for abolishing AFSPA to the United Nations Human Rights Council next year, Luwang further recalled.

Even if India government claims that AFSPA would not oppress innocent public, the recommendation of Prof Christof Heyns has clearly showed that the Act is meant only to oppress the people of the North East especially Manipur, the statement maintained.

It further pointed out that AFSPA was an ordinance made by British government in 1942 to suppress the freedom movement of Indians.

However, the India government has converted the ordinance into an Act and has imposed in the whole NE states and J&K to suppress the ever increasing freedom movement by various revolutionary groups.

When the matter was discussed in the Parliament, the then MP from Manipur Laishram Achou and most of the MPs stood against passing of the Bill.

However, they agreed and allowed the Bill to be passed upon request of the then Home Minister Gobund Ballabh Pant who maintained that it was to face the then Naga Hills revolution.

The Act was imposed in the whole Manipur after the entire state was declared a disturbed area on July 21, 1978.Since then, the Indian security forces have been taking the lives of many innocent in the name counter insurgency movement and the chastity of many women have been violated.

Irom Chanu Sharmila has been fasting for the last 11 years demanding repeal of the Act after 8th AR killed 10 innocent persons at Malom.

Thangjam Manorama was raped and killed by 17 Assam Rifles.

Pebam Chittaranjan, a student, committed self-immolation demanding repeal of the Act.

Later, 12 women of the state demonstrated nude protest in front of Kangla Western Gate, it added.

With many Human Rights groups, National Human Rights Commission, United Nations and many other international right groups objecting to continue imposition of AFSPA, the UPA government in 2004 ordered a review of the Act through Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee.

However, the government has not honoured the recommendation of the committee for repealing the Act to ensure human rights to the people.

Besides, Administrative Reforms Committee, former Defence Minister George Fernandes, former Home Secretary GK Pillai, BJP and other non-Congress parties in the country have called for abolishing the Act.

ON the other hand, it is India government, Indian Army, Ibobi government and the Supreme Court, which do not want to repeal the Act, the outfit alleged.

What is more shocking is the statement of Home Minister P Chidambaram, who said that the proposal to amend AFSPA is pending with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

If India government wants to remove the Act, then they could have done it much earlier when Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee submitted its recommendation in 2006, the statement contended, and while appealing to the people of the state to cooperate with the ongoing revolutions for a free Manipur.

Comment