Imphal, January 04: Sharply reacting to the statement of the GOC-in-C of Eastern Command, Lt General Arvind Sharma that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is necessary for the security personnel to fight insurgency, the Working Committee of the Apunba Lup today said that the stand of the army officer reflects nothing but his military dictatorship mind-set.

In a statement issued to the press, the Lup said that even the Prime Minister of India had admitted that AFSPA is indeed draconian and such utterings by an army officer is ample proof that the military want to continue to target the innocent people of Manipur and go on with their agenda of terrorising the people.

For over 40 years the people of Manipur have had to bear the brunt of the excesses of the security personnel under this Act which has been dubbed as draconian all over the country and abroad, said the statement.

Though the Indian Government has been maintaining for years that the problem of militancy cannot be solved militarily but calls for a political solution, it has not stopped sending in more troops to turn the people of Manipur into shooting practice targets for the security personnel, charged the Lup.

Down the years, the Government of India have been turning a deaf ear to the cries and woes of the people deliberately, but today since the people have risen as one in an unprecedented manner, it has been forced to wake up and look into the matter, recalled the Lup.

A number of intellectuals, academicians and human rights activists drawn from all over the country have pointed out that AFSPA is draconian.

However an army officer like Lt General Arvind Sharma is bent on terrorising the people of Manipur under this Act, said the statement.

The stand of the army officer has exposed his mentality and with such an officer at the helm, its rank and file will surely be moulded along the line of military dictatorship, it said.

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