Like Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the BJP Manipur manifesto released by National President JP Nadda was also strangely silent about the Armed Forces Special Powers Act during his Manipur visit, but he did say that Manipur’s overall security situation has improved. Not only he, all the visiting BJP ministers and bigwigs visiting the state are saying it. With assembly elections round the corner, BJP leaders had been harping on the improved law and order situation during the five years rule of the BJP-led government. When queried upon by journalists BJP national president Nadda did not give any comment.
While many of Northeast CMs like Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio and Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma were openly voicing for repeal of the draconian Act after the Mon incident, all the BJP CMs of the Northeast remained non-committal on the demand. Manipur CM N Biren Singh said he is personally against the Act, but security considerations with regard to a border state have to be assessed. In an interview with a news channel Army Chief General MM Naravane stated that the Army will be 'most happy' if the Army is relieved from its policing duties in disturbed areas so that it can focus on its primary role of fighting a conventional war.
However, there is a rider. He said that the argument on repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) needs a different approach, wherein the Disturbed Area status of states needs to change. Taking the example of Tripura, where the act was repealed, Naravane said that repealing AFSPA from Nagaland is a decision of the state government and Centre. The Army Chief’s comment came amidst calls for repeal of AFSPA after a botched-up Army operation resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians in the Tiru-Oting area in the Mon district of Nagaland on December 4. Some might try to find significance in the statement of the Army Chief. We will say, there is nothing new in his statement. In fact, he is following in the footsteps of his predecessors. For the consumption of the general public, they will always say that the army would be happy to be relieved of internal security duties so that the force can concentrate on its conventional duties.
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The Jeevan Reddy committee recommended repealing AFSPA as "the Act is a symbol of hate, oppression, and instrument of high-handedness". It had submitted its report on 06.06. 2005. After 10 years, the government of India rejected the recommendation. The Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Verrappa Moily also recommended repeal of the Act in 2008. Thereafter, the Supreme Court appointed the Justice Santosh Hegde committee to investigate encounter killings in Manipur based on a writ petition filed by the Extra-Judicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM in 2012. While methodically exposing the Act’s failure to tackle insurgency in the state, it had noted in its report that AFSPA was an impediment to achieving peace in regions such as Jammu and Kashmir and the North East.
The commission also said the law needs to be reviewed every six months to see whether its implementation is actually necessary in states where it is being enforced. However, these review meetings turned out to be a routine exercise always overwhelmed by security considerations and further extension of the Act. Manipur had never demanded withdrawal but repeal, as was the demand of the Iron Lady Irom Chanu Sharmila. Besides Irom Chanu Sharmila’s 16-year-long lone battle of indefinite hunger strike, the state of Manipur witnessed an unprecedented movement against AFSPA in 2004.
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On July 15, 2004, 12 Meira Paibi leaders had disrobed in front of the historic Kangla Fort in the heart of Imphal, the then headquarters of the Assam Rifles protesting against the brutal killing of Manorama Thangjam, a 32-year-old woman. A judicial commission set up to look into the case painted a scathing account of torture that Manorama allegedly suffered in her final hours. The anti-AFSPA movement ignited by the Manorama incident not only led to the lifting of the Act from the Greater Imphal area which has seven assembly constituencies, and the formation of the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee. Now, it remains to be seen whether N Biren’s U-turn on AFSPA will have an impact in the ensuing Manipur elections.
