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| IB's views find favour with PMO | | Amended AFSPA to continue in J&K, northeast | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI, DEC 3
It is official: Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) will continue to be force in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern region, even after the government modifies some clauses in the Act. Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's dramatic announcement in restive Manipur on Saturday about the government's decision to amend the existing AFSPA is, clearly, the outcome of the persisting opposition to the continuance of the Act in the country's northeast.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act provides sufficient powers to the troops to stamp out militancy in insurgency-hit northeastern States. The Act is also in force in the troubled State of Jammu and Kashmir. No wonder, soon after the Prime Minister's warning that his government would curtail powers accorded to Indian Army to curb militancy and insurgency, a section of separatists in Kashmir renewed the demand for "immediate" withdrawal of the Armed Forcespecial Powers Act in J&K.
That the Act had become highly controversial in the country's northeastern region was borne out by the sporadic celebrations in Manipur following Manmohan Singh's announcement in the Manipur State capital, Imphal. Rights groups in the State have been spearheading protests against the decades-old Armed Forces Special Powers Act. During his trip to the State the Prime Minister said: "We need to consider some amendments to the act by modifying its existing provisions or considering new provisions. It would be made more humane, giving due regard to the protection of basic human and civil rights".
Why are the Kashmiris and majority of people living in the northeastern region dead set against he continuance of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act? Answer to this question is not far to seek> The legislation gives the military the powers to "shoot or arrest without warrant" in four of the seven northeastern States, including Manipur, according to provisions of the 1958 law.
The Prime Minister said that a government committee set up to review the Act had given its verdict. "The panel has done its job", he said without elaborating. The Prime Minister, for obvious reasons, held back an important piece of information--that is, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had, before the setting up of the committee to review the Act, called for a decisive move by the government to soften some provisions in the Act. This apart, the all-important offical, MK Narayanan, who is currently the National Security Advisor, too had proposed softening of some clauses in the Act.
The Prime Minister ensured that the high prestige of the Armed Forces remained intact by offering robus appreciation of their role in containing militancy. The Union Home Ministry has, significantly, begun working on the requied amendments to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Women in Manipur are at the forefront of a spirited drive against the Act since 2004, alleging its vast powers are used by the military to rape or kill at will in the State where various groups are fighting for separate homelands. More than 50,000 people have died in various separatist drives in the northeastern States called the "Seven Sisters".
Much significance will have to be attached to Prime Minister's loud and clear message: The Armed Forces are in the northeastern region to enforce the rule of law. to punish lawbreakers and ensure the safety of the people. Manmohan Singh's asurances on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act were as general in nature as his observations on the role of the Armed Forces were specific and powerful. |
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