IMPHAL, June 3: Sharmila Kanba Lup (SAKAL) staged a protest demonstration against the failure of the State government to repeal the draconian Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), 1958 today.
The demonstration was held at the temporary shed of the organization located at Porompat, Imphal East today.
Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of the protest, convenor of SAKAL S Momon Leima reiterated that the controversial AFSPA had been lifted from the State of Tripura recently taking into account of the suffering and violation meted out to its indigenous community under the cover of the act.
She lamented that the same act has not been lifted from Manipur despite mass public outcry over the demand for repeal of the act from the state at the earliest.
The state government should follow the suit adopted by Tripura to repeal the draconian act as it will be too late to wait call of the Central Government to do the needful, she observed.
Ima Momon said that it was a glory for the Tripura that the draconian AFSPA was lifted from its soil.
There had been many incidents of picking up of youths, murder and disappearance of innocents by security forces in the name of counter insurgency. Also, many innocent people have been victimized by levelling anti-national charge, the convenor of SAKAL pointed out.
She continued asking that whether the 60 MLAs including Chief Minister O Ibobi should remain mute spectators to the atrocities committed by security forces under the shade of AFSPA.
Pledging that SAKAL along with public will launch different forms of intense agitation if the government remains silent over the collective demand for repeal of AFSPA; she cautioned that any untoward incident arises thereof should be borne solely by the government.
During the protest demonstration, members of SAKAL shouted slogans in connection with repeal of AFSPA from the state at the earliest.
Mention may be made that AFSPA was promulgated in the state of Tripura since February 16, 1997. The demand for withdrawal of such act persuaded at various levels at which the Chief Minister of Tripura Manik Sarkar remarked that `We could not take a decision because the security forces did not clear it`. He was saying this on the announcement day of lifting AFSPA from Tripura on May 27, 2015.
