Aug
17
Protests Spread Across Manipur Against Draconian Legislation
August 17, 2004 | Comments Off on Protests Spread Across Manipur Against Draconian Legislation
For the past two weeks, protestors in Manipur have raised the issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and human rights abuses perpetrated by security forces on civilians. The protests began after security forces killed a young woman in detention:
On 11 July soldiers of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force deployed in Manipur to fight insurgents, came looking for Manorama.
It was a midnight knock her family would never forget. The soldiers told the family she was suspected of helping the insurgents. Thonjum Dolendru, Manorama’s younger brother, says the soldiers dragged her out of the house and beat her up. They tore her clothes, he says. When her mother and brothers tried to intervene, they too were hit.
The soldiers gave the family an arrest notification and took Manorama away. The notification said that at the time of arrest, Manorama was healthy. But a few hours later her mutilated and bullet-riddled body was found by the roadside.
After her death, a dozen women marched to the headquarters of the Assam Rifles, carrying banners that read “Indian soldiers rape us” and “Indian soldiers take our flesh.” The protests spread across the state of Manipur.
The protestors demand the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). This Act gives security forces the power to shoot to kill and protects them from prosecution. The Act has also led to severe abuses in Kashmir and Punjab. In a Times of India article, Supreme Court advocate Rakesh Shukla highlights the draconian provisions of the law:
AFSPA has no definitions of offences and the absolute powers it confers are exercisable in an area declared as ‘disturbed’. The legislation tautologically defines ‘disturbed’ as an area which requires the aid of the armed forces, without spelling out criteria. This has led to states being declared ‘disturbed’ for years — Nagaland for 46 years and Manipur for 24…
AFSPA gives the power to a commissioned, non-commissioned or warrant officer to fire upon, or use force, to the extent of causing death ‘if he is of the opinion that it is necessary to do so for the maintenance of public order’. The power to shoot-to-kill can be exercised for contravention of an order prohibiting the assembly of more than five persons. Under ordinary law, contravention of an order under Section 144 CrPC is a minor offence punishable with a month’s imprisonment. The power can also be exercised if a person is carrying objects which could be construed as weapons.
AFSPA does not require a report on the circumstances under which the army officer formed his opinion to ‘shoot-to-kill’. There is no independent application of mind on whether there was justification for the killing. Neither is there any provision for an inquest into the death of the person.
While protests against the AFSPA continue, the Indian government has said it will repeal another piece of counterinsurgency legislation, the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
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