The North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) is a conglomeration of NGOs, Civil Society organisations, Intellectuals, Academicians, various religious leaders of the North East Region, working mainly on the issue of Conflict Transformation and Peace building environment health Women and children etc.
The People on the North East India have been living under the Shadow of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 which people of this part of the world termed as – a draconian law which allows the Government Security Forces to kill, torture and rape with immunity and impurity. Under the Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted powers to carry out their operations, once an area is declared disturbed. Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to “maintain the public order”. Initially the Act was enacted in the parliament to suppress the activities of the insurgency groups operating in Northeast but in true sense of the Act can do nothing to these insurgency groups except violating the fundamental human rights of the innocent civilians.
For instance , in 2004, as an outcome of peoples’ uprising as an aftermath of case related to raped and killed of a lady from the Northeast, the government of India set up a five member committee headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy to review the said Act. The committee in its report of June 2005 submitted to the government of India clearly termed this Act as “the Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness” and further, the committee recommended this law be replaced by a more humane Act. Again, the same conclusion was also reached by the Second Administrative reforms Commission which is chaired by Congress leader Veerappa Moily. This commission’s fifth report, submitted to the Government on 25th June 2007, also recommended that AFPSA be replaced. The commission stated as did the Reddy Committee that repeal of AFPSA would remove the feeling of discrimination and alienation among the people of the northeast.
Over and above, not only the committees set up by the government herself, the majority treaty bodies of the United Nations. In paragraph 12 of its 2007 concluding observation of the Un Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) observed that the AFSPA continues to sanction absolute impunity for serious human rights violations against the predominant indigenous population of Manipur and other northeast states (Art 2(1) (c), 5 (b) (d) and (6). It recommended that this law be replaced “by a more human Act” in accordance with the recommendations contained in the 2005 report of the Review Committee (Jeevan Reddy Committee) set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs. In addition, the Chairperson of the CERD submitted special communications to the government of India on different occasions thereby urging to implement the recommendation made in its Concluding Observation of 2007. Further, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held on 7-8 May 2008 at Geneva also recommends the Government of India to consider repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
In January 2007, for example, the Committee of Discrimination Against Women reiterated its previously expressed concerns about AFSPA and requested information on “the steps being taken to abolish or reform the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act 1958 and to ensure that investigation and prosecution of acts of violence against women by the military in disturbed areas and during detention or arrest is not impeded”. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights also concerns that AFSPA has essentially created an undeclared state of emergency spanning almost 50 years and which is characterized by “SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS”
Furthermore, Ms. Margaret Sekaggya, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defender and Mr. Christof Hyens, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary execution, in their country visit in India, recommends to the government of India to repeal the said Act. In the recently concluded 2nd cycle of Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations, many of the State Parties of the United Nations recommended India to review the law on the special powers of the armed forces to align it with its obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the same recommendation was made in its first cycle in the year 2008, however, the government of India fails to implement the same. Here, mention may be that, insurgent related crime in Tripura is not happening for the last couple of years. Again, the government of India is claiming that law and order situation in the states of Northeast has been improving, but very unfortunately and ironically, ASFPA is till imposing in the region.
In the circumstances highlighted above, it 9is humbly urge the government of India kindly be implemented those recommendations made by different committees of domestic and International in order to bring a peace and tranquility forever in this conflict torn region.
U. Nobokishore
Convenor
W.C. Humtsoe
Convenor, Nagaland State
