Return of the Army Act in some areas Politics of AFSPA
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Armed Forces Special Powers Act reimposed in areas that come under 6 police stations and the question doing the round is whether such a move would in any way help the Government in reining in the situation. Can one expect to see a marked improvement in the situation after the re-imposition of the Army Act or does one need to go back to the not so recent past to understand whether the said Act has had any positive impact on the overall law and order situation in the State ? Or more pertinently, will such a move worsen situation and make the suffering of the people all that more acute ? Questions at the moment but it is significant to note that the areas where AFSPA has been reimposed have been in the news in recent days, places where there are human settlements at the foothill areas and which not surprisingly have been the centres of confrontations between the two warring communities. Jiribam may not be a hamlet at the foothills but it is this place which has seen some of the worst confrontations between the two sides, including a clash with the Central security force, the CRPF in this case in which ten Kuki militants were gunned down. And it was during this confrontation between the CRPF personnel and the armed Kuki militants that six Meitei civilians, including three minors and three women have been taken captives, with their whereabouts and fate still not known even today. Other than Jiribam, instances of gunfire and attacks on the unarmed civilians have come in, the most significant being the shots that were fired on a group of people working in the paddy fields and in which one woman was killed at Wathalambi Santipur in Bishnupur district. And before the offensives at Jiribam, there was the case of a young Tangkhul man sustaining bullet injuries when Kuki militants opened fire on a group of people working in the fields at Shanti Khongbal in Imphal East. Just some examples that come to mind and it is against this that AFSPA has been imposed in areas that come under six police stations-Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi district and Moirang in Bishnupur district. It is also significant to note that the Centre seems to have timed the reimposition of the Army Act if one takes into account the fact that AFSPA was reimposed in the said areas one day after the Centre sent in 20 companies of the Central Armed Police Force, including 15 companies of the CRPF and 5 of the BSF. So more troops rushed in, AFSPA reimposed in areas that come under 6 police stations and this gives the distinct but disturbing impression of the State Government being sidestepped.
The latest developments also reinforce the general feeling that the State Government has been told to just keep quiet and do the bidding of the high command and perhaps this was made more lucid than by the observation of Lok Sabha MP and a Congressman to boot, Dr Bimol Akoijam who in his tweet and status on Facebook shared that this is the first time that the Army Act has been notified by the Centre. To The Sangai Express this is also the first time that it is heard of the Centre notifying the imposition of the said Act, for in the last 25 years of this paper in circulation, it has always been the State Government notifying the extension of the Disturbed Area status and which automatically came along with the extension of AFSPA. Why was it felt necessary for the Centre to notify the reimposition of the said Act or was it a case of ‘since it is not an extension, but a reimposition, it is necessary for the Centre to announce the same’ ? The question, either way, merits considerations but there could be different takes on this poser. Many may also see the reimposition of the said Act in the areas falling under 6 police stations as some sort of capitulating to the demands of the Kuki folks under the aegis of ITLF and CoTU which have for long been demanding that the Army Act should be imposed in the valley areas of Manipur. When viewed against this, many may consider the reimposition move more as a political decision than anything to do with the volatile law and order situation. Hereby hangs a tale.
The latest developments also reinforce the general feeling that the State Government has been told to just keep quiet and do the bidding of the high command and perhaps this was made more lucid than by the observation of Lok Sabha MP and a Congressman to boot, Dr Bimol Akoijam who in his tweet and status on Facebook shared that this is the first time that the Army Act has been notified by the Centre. To The Sangai Express this is also the first time that it is heard of the Centre notifying the imposition of the said Act, for in the last 25 years of this paper in circulation, it has always been the State Government notifying the extension of the Disturbed Area status and which automatically came along with the extension of AFSPA. Why was it felt necessary for the Centre to notify the reimposition of the said Act or was it a case of ‘since it is not an extension, but a reimposition, it is necessary for the Centre to announce the same’ ? The question, either way, merits considerations but there could be different takes on this poser. Many may also see the reimposition of the said Act in the areas falling under 6 police stations as some sort of capitulating to the demands of the Kuki folks under the aegis of ITLF and CoTU which have for long been demanding that the Army Act should be imposed in the valley areas of Manipur. When viewed against this, many may consider the reimposition move more as a political decision than anything to do with the volatile law and order situation. Hereby hangs a tale.