Shillong : Amid the civilian killings in Nagaland, Meghalya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma called out for repealing Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 should be repealed and joined the growing chorus for the withdrawal of the law.
Sangma took on twitter to call for the repeal of AFSPA “AFSPA should be repealed,” tweet read.
AFSPA should be repealed
— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) December 6, 2021
Civil society groups, rights activists and political leaders of the Northeast region have been demanding the withdrawal of the “draconian” law for years, alleging excesses by security forces with impunity under the cover of the Act.
AFSPA confers special powers on the armed forces in areas deemed as disturbed.
The state Congress also supported the chief minister, urging him to convene a meeting for consultation over the issue.
“We must go all out to demand immediate repeal of this draconian oppression on our people. Kindly convene a consultation at the earliest,” Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh tweeted in reply to Mr Sangma.
https://twitter.com/ampareenlyngdoh/status/1467730675193180162?s=20
The AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council area), Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang, Longding, Tirap districts and areas falling within the of eight police stations at the Assam border.
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) also demanded that the AFSPA be withdrawn for building a peaceful Northeast.
“We call upon the Government of India to reign in their Armed Forces if they really wish the peace to prevail in the Region as incidents like these will only bring instability, which is not a good sign for the region as a whole,” HYC general secretary Roykupar Synrem said.
“Steps should be taken towards building a peaceful North-East and the correct and necessary steps towards achieving full peace is to withdraw or Repeal the AFSPA from the Region completely as well as deployment or stationing Armed Forces to the bare minimum,” he added
Voicing concern, the Khasi Students Union (KSU) said the government should formulate laws to safeguard the rights of the indigenous people.
“The Government of India should immediately revoke the monstrous AFSPA and instead formulate laws to safeguard and protect the rights and existence of the indigenous inhabitants of NE India,” it said in a statement.
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