New Delhi: Civil society groups and other representatives from the Northeast on Wednesday demanded the government to completely repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act , saying it was a “blot” on the Indian democracy.
“AFSPA is a blot on India’s democracy,” Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (MWGSN) founder Binalaxmi Nepram said in a conclave held here as an initiative for peace in Northeast. “More than 50,000 people have died and 30 lakh youth in northeast are unemployed,” she said.
Noted rights activist Irom Sharmila has been on an indefinite hunger strike on the issue for nearly 11 years now.
“We want the AFSPA to be repealed. We want it to go from Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. Media has put a lot of emphasis on Irom as a person and not the issue that she fights for,” Independent columnist and writer Subir Ghosh pointed out.
“Military defines the situation in Northeast as extraordinary. But how can you have an extraordinary situation for 50 years. (UNI)