By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) on Thursday asked the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to revoke the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from North East states particularly Manipur.
Addressing a press conference here in the city on Thursday, NEDF convener U Nobokishore while terming the Act as undemocratic said the Act must be immediately revoked.
The forum believes that a meeting of the cabinet committee on security which deals with AFSPA should be called and discussed the act which has given a lot of authority to armed forces.
Under the Act, the armed forces are also entrusted with the right to arrest without warrant and to detain people without a time limit.
According to Nobokishore, since 2008, 1200 people were killed besides 300 incidents of bomb blasts took place in the state of Manipur alone
The Forum also said that the Act must be repeal in the larger interest of democracy and international humanitarian laws.
One of members of the Forum has also moved to the Supreme Court with regard to the repealing of the act from the North Eastern states and the matter is still pending in the court.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed on September 11, 1958, by the Parliament and it grants special powers to the armed forces in what the act calls “disturbed areas” in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir as The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 in July 1990.
NEDF adviser, Rev P B M Basaiawmoit, also said that the government should to find new ways to build the confidence of the local people so as to sustain peace and stability.
Another member of the forum however pointed out that earlier there only four insurgent groups in North East region but after the Act, the number of groups has officially gone to 70 and officially 40 in the region.