PM petitioned over AFSPA direction

SHILLONG: There is opposition to the extension of Armed Forces Special Powers Act to Garo Hills.
After the High Court had asked the Centre to enforce AFSPA in view of spurt in activities of the militants in Garo Hills, P. B. M. Basaiawmoit, Consultant to North  East Dialogue Forum and  Chairman, Peace & Justice Committee, Presbyterian  Church of India has sought the intervention of Prime Minister.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, Basaiawmoit, while acknowledging that the High Court, has been  seized of the prevailing situation in Garo Hills, however, said that extending AFSPA to cover the whole of  Garo Hills will not mitigate and defuse the fluid situation prevailing, rather it would be counter-productive like in the case of J&K, Manipur  and  Assam, and even in Nagaland despite the peace  framework reached between the Centre and the NSCN(I-M).
Basaiawmoit also apprised the Prime Minister that for decades now, there  have been appeals for having the existing AFSPA repealed from the statute books since army rule cannot go together with democracy and later recommended for its repeal by the Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission, the Justice Santosh  Hegde Committee, the UN  Special Rapporteur twice  and Irom Sharmila has just  completed her 15 years of  fasting on November 2 to  have the draconian Act repealed once and for all.
“The  agony, the trauma  of the innocents and victims  under AFSPA, the loss of  lives and livelihood besides the scars of physical, emotional and mental wounds  are impossible to be  erased”, he said, while suggesting immediate joint review of law and order situation both by the Centre and the state to work out common strategies.
He also said the government can engage civil society, religious and traditional institutions to ensure peace in Garo Hills.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the chief minister and the union home minister.