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also apprised the Prime Minister that for decades now, there have been appeals for having the existing AFSPA repealed from the statute books since army rule cannot go together with democracy and later recommended for its repeal by the Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission, the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Rapporteur twice and Irom Sharmila has just completed her 15 years of fasting on November 2 to have the draconian Act repealed once and for all.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.
