SHILLONG: Rev. P.B.M. Basaiawmoit has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA).
In a letter faxed to the Prime Minister, he said that ever since the Act was passed by the Parliament and signed by the then President of India and invoked by the state governments of Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir to counter the rise, growth and spread of insurgency movements, it has given legality to human rights violation, rape of women, loss of precious and innocent human lives and the common citizen has been bearing the brunt both from the security forces and the armed groups.
Basaiawmoit recalled that the Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission Report had recommended that AFSPA be repealed since there are relevant provisions in existing Indian laws to deal with the vexed matter of armed groups, and added that on two occasions the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights had also strongly recommended for its repeal.
