Another surprisingly good editorial from the Sentinel.
Unless I missed it, there was not a voice of democracy waving
Assam Netters to be heard in support of Sharmila's lonely struggles,
when it was aired a few days ago in this forum.
Some 'democratic' values, these. Be it Indian, be it Assam
Netters'!
cm
Inbuilt Brutality
The hunger strike campaign of Irom Sharmila in New Delhi to
protest against the continuance of two discriminatory Draconian laws
in some of the northeastern States comes much too late in the day.
However, that is not the worst of it. What is indeed a pity is that
this just campaign of protest should have been taken up by just one
woman in the national capital instead of being a concerted and
ceaseless campaign by the people of all the northeastern
States. Nay, it should have been a national campaign of the
people of all the States as an act of solidarity with the people of
the Northeast. But when has anyone seen the entire nation rising in
protest against a gross injustice against the northeastern States?
However, the voice of protest has been strong in Manipur even though
Manipuris constitute a very tiny part of the Indian nation. One
recalls the several powerful demonstrations against the armed forces
in Manipur, culminating in the one where a dozen Manipuri women
protested naked in front of the Assam Rifles headquarters after the
gang-rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama in the custody of the Assam
Rifles.
The two Draconian laws against which Sharmila is
demonstrating in New Delhi are the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
and the Disturbed Areas Act. Armed with these two laws for Asom,
Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, the armed forces have the power (in
these four States) to shoot down just anybody even on mere suspicion.
These two laws empower even a noncommissioned officer to shoot down
any citizen of these four States on suspicion of anti-national or
terrorist activities. There is no provision like a magistrate having
to be present even somewhere in the vicinity. And it is such Draconian
and inhuman provisions for a democracy that have led to countless fake
encounters with so-called insurgents. The normal protocol for these
four States is that the armed forces shoot down someone on mere
suspicion first, and then plant the necessary incriminating evidence
like an AK-47 rifle, a Chinese pistol, hand grenades and
"incriminating documents" on him thereafter. Likewise, the armed
forces can gang-rape and then murder a woman and later claim that she
was a terrorist. This is one blatant act of injustice involving no
less than human life that is attracting more and more people towards
insurgency. These two laws go a long way in taking away the
responsibility of accountability from the armed forces. And even when
this is done in respect of the armed forces vis-à-vis citizens in a
democracy, it is like wilfully turning that democracy into a banana
republic.
What is amusing about the review of the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act is that the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee
constituted to review the controversial Act has recommended that the
legislation be repealed, but only after incorporation of certain
features into the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. This is
like having another law with the features of the black law to be
repealed so that the overweening powers given to the armed forces in
the four States of the Northeast as also in Jammu & Kashmir
continue to be available to the military. This is like passing on
to the left hand what we do not like to see in the right hand. Not
surprisingly, this suggestion of the Reddy Committee has raised the
hackles of all the civil rights groups in Manipur, though one does not
see very much of a reaction in the other States where the two black
laws are in force as well. If it is the duty of the Centre to protect
citizens of every Indian State from external aggression and internal
disturbance (responsibilities that the Centre has failed to
discharge), it is equally the responsibility of the Centre to put an
end to state terrorism and needless brutality with an iron hand.There
are many more disturbed areas in the country. Why are such Draconian
laws reserved only for some States?
_______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
