Day: October 19, 2012

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Oct 19 : A Division Bench of Supreme Court comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has today (19-10-2012)issued notice to the Union of India as well as State of Manipur in the writ petition© 445 of 2012 filed by Dr. Th. Suresh Singh for the withdrawal of the AFSPA from the State of Manipur. Advocates of the petitioner are Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Sr Advocate assisted by Sapam Biswajit. Reply is to be returnable on or before November 5, 2012.
The petition is a public interest litigation petition on behalf of all the people of Manipur challenging the extension of disturbed area under the Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958 which gives excessive, arbitrary and enormous power to the Armed Forces. The Act in this present form and the way it is being used is a brazen affront to the right to life and it sanctions impunity and protects those who are executing the same. The renewal of the declaration of the disturbed area is without applying any mind as a mechanical way in the absence of any data and only based on apprehension of the Government. Despite the fact that the degree of violence in the State of Manipur has been comparatively decreased, the Government is renewing the declaration of disturbed area without properly reviewing the present scenario of the State of Manipur. A committee headed by Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, former Judge of the Hon’ble Supreme Court has already recommended the repeal of the same and the Supreme Court directed for periodic review of the declaration of disturbed area as it has to be for limited duration of 6 months only.
A detailed history of Manipur since 33 AD , stories of massacres, operations were also given.
Civil society coalition on human rights in Manipur submitted a report on status of Human Rights in Manipur to the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for review of the U.N. It gives a disturbing figure of 119 officially claimed killed persons in encounter but refuted by the family members as killed after arrest/abduction by state forces/army during 2007-2010. It further mentions another disturbing figure of 98 persons having no link with armed organizations as claimed by the Deceased’s family during the same period. .
Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN published a report of a list of extra judicial executions committed by the State and Central Security Forces Manipur since January 1997 to May 2012. It mentioned a total of 1528 executions (male-1399, female-31, children-98).
A part of the report was submitted to Mr. Christof Heeyns, UN Special Rapporteur in March, 2012.
A situation of internal disturbance involving the local population requires a different approach. Involvement of armed forces in handling such a situation brings them in confrontation with their countrymen. Prolonged or too frequent deployment of armed forces for handling such situations is likely to generate a feeling of alienation among the people against the armed forces who by their sacrifices in the defence of their country have earned a place in the hearts of the people. It also has an adverse effect on the morale and discipline of the personnel of the armed forces. It is, therefore, necessary that the authority exercising the power under Section 3 to make a declaration so exercises the said power that the extent of the disturbed area is confined to the area in which the situation is such that it cannot be handled without seeking the aid of the armed forces and by making a periodic assessment of the situation after the deployment of the armed forces the said authority should decide whether the declaration should be continued and, in case the declaration is required to be continues, whether the extent of the disturbed area should be reduced.”
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment in para 74 clause 8 & 21 directed that “a declaration under section 3 has to be for a limited duration and there should be periodic review of the declaration before the expiry of 6 months” and “a complaint containing an allegation about misuse or abuse of the power conferred under the Central Act shall be thoroughly inquired into and if on enquiry it is found that the allegations are correct, the victim should be suitable compensated and the necessary sanction for institution of prosecution and /or a suit or other proceedings should be granted under section 6 of the Central Act”.
It is submitted that the concern of this Hon’ble Court 14 years back is coming true. So many incidents have taken place in the past 14 years which stands testimony to the fact that the alienation amongst the people from the armed forces has crystalised so much that the situation instead of becoming better is deteriorating day by day.
It was stated that 25% incident took place in non AFSPA area and remaining 75% in AFSPA area.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/apex-court-issues-notice-for-repeal-of-afspa-from-manipur/

IMPHAL, Oct 19 NNN: “Justice has to be delivered to the Kukis before any settlement is arrived at between the NSCN-IM and the government of India,” asserted Thangkhosei Haokip, the newly re-elected president of Kuki Inpi, Manipur (KIM), the apex traditional institution of the Kukis in the state. He then predicted that further denying justice to the Kukis is bound to compel the apex Kuki traditional body to review its three principles.
KIM’s three principles (Thangkhosei Haokip terms them as ‘three pillars’ of the KIM) are non-communal, peaceful co-existence and justice for all.
KIM’s three principles (Thangkhosei Haokip terms them as ‘three pillars’ of the KIM) are non-communal, peaceful co-existence and justice for all.
KIM chief rues that the government of India has been ignoring the numerous pleas and prayers of the Kuki body for delivering justice to the victims of 1990s ethnic cauldron where more than 900?’innocent Kukis were slaughtered’ by the NSCN-IM cadres and their collaborators. “We have submitted more than 60 memoranda to the government of India for the justice to be delivered to the victims but till date we are yet to see any forward action from the government,” further lamented Thangkhosei Haokip while adding, “If the government continues with its adamant attitude we may revew our stance.”
When queried what he meant by ‘review of stance’, Thangkhosei Haokip elucidated that at some point of time in future ‘certain political assertion’ from the apex Kuki traditional institution is possible ‘if the government continues to ignore our pleas.’ The KIM chief narrated that around 360 villages were deserted and a hefty one lakh Kukis were displaced in the 1990s ‘ethnic cleansing’ by the NSCN-IM. “It was never a conflict between the Nagas and the Kukis but the ethnic cleansing carried out by the NSCN-IM. Kukis have no problem with the Nagas.
The Kukis somehow retaliated when the NSCN-IM agenda was carried out. No authorities of the Kuki community ever had any meeting chalking out strategies to attack the Nagas. If the Kukis had attacked the Nagas it was in their individual capacity but never the programmes of the Kukis as a whole,”?clarified Thangkhosei Haokip. He then drives home his point for a demand from the government to address the ethnic cleansing victims saying,
“Our demand is based on the logic that if the government of India considers the Kukis as its citizens it should address the victims’ problems for it had failed to protect them when the NSCN-IM was working on its evil design against the Kukis in the 1990s.”
The Kuki Inpi, Manipur president then wondered and suspected whether it was the government of India that had instigated the NSCN-IM to take on the Kukis. “I said this because if this was not the case then why the government of India refuses to deliver justice to the Kuki victims for this long,” reasons Thangkhosei Haokip. While saying this, the Kuki leader made his stance clear saying the Kukis do not oppose the Nagas but “we are hostile to the NSCN-IM policy.” Thangkhosei Haokip then ridicules the Isak-Muivah led outfit’s policy saying, “The NSCN-IM’s campaign to achieve its goal has reached at the global level but if this policy is to slaughter the Kukis then what a pity for them–a petty agenda.”
Touching on other fronts, Mr Haokip said the Kuki Inpi, Manipur has never asserted a kind of Kuki homeland or any other of that sort. “We are a traditional institution which was revived ( and not floated or established) in 1993 after a long gap. If various Kuki groups are striving for this and for that, KIM never meddles in their affairs,” stated Thangkhosei Haokip.
On the problems being faced by the people in Manipur, the Kuki leader suggested that instead of rushing to New Delhi the conflicting parties can sit down, putting their heads together and sorted out the ails.
“Here in our state we have the habit of rushing to New Delhi to get solved our problems. To my mind, this trend is not quite encouraging,” said Thangkhosei Haokip. He further suggested that civil society organisations of the conflicting communities should sit down across the table and look for a solution rather than looking up to Delhi for a miracle.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/justice-first-before-inking-agreement-with-nscn-kim/