The government of India has firmly placed its position on Wednesday (December 2, 2015) that it is not in a hurry to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said in Rajya Sabha that “no decision has been taken by the government to repeal the controversial AFSPA as recommended by the Jeevan Reddy Committee Report.” Well, no encouraging move can be expected in the near future from the government since it feels that working one bit to repeal the dreaded Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) would mean working against its core interest. This column had commented earlier that inspite of the International and home groups fervently voicing against this inhuman law for decades. The world’s largest democracy ignoring and being callous towards the cries of the people have indeed attracted criticisms—the very status enjoyed by the country has been placed under intense scrutiny. This has ruffled the political elegance of the political parties of India. According to the November 5 statement of the Amnesty International, despite repeated calls to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from UN experts as well as national and international groups, the Act continues to be enforced and continues to cause flagrant human rights violations. It said during the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay’s visit to India in March 2009, she said the Act breached contemporary international human rights standards. “Furthermore, Margaret Sekaggya, then UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in 2011 and also Christof Heyns, then UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary executions in early 2012, had recommended repeal of AFSPA. During the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2012, India also received specific recommendations to review and repeal AFSPA,” said the statement. However, these recommendations were ignored as India was reluctant to accept them, it added. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has also asked the government of India to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) without further delay. “The AFSPA has facilitated gross human rights violations by the armed forces in the areas in which it is operational,” Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director of the ICJ said. “It is a repressive and draconian law that should have no place in today’s India”. Several UN human rights bodies have recommended that the AFSPA be repealed or significantly amended. These include the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2014), the Special Rapporteur on violence against women (2014), the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (in 2013 and again in 2015), the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (2012), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2007), and the UN Human Rights Committee (1997). Back home here in Nagaland, we are yet to see any convincing step of T R Zeliang government that suggests it is working to convey the sentiment of the Nagas to New Delhi on the Disturbed Area Act. Every move of the DAN-III confirms what the government is up to and we don’t need even the least eloquent interpreter to explain things to us that survival politics is its theme. ‘That-is-alright-attitude’ of the DAN-III on every policy of the NDA government even if it is detrimental to the Naga interest has not only created a buzz in our society but also brought about a sense of insecurity. One thing the state government should not forget is that even if there is no issue with the development or economic aspect we will always have stiff-necked recalcitrant elements because the state government has veered. This column has been advocating that imposition of the draconian law such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is akin to suspension of civil liberties which subsequently is curtailing even the fundamental liberties of the people. Also, lack of courage to keep aside their political interests in order to address the people’s interest has put all the political parties in Nagaland on sale—accurate in calculation are the Delhi hawks.
