Imphal Mar 31 PTI Union Home Minister Amit Shahs announcement Thursday that 15 police station areas of six districts of Manipur will be excluded from Disturbed Areas notification was welcomed cautiously by prominent social activists in the state which has been in the frontline of movements against AFSPA even as they expressed dissatisfaction that the draconian Act has not been totally repealed Editor of Imphal Times and social activist Rinku Khumukcham welcomed the new development but said The movement for repeal of the AFSPA an inhumane act or for its amendment in favour of a more humane one still stands He pointed out that already the provisions included in IPC and CrPc are sufficient to handle the insurgency situation in Manipur He cited the instance of Naxal-hit areas in the mainland where AFSPA has not been imposed but operations by the military and security forces are in process Director Human Rights Alert Babloo Loitongbam also said we welome it It is a step in the right direction but our movement for the repeal of AFSPA will continue Executive editor of The Frontier Manipur Paojel Chaoba who was detained under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA in 2021 for an article published on the news web-portal but eventually released said We too welcome it for it is overdue However AFSPA should be revoked by the state He pointed out that instead of merely rolling it back from 15 police station areas it would have been better if AFSPA has been rolled-back from the entire valley area of Manipur Manipur has a long history of civic protests against the AFSPA which gives certain extra-judicial powers to troops deployed in states where the law is in operation and excesses committed by them In November 2000 10 civilians were allegedly gunned down by the Assam Rifle troops at Malom Makha Leikai near Imphal airport The incident sparked a young activist Irom Sharmila to start the longest known hunger strike against AFSPA Though Sharmila was arrested and force-fed in hospital her protest gained world-wide media attention to this law PTI COR JRC JRC

Manipur, January 26: The voting for the Manipur Assembly Elections 2022 will be held on 60 constituencies in two phases. Phase 1 is scheduled for February 27 while phase 2 is on March 3. The counting of votes will take place on March 10, and on the same day, the Manipur Assembly Elections 2022 results […]