DIMAPUR, JANUARY 15 (MExN): The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today stated that the enforcement of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has only been used so far to intimidate the local population, which has lost confidence in their government. “Only corrupt state officers, politicians and the omnipresent and armed militant groups of Manipur will benefit from the impunity provided by the AFSPA,” said a statement from the AHRC.
The AFSPA, it said, “should not be enforced in Manipur to support organized lawlessness benefitting illegal drug and weapon smuggling cartels.” “Uncontrollable insurgent activity in Manipur,” the AHRC opined, is the direct result of “failed state administration.” Militancy also benefits from the poor management of the international border between India and Burma, it added.
The AHRC, it stated, has documented cases of police officers, government officers, and politicians sharing illegal profits obtained from the black-marketing of essential commodities in the state.
“Armed militant groups often snatch at distribution points or from the road, food grains and other essential commodities like kerosene, and arrange these goods to be sold in the black-market. A share of the sale proceeds is then split between the militant group that organises the heist, government officers, and local politicians,” it revealed.
The AHRC noted that militant groups in Manipur run “extortion syndicates, right under the nose of the state police.” “It is a common sight in the state where militant groups are seen operating check-posts on public roads to collect illegal toll from drivers. Police officers openly share the ransom collected by the militant groups at these toll booths.”
It further accused state police and state government officers of colluding with militant groups in drug trafficking and illegal smuggling of timber through the international border, where officers, politicians, and militant groups exchange information and share profit.
The AHRC lamented that many victims of extrajudicial executions are those “who have fallen foul with these cartels, or are persons shot dead after illegal raids conducted by the armed forces stationed in the state at the behest of the state police.”
Regarding the petition filed against AFSPA by an NGO ‘Extra-judicial Execution Victims Families Association of Manipur’, the AHRC opined that the SC has been presented with adequate supporting evidence to prove that the AFSPA has not in any way contributed to building peace in Manipur.
