Asian Human Rights Commission: AFSPA Benefits Only The Corrupt

Posted on January 16, 2016 0 Comments12

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday 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.

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