Summary:
Imphal, Mar 31 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah"s 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of movements against AFSPA even as they expressed dissatisfaction that the "draconian Act" has not been totally repealed.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 .