News Analysis India

Tag: AFSPA

  • AFSPA extended in four districts of Assam, withdrawn from four others

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The Assam Police on Sunday said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA has been extended in four districts of the state for six more months.

    At the Assam Police Day 2023 celebrations here, DGP Gyanendra Pratap Singh said the ‘disturbed area’ tag, which allows enforcement of the AFSPA, has, however, been withdrawn from four other districts.

    “From today, only four districts in Assam will have AFSPA. These are Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar and Charaideo,” he said.

    The AFSPA has been withdrawn from Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao with effect from October 1, Singh said.

    The Assam government had last extended the ‘disturbed area’ notification under the AFSPA for another six months with effect from April 1 in these eight districts.

    The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant, besides giving immunity from arrest and prosecution to the forces if they shoot someone dead.

    GUWAHATI: The Assam Police on Sunday said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA has been extended in four districts of the state for six more months.

    At the Assam Police Day 2023 celebrations here, DGP Gyanendra Pratap Singh said the ‘disturbed area’ tag, which allows enforcement of the AFSPA, has, however, been withdrawn from four other districts.

    “From today, only four districts in Assam will have AFSPA. These are Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar and Charaideo,” he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The AFSPA has been withdrawn from Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao with effect from October 1, Singh said.

    The Assam government had last extended the ‘disturbed area’ notification under the AFSPA for another six months with effect from April 1 in these eight districts.

    The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant, besides giving immunity from arrest and prosecution to the forces if they shoot someone dead.

  • Efforts on to remove AFSPA completely from NorthEast: PM Modi

    Addressing a 'Peace, Unity and Development' rally Modi said that AFSPA could be withdrawn from various parts of the region as the situation has improved in the last eight years.

  • Armed forces want removal of AFSPA from Jammu and Kashmir: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

    By ANI

    GUWAHATI: Days after the Centre reduced the areas under AFSPA in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the armed forces are in favour of the withdrawal of the Act from Jammu and Kashmir.

    Speaking at the felicitation ceremony of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War veterans here, Rajnath Singh said it is no small thing that for the last three-four years the work of removing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was being done in northeastern states.

    “The three wings of our defence forces want Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to be removed from Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible. The circumstances are responsible for the imposition of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir, not the Army,” Rajnath Singh said.

    He said that AFSPA was removed from 15 police stations each in Manipur and Nagaland. “That in itself means a lot. This is the result of durable peace and stability in this area,” Rajnath Singh said. He said that AFSPA was recently completely removed from 23 districts of Assam. The minister said that people from all parts of the country had taken part in the 1971 war.

    “We should take inspiration from the 1971 war, there were commanders from different castes, they belonged to different religions and all unitedly protected India. This social harmony of Assam should not be broken at any cost,” he said.

    The minister said that the Narendra Modi government is “working to wipe out terrorism from the country” and the North East Region (NER) is moving fast on the path of development due to synergy between the Centre and the states.

    Speaking about the eastern border, Rajnath Singh said that it is more peaceful and stable compared to the western frontier and noted that Bangladesh was a friendly neighbour. The Centre had last month removed AFPSA from 15 police station areas in seven districts of Nagaland, 15 police station areas in six districts of Manipur and 23 districts entirely and one district partially in Assam.

    The AFSPA Act empowers the governor of the state or administrator of Union territory or Centre to issue an official notification concerning disturbed areas after which the central government has the authority to send in armed forces for civilian aid.

  • Nagaland government seeks public coop to abolish AFSPA

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio Monday said that the reduction in the area under AFSPA in the state by the Centre is a test and has sought the support and cooperation of the people in respect of law and order situation so that the contontious Act is completely abolished.

    Rio said that all stakeholders had appealed for the abolishment of the “draconian law” and the Centre has “finally” heard the appeals of the people.

    The appeal for people’s support was made by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairman T R Zeliang and senior bureaucrats, besides Rio during a meeting with tribal Hohos (apex bodies) and organizations.

    It followed the March 31 announcement by the Centre curtailing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958, in areas of Nagaland which has been protested against by the Naga civil societies who demanded complete repeal of the Act from the State.

    “The total abolition of AFSPA may take time but the partial abolishement of the Act is a test,” Rio said.

    Stating that this is a crucial period for the state in respect of AFSPA, he said that if law and order is disturbed the Act may be reinstated.

    He appealed for cooperation by the people to ensure that no untoward incidents occur and urged all stakeholders to seriously ponder how to maintain law and order in the state.

    Rio said that a solution to the Naga political issue is for all Nagas and all of them should harbor a sense of unity and oneness and not be selfish in their demands.

    Echoing him, the chairman of the ruling Uniting Democratic Alliance, T R Zeliang said that partial lifting of AFSPA is an experimental phase with the goal being the complete withdrawal of the Act from the state.

    He appealed for cooperation from the people as the police would be handicapped without their support.

    AFSPA has been removed completely in three districts and partially removed in four districts of Nagaland, Nagaland chief secretary J Alam said.

    Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha said the earlier notification on AFSPA issued in December 2021 has been withdrawn and a fresh notification has been issued.

    Out of 72 police station limits, AFSPA has been withdrawn in 15 of them, he added.

    Director general of police T John Longkumer told reporters after the meeting that if everything goes well, depending on the situation the Act may be withdrawn from more areas of the north eastern state.

    “We agree with the GoI’s stand to proceed in a systematic manner,” he said.

    Interacting with the media persons after the meeting, a section of the civil society said they want complete repeal of AFSPA from the state.

    Naga Students Federation president Kegwayhun Tep said the students’ body is not satisfied with the partial lifting of the Act and appealed to the state government to be serious to ensure that the Act is repealed.

    “We have seen many leaders accepting piecemeal solutions, given particularly to the Nagas and the state of Nagaland…We have to ensure that AFSPA is revoked in Nagaland,” he said.

    Another civil society body – Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights too criticised the partial withdrawal of AFSPA in the state.

    “We cannot reject what has been done, but it should be repealed as the AFSPA does not deserve to exist in any democracy,” its secretary general N Krome said.

    Eastern Naga Students Federation appealed for justice for all victims of the firing by the Army at Oting in December last year and said that the state government should remind the Centre in this regard.

  • We want AFSPA lifted but with Centre’s mutual consent; National security first priority: Manipur CM

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday said the people of his state, including himself, want the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act but only after mutual understanding with the Centre as national security is their top priority.

    “I believe AFSPA can be lifted gradually with the consent of the central government. But, we must remember there is no political stability in Myanmar and we share the border with that nation,” the chief minister told PTI in an interview here.

    The first BJP chief minister of the poll-bound state also asserted that the elections will show a massive change and his party will double the number of its seats.

    “We are working hard to get a two-third majority. We have no pre-poll alliance but post-poll alliance can be forged if required,” he said, while listing peace, development and harmonious co-existence as the BJP’s main poll plank this time.

    The Bhartiya Janata Party managed to form a government in 2017 despite having just 21 seats compared to Congress’s 28 by joining hands with two local parties – NPP and NPF.

    The elections for Manipur’s 60-member state assembly will be held in two phases on February 27 and March 3.

    Withdrawing the AFSPA, which had seen numerous agitations in the state including the famous case of the country’s longest fast for any cause, that by Manipur’s Irom Sharmila, remains an important issue and may again figure politically given the killing of 14 civilians in firing by army personnel in neighboring Nagaland recently.

    “We are a border state and share an international border with Myanmar. I have to see the national interest as well. But as a Manipuri and as Chief Minister of Manipur, I want that AFSPA should be lifted,” Singh said.

    “But at the same time, it is not possible to do so without assessing the ground situation. Without consulting the central government, it is not possible and desirable,” he added.

    “People of Manipur, including me, want that AFSPA should be lifted but after the mutual understanding with the central government as national security is the first priority for us,” he added.

    Singh said no major unwanted incidents have been reported In the last five years and insurgency has come down by 90 per cent.

    “Manipur government is also trying to have a meaningful dialogue with Manipuri insurgents living in Myanmar,” he added.

    Besides law and order and the long-standing demand for junking AFSPA, economic woes of the land-locked state which has hardly any industries, are expected to figure high on the agenda of the unfolding electoral battle between BJP and Congress, the two main parties, with smaller local parties such as National People’s Party and the Naga People’s Front chipping in with their own demands.

    Days ahead of the announcement of elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Imphal and inaugurated 13 projects worth around Rs 1,850 crore besides laying the foundation stone of nine projects worth another Rs 2,950 crore.

    Nevertheless, the militancy by numerous groups still remains a bug-bear in the politics of the state.

    A spike in attacks like the November ambush of an Assam Rifles Colonel and his family could turn law and order into the biggest issue overshadowing development work.

  • Lifting of AFSPA in Nagaland: Assam CM Himanta expects ‘positive developments’ in 45 days

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said there would be some positive developments on the demand for the withdrawal of Armed Forces (Special Forces) Act (AFSPA) from Nagaland in the next 45 days.

    “The Centre has already constituted a committee. We are going to see certain positive developments in the next 45 days,” Sarma told journalists in Guwahati.

    “The approach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is very positive. The formation of the committee with a clear deadline of 45 days regarding partial or full withdrawal of AFSPA from Nagaland is a very important step,” the Assam CM, who is privy to the developments, said.

    He was optimistic the initiative would help build confidence and that would, in turn, help address other issues.

    His statements come amidst the fraying of tempers among various tribal organisations in Nagaland after the imposition of AFSPA in the state was extended by six months from December 30.

    The organisations viewed the Centre’s decision as “another attempt to rub salt to the wounds caused by the botched Army operation at Oting in Mon on December 4”.

    Talking about AFSPA in Assam, Sarma disclosed that the state would finally see some rationalisation during the year.

    “The Army has been virtually withdrawn from Assam except in five to six districts. The Assam government will take some pragmatic decisions in consultations with the state’s Home department when AFSPA comes for review (ahead of extension of Disturbed Area status),” Sarma said.

    On the insurgency situation in the state, he said tribal insurgency had come to an end. He credited the various civil societies with the return of peace to the state.

    “The restoration of peace in Assam is the result of the hard work of civil societies. The tribals are determined to not allow anyone to indulge in militancy. When the civil societies are so firmly with you, I don’t see the eruption of tribal insurgency unless we do some gross injustice to the tribals,” Sarma said.

    He said the stumbling block in bringing the Paresh Baruah faction of United Liberation Front of Assam or ULFA to the talks table was the rebel group’s Assam sovereignty demand.

    “But given my personal interactions with people who are directly or indirectly in touch with Paresh Baruah, it is clear that he also wants a negotiated settlement like state and central governments. We are working towards creating a new position where both parties feel it is not very difficult to talk,” Sarma said.

    On the interstate boundary disputes, he said the spirit of Northeast gets finished when the states fight among themselves. He was confident the disputes could be partially resolved within this year.

  • Nagaland civilian killings: SIT unlikely to finish inquiry by January 5

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI:  It appears unlikely that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the December 4 killing of 14 civilians by Indian Army in a botched ambush at Oting in Nagaland’s Mon district, can complete the investigation on time.

    It was given a month by the Nagaland government to complete the probe. The deadline expires on January 5. A senior Nagaland Police official privy to the investigation virtually ruled out the possibility, stating that the police get 90 days to file a charge sheet in court. He cited the gamut of the probe, pointing at the involvement of various stake-holders at different levels.

    The state government has already expanded the SIT that was formed with five officers on December 5. Around 16 or 17 others were co-opted in due course, taking its strength to 21-22. The team includes five IPS officers, the official said.

    An undated order, issued by Addl DGP (Law and Order) Sandeep M Tamgadge, said that the officers co-opted would work under a team. The SIT has so far examined 55-60 witnesses and will examine more people.

    “We have taken help of cyber, forensic and ballistics experts from all over the country. We are conducting the investigation in a very professional, serious and sincere manner,” the official said. Members of a National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology team aiding the SIT are examining data including videos and photographs related to the tragic incident, sources said.

    Meanwhile, an Army team probing the incident is scheduled to visit Oting on Wednesday. However, the Konyak (tribe) civil society organisations made it clear that the personnel should not come in uniform or with arms. As such, Nagaland Police will escort the team, the sources said.

    On December 10, the Konyak organisations had served a 30-day ultimatum demanding that those involved in the killings of civillians be booked and the action taken report brought in public domain.

  • Panel to look into withdrawal of AFSPA from Nagaland, says Amit Shah

    New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Nagaland Chief Minister on Sunday and said a committee will be formed to look into the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland.

    A statement released after the meeting stated that the committee will be chaired by the additional secretary-NE, MHA and will include the chief secretary and director general of police Nagaland. IGAR (N) and representatives of CRPF will also be part of the committee, which will submit its report in 45 days. It also added that the withdrawal of Disturbed Area and AFSPA from Nagaland will be based on the recommendations of the committee.

    The controversial Act gives powers to the armed forces to detain and arrest people without a warrant in areas designated as “disturbed”.

    Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland deputy CM Y Patton and NPFLP leader TR Zeliang were also present.

    A court of inquiry will initiate disciplinary proceedings against Army personnel who were directly involved in the killing of 14 civilians in a botched anti-terrorist operation earlier this month.

    The state government said it’ll also provide government jobs to the next kin of the deceased. To initiate this process, the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police of Mon district will carry out necessary procedures in consolation with the concerned village councils and government jobs will be given on compassionate grounds on the basis of eligibility.

  • Partial AFSPA lift in Nagaland soon?

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to explore the possibility of partially lifting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Nagaland and some other northeastern states.

    The move follows a late night meeting on Thursday between Union home minister Amit Shah and the Assam and Nagaland chief ministers. If the AFSPA is lifted even partially from Nagaland, it will be a first in the state’s history. 

    Sources privy to the meeting said Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton and former CM T R Zeliang were unanimous in their opposition to the AFSPA. But Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is believed to have taken a different stand for his state.

    Shah is believed to have told Rio and the others that if the AFSPA were to be lifted even partially, the modalities would have to be worked out and the state police would have to shoulder more responsibilities in maintaining law and order. 

    ALSO READ: AFSPA to continue in Assam, to be withdrawn if peace lasts, says CM Himanta

    Shah is expected to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the talks before a final call is taken on the matter.

    The Centre will have to decide before December 31 when the disturbed areas notification, which enables AFSPA, will expire in Nagaland. 

    A senior Nagaland police officer said if the AFSPA is withdrawn, among the modalities that can be considered is the setting up of a unified command so that the Army can have a role in the maintenance of law and order.

    The government may consider lifting the AFSPA only in rural areas as the Act was needed in urban centres where insurgents groups are engaged in large-scale extortion and kidnapping, he said.

    ALSO READ: ‘AFSPA empowers military, cannot solve insurgency’: Northeast activists say 1958 law must go

    There is also the possibility of continuing the AFSPA only along a 20 km India-Myanmar border stretch. 

    There has been a clamour to withdraw the AFSPA after the tragic incident in Nagaland’s Mon district in which the Army gunned down 13 civilians in a case of mistaken identity.

    Special home ministry aircraft sent for Assam CM and Naga leaders

    The North-east state has seen massive protests against the law that empowers Army and paramilitary personnel to kill, arrest and search premises merely on suspicion and they are protected against any legal prosecution.

    On December 20, the Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution demanding that the “government of India repeal the AFSPA from the Northeast and specially from Nagaland so as to strengthen the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the Naga political issue.”

    ALSO READ: Nagaland firing incident proves high time AFSPA is repealed from NE, says Irom Sharmila

    At present, the Assam Rifles is majorly responsible for maintaining law and order in the Northeast and it also guards the Indo-Myanmar border with the Army. The Assam Rifles is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure.

    While its administrative control lies the Union ministry of home affairs, its operational control is with the Army.

    MHA officials told this newspaper that both the Assam Rifles and the CRPF, which has about 35 battalions in the Northeast, including 18 in Assam and two in Nagaland, have conveyed to the government they are in favour of a status quo on the AFSPA.

    “All central police forces were asked to convey their stand on the AFSPA and they have all said they do not want any changes in the deployment and want a status quo,” said a senior official of the home ministry.

    ALSO READ: Amid AFSPA debate, civilian casualties in northeast highest in three years

    A special MHA plane was sent from the national capital to fetch the Assam CM and the Nagaland leaders for the meeting with Shah. Currently, the AFSPA is applicable in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts and two police stations of Namsai district in Arunachal Pradesh, and the entire Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, except Imphal municipal areas.

    Central police forces want status quo ante

    As for the central police forces, they do not want any changes in deployment in the Northeast. They want a status quo, a senior official of the Union home ministry said.

  • Rights body joins chorus for AFSPA repeal

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Against the backdrop of killings of civilians by the security forces in a botched up ambush in Nagaland, the Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) raised pitch for the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA.

    The WGHR pointed out that the chief ministers of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur had renewed calls to repeal AFSPA.

    It said the controversial law was already lifted from Meghalaya and Tripura a few years ago.

    “The repeal of AFSPA will strengthen the spirit of the country’s constitutional democracy. India’s human rights record is to be reviewed before its peers at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2022. Repealing this Act would be a positive development to report to the UNHRC at that time,” the rights body said in a statement.

    Expressing solidarity with the families of coal miners and protestors who lost their lives in Nagaland on December 4 and 5, the WGHR said this was not the first time that gross human rights violations were committed under the AFSPA that grants legal immunity for all acts to armed forces when enforced.

    “…Despite the historic judgment of the Supreme Court of India in the Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur case, followed by a CBI investigation into 39 out of the 1,528 cases of extra-judicial killings in that state, the Government of India is yet to grant prosecution sanction against any member of the armed forces found to be involved in the unlawful killings,” the rights body lamented.

    It said the repeal of AFSPA had been a long-standing demand of the civilians, survivors, families of victims, human rights movements and activists around India, particularly those who had borne the brunt of this law in the Northeast.

    The WGHR said the AFSPA had already attracted criticism from several quarters from within and outside India.

    “In the last three cycles of India’s Universal Periodic Review at the UNHRC, several governments recommended the repeal, review or revision of AFSPA…The Government of India, however, has consistently not accepted, but only noted, these recommendations,” the right body said.

    It added the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee had recommended repealing AFSPA in 2005, calling the Act “a symbol of hate, oppression, and instrument of high-handedness”.