Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act: Amnest

New Delhi, July 11 (UNI) Non-Governmental Organisation Amnesty International today said it was ''seriously concerned'' that the Government had failed to repeal the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, in force in insurgency-wracked regions.

While demanding the immediate repeal of the Act, the rights watchdog said it was concerned over Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's recent statement that the armed forces would not be able to function without the AFSPA.

Amnesty pointed out that it was exactly two years ago when 32 year-old Thangjam Manorama Devi of Manipur was sexually assaulted and extra-judicially executed, allegedly by soldiers who enjoy special immunity under the 48-year-old AFSPA.

Following protests in Manipur, the Government constituted a five-member panel led by former Law Commission chairperson Justice B P Jeevan Reddy to review the AFSPA's provisions. The panel submitted its report in June last year and its members unanimously recommended the AFSPA's repeal.

However, the Government was yet to act on this panel's recommendation or make public an inquiry commission's report into the alleged extra-judicial execution of Manorama Devi, despite a Guwahati High Court directive, Amnesty pointed out.

UNI VN VD HS1909