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North East |
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Manipur crisis : Centre sticks to its guns
The Union Government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be in no mood to oblige the Manipur agitators by withdrawing the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act which has been clamped in the state to tackle the problem of insurgency.
If media reports are any indication, the high-profile Patil mission to the state on September 5 which was aimed at assuaging the feelings of the agitationists who have since launched a civil disobedience movement against what they call “the Indian Government”, has proved a flop.
Commenting on the outcome of the visit, a keen observer says: “By no stretch of the imagination can the Centre have been pleased with the results of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s first foray into Manipur last weekend. If ever there was a textbook case of `too little, too late’, it was the sight of the Minister travelling to Imphal, nearly two months after the arrest, probable sexual molestation and rape of Thangjam Manorama Devi allegedly by personnel of the Assam Rifles, with nothing in his pocket other than the usual platitudes about being determined to punish the guilty soldiers. His other promise of getting the Assam Rifles to vacate Imphal’s historic Kangla Fort will be believed only when it happens (since a Congress-led government at the Centre, under Narasimha Rao, has already once played a cruel hoax on them in this regard).” “In any case, the movement in Manipur has by now taken on a dimension that brooks no appeasement through symbolic steps. By all accounts, Patil’s meeting with representatives of the Apunba Lup - the 32 organisations spearheading the campaign for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA - did not go well. The meeting was delayed because of the arrest of one of the student leaders. And the fact that the Union Minister’s visit was more in the nature of a side trip - his main reason for being in the region was a meeting of North-East Chief Ministers in Shillong - only served to strengthen the impression that the United Progressive Alliance Government is not serious about coming to grips with the ongoing agitation in the State”, opines an observer.
Commenting on the State Government’s approach towards the movement, the observer further says : “It is regrettable that the Manipur Government of Okram Ibobi Singh has chosen to invoke a draconian law like the National Security Act (NSA) to arrest and imprison so many leaders of the Lup. One can only surmise that this irrational approach has the full backing of the Centre, which believes the situation can be controlled by the simple expedient of imprisoning the so-called ringleaders of the movement against AFSPA. The fact is, however, that the movement is truly decentralised and is unlikely to be weakened through such measures.”
The observer says : “Is there, even at this late stage, a face-saving route out of the impasse for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ? There is. Let him send to Manipur a high-level delegation of experts, including the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and a few members of the National Advisory Council, to meet with the Lup and all parties concerned and listen to what they have to say about the AFSPA. Task the committee with making a concrete set of recommendations within a time-frame of a month and if the committee says the Act must be modified or scrapped, so be it. It is true the Supreme Court in 1997 upheld the constitutionality of the Act but it also stipulated a list of dos and don’ts that are being honoured by the security forces only in the breach.”
According to another observer, notwithstanding Patil’s description of his visit to strife-torn Manipur as “helpful, enlightening and encouraging”, it is doubtful whether it has achieved any significant purpose. The visit itself, in the first place, was belated. The Home Minister wasted almost five weeks since the alleged rape and killing of Manorama Devi on July 11. This incident triggered violent protests against violation of human rights by the Assam Rifles with various organisations demanding stringent punishment for the guilty and the immediate withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. Had he or even the Prime Minister visited the state at that time, it would have helped to cool down the temperature and created an atmosphere conducive for negotiations. Surprisingly, the Centre is yet to take a clear-cut stand on the Act. It is this attitude of dithering and delay that is responsible for the continuing impasse.
Patil’s meeting on September 5 with Apunba Lup failed mainly because he was curt in telling them that the Act would continue in force in the state. He may have said that there were three views on the Act in Imphal. But he should have been flexible in his approach and tried to evolve a constructive solution across the table acceptable to both sides.
Unfortunately, the Centre’s policy on Manipur lacks direction. New Delhi should try to win the hearts of the people by withdrawing the Act which is said to be the main hindrance for restoration of normalcy in the state.
Similar views have been expressed by others. Discontent in Manipur, according to these observers, has been brewing since the middle of July following the alleged rape and killing of a 32-year-old Manipuri woman while in Army custody. If the matter was handled with a little more tact and sensitivity, it would not have snowballed into such a major crisis. But the UPA government at the Centre woke up only when the situation appeared to be going out of control. But then this confusion and callousness have always characterised New Delhi’s treatment of the Northeast. From the beginning, Patil’s handling of the Manipur crisis has been half-hearted. He first rejected the demand for AFSPA’s repeal, then did a volte face and indicated that it could be considered. But when Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee categorically ruled it out, Patil once again toughened his stand. Such flip-flops send wrong signals about a government’s sincerity to solve a problem. When Patil finally found time to visit Imphal, it was seen as too late and too little.
People of Manipur expected the Union Home Minister to make some important announcement, some confidence building measures. What was most conspicuously missing in Patil’s visit was the healing touch. A few soothing and sensitive words would have gone a long way in assuaging the hurt sentiments of the people of the hills and instilled a sense of confidence among them. Even if he was unable to repeal the Act, there was no harm if Patil had given a categorical assurance that the Centre would at once stop its misuse.
Agitation to continue
Following the failure of the Patil Mission to Manipur, the agitationists have decided to continue with their civil disobedience movement and boycott of “Indian goods”. According to reports, torch rallies are being held in various parts of the state demanding repeal of the AFSPA.
According to observers, the situation is likely to aggravate following a statement by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee that troops were not involved in the rape and murder of Manorama which has sparked off the current agitation.
Talking to mediapersons after inaugurating a workshop on Defence news reporting at the Kolkata Press Club on September 11, the Minister denied that either the Army or the Assam Rifles had been involved in any way in the raping of Manorama in Manipur which sparked off chaos and disorder in the state. “Still the troops had been held responsible for the crime committed by the State police there,” he regretted.
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