AFSPA is vital in Manipur's valley as a "constitutional breakdown" fails to bring PR: CoTU to Centre

The Committee on Tribal Unity, or CoTU, a frontal organization in Sadar Hills Kangpokpi District tackling the current turmoil in the state by mobilizing resources, overseeing medical supplies, managing Internally Displaced Persons, and mostly concerned with the political suppression allegedly through 'biased administration' of Manipur Government wondered as to why the absolute breakdown of Constitutional machinery in the state for past four months failed to meet the requirement for the imposition of President's Rule.

CoTU wondered, "Is the burning of a sitting MP, or ex-Lok Sabha MP, or a sitting minister, MLAs not a constitutional breakdown?".

"Is looting of more than 6000 arms and 5 lakhs ammunition in a state armory not a constitutional breakdown?", and, is not a remark of the state Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh inciting hatred among one community over others, not a constitutional breakdown? wondered CoTU.

It then asked the central government what really constituted a constitutional breakdown in a state that required imposition of the President's Rule.

Ng. Lun Kipgen, the Coordinator of CoTU's Media Cell asked the Centre that if at all the absolute breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state could not bring the President's Rule in Manipur, then, re-imposed the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in Manipur's Valley districts as it would be the only tool that could limp back law and order in the state.

He also said that the lawlessness and the removal of AFSPA in the valley districts added fuel to the ongoing crisis in the state.

Gradually, the AFSPA which gives armed forces personnel, operating in disturbed areas, sweeping powers to search, arrest, and open fire if they deem it necessary for the maintenance of public order was removed from 15 police station areas in six districts of Manipur Valley in April 2022.

On April 1, this year barely a month before the outbreak of the wide-scale violence on May 3, the AFSPA was repealed from four other police stations following the withdrawal of disturbed area notification in Manipur Valley.

So far, 19 police station limits in seven districts of Manipur have been removed from the disturbed area notification under AFSPA.

Army and Assam Rifles are facing various challenges in the current turmoil in Manipur following the lifting of AFSPA mainly in the valley districts as the army sources say operating without legal cover provided by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a major limitation for security forces operating in Manipur in the current situation.

The places or the areas where the "Disturbed Areas" tag has been withdrawn in Manipur Valley have become the "Worst Disturbed Areas" now and it is vital to put back the AFSPA if the Centre really wants to bring back law and order so as to let peace and normalcy limps back in the strife-torn Manipur state, asserted Ng. Lun Kipgen.

"To restore the badly disrupted peace and completely shattered law and order, the re-imposition of AFSPA in Manipur's valley is severely vital if President's Rule is not going to be imposed", he added.

He said that the looting of huge arms and ammunition is one main factor for the chaos and wide-scale violence as they are now not only in the hands of the mobs but suspiciously in the hands of the Meitei insurgents groups as well as the surrendered cadres of the Meitei armed terror outfits, who made a sporadic attack on the Kuki-Zo villages in the peripheral areas.

Unless these looted arms and ammunition are completely recovered, law and order, peace, and normalcy would be a mere dream, but unfortunately, the recovery process and rate are still very low, he added.

To speed up the recovery process and rate of those looted arms and ammunition, the Army and the Assam Rifles need to be empowered under AFSPA, as it [AFSPA] will be the only tool to put law and order in the state in place, he further added.

He also said that if these looted arms and ammunition are not recovered at the earliest, the world will continue to witness more bloodshed and violence in the state.

Responding to a query, CoTU's Media Cell Coordinator, Ng. Lun Kipgen said that irrespective of ethnicity, all communities have been living together under AFSPA for the past many decades and the tribals Kuki-Zo and the Nagas are still under the roof of AFSPA in the hills, so, there will be no misunderstanding over the demand for re-imposition of AFSPA in the valley as it is purely for restoring law and order and stop the violence in the strife-torn state.

He then urged the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister, and the party leaders to put aside our political goal and empower the central security forces to bring back law and order, peace and normalcy in the state.