Irom Sharmila in court again

[asakiyume]

On June 4, Irom Sharmila will be in court in Delhi, which is to say, she'll be in a court that can capture the national eye (not so true of her appearances in court in Imphal, in the northeastern state of Manipur). The charge against her (attempted suicide, because of her hunger strike) is spurious, and worse, has the pernicious effect of distracting attention from her intention, which is to protest an unjust law--the Armed Forces Special Protection Act. People can be tempted to focus on getting her released, and yet, if she were just straight-up released, she'd very quickly die. The only way to truly save her is to work for the repeal of the AFSPA.


(image source)

Unfortunately, even in Manipur itself, there are those who benefit from the status quo. One journalist who has reported extensively on Manipur and AFSPA writes, "The political leadership, bureaucracy, Army and the insurgent groups all benefit from its biggest industry, AFSPA, and thus perpetuate its continuance" (Source).

How can things change? I don't know. But if it's so hard for the government in Delhi, the government in Manipur, and the army to disintangle from this law, then . . . maybe could the law be hollowed out from within? Could members of the armed forces be asked to make pledges to never violate civilian rights, and could there be rewards for honoring those pledges? Could development funds be tied to policies of inclusivity that assured that economic benefits extended to all ethnic groups and even to former insurgents? How do ordinary citizens in Manipur want things to go? What problems of daily life are most important to them? I cast about for ideas, but I'm not well informed about all the nuances of the situation on the ground, and it's not for me to suggest or conclude anything. I can only watch from the sidelines, biting my nails, and hoping.

Comments

[heliopausa.livejournal.com]

I feel so ignorant! I didn't know anything about Tripura and the operations of (and limitations to) the AFSPA there. Thank you for the link to that new article; it gives some insight into how the AFSPA can (potentially, partially) be withdrawn, at any rate.
(I've also just been looking at this 2013 article. (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/afspa-who-rules-india/article4407851.ece) It seems there is considerable political will for repeal, but it's opposed by the military.)

Meanwhile, like you, all I can do is try to get better informed, watch on the sidelines,and try as hard as I can to offer personal moral support to Irom Sharmila - whose name will I hope ring this week across India as people realise more and more how much she stands for the absolute best in Indian culture, history and civil tradition.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

That article is *excellent*; thank you very much for it. Exceptionally cogent.

I don't know anything really about the Tripura situation, other than the fact of AFSPA being lifted. I noticed that one Twitter person commented that "lifted" is not the same as "repealed." The law is no longer being applied there--but it still exists and could be reinstituted.

[desmond coutinho (from livejournal.com)]

There is deliberate confusion on this. The law can be repealed by the Central (Federal Government) of India. But obviously they could reenact it. But just as Texas cannot remove a law for the whole of the United States each State in India which has an AFSPA at present some NE States and J&K can remove it by denotifying disturbed area status. This is to do with paragraph 3 of the 7 paragrpah AFSPA (it's a page long in entiretly). That prevents the AFSPA's immunity laws from kicking in. And the special powers of the AFSPA are about immunity. The confusion comes about because the Indian State or whatever it is of Jammu & Kashmir has a distinct separate Disturbed Areas Act which was repealed. But that Act has nothing to do with the clause in paragraph 3 of the AFSPA. So whereas it is true that the Central or Federal Government of India in Delhi can bring in a new law more powerful than the AFSPA it can overrule a local State according to paragraph 3 of the AFSPA but it has never done so in the North East. For example in 2004 in a well dodgey deal designed to grant power to a local mafia family Imphal West and East where 65% of all manipuris actually live was denotified as a disturbed area. The AFSPA has not applied there since 2004 it was never challenged by the Central Government and never brought back. Tripura began the process of denotifying the AFSPA from all of Tripura last year with very little comment. It's a policy the State Government has been pursuing along with real Development for many years. Some weeks back the Central Government declared the internal border area of another Northeastern State Arunachal Pradesh as disturbed. And within weeks because local people protested loudly clearly taking to the streets most of the new disturbed areas were rolled back in a very fast U turn. So apart from the confusion over the separate disturbed area law for J&K I've heard experts claiming that the local states don't have any power anyway because the Governor actually holds executive power. But that's because they don't understand the Indian Constitution. It's like saying the British PM Cameron doesn't have any executive power it's actually some middle class german woman who runs the country. Put simply for the simple. The AFSPA was removed by the MLAs voted in by the people of Tripura. And it will return if the CM wants it back but not before. Manipur on the other hand is run by mafia families. They are actively seeking Sharmila's death. They make money out of the violence and lack of accountability but unless Mr Modi is serious about change in this tiny part of backward India, it's not looking all that good. The violent and greedy continue to prosper while the rest of us are promised pie in the sky when we die. You really need to stop listening to Northeasterners. Bunch of paid of whores in the best. The only ones I respect are in prison or were and and are now dead.

[desmond coutinho (from livejournal.com)]

And one more if you want to overcomplicate. The CM of Delhi doesn't have any power over the Governor of Delhi because is a Union Territory not a Full State. Delhi was promised Statehood if they voted BJP. But since they voted for AAP they are not going to get it. According to the Constitution the Governor of a State who actually defines an area disturbed or not is purely a symbolic leader like the Queen of England. They are appointed for fixed terms as a Governor by any party. They shouldn't be replaced because they are symbolic. But they can be moved to any of the State of India. Everybody wants to retire somewhere warm clean no violence nice prostitutes. If they annoy the Central Government they can posted to Manipur. If you have already been posted to Manipur you really don't want to annoy them any farther. In Manipur they influenced the Attorney General into retirement by shooting him twice in the back 2010 Autumn. It was done by one of two State Ministers to whom he was giving anti-corruption advice. The CM ruled it accidental. The AFSPA does not apply in Imphal. There's a woman celebrity cop now BJP politician. She was appointed Governor of one of the NE States and ran away claiming the local cops wanted to kill her and she had to protect her daughter's life. TII. She's in Delhi now. I really need to get some rosaries going. They seem to work by some kind of inertia.