Guwahati: Joining the clamour with other Northeastern states, opposition parties in Assam on Monday demanded repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)-which according to them gives sweeping powers to security forces for committing excess on innocent
civilians in the name of counter-insurgency operations.
Raijor Dal president and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi condemned the firing in Nagaland’s Mon district and said that AFSPA should be revoked from the entire North-Eastern region.
In a Twitter message, Gogoi said, “Security forces work under the cover of the AFSPA and do not have to face any court of law. It carries out its own internal enquiry and the people do not get to know whether a case has reached its logical conclusion”.
Meanwhile, regional party Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi also took to Twitter to oppose AFSPA. Condemning the Mon firing incidents, he said, “It’s heartbreaking to see civilians being gunned down by the same forces that were meant to protect them.
I demand that laws like#AFSPA be repealed from the #NorthEast. #Nagaland.”
AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal area). Civil society groups and political leaders have been demanding repeal of the law alleging excesses by the security forces under the cover of the law.
