Every year hundreds of widows are
generated by the ongoing conflict. Many of them are still fighting for
‘justice’ as none has got satisfactory explanations regarding the killing and
disappearance.
By- Bhavan Meitei
It
wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there is no life in Manipur beyond 5.00
P.M. One extra minute beyond it, fear is the only thing which reigns supreme.
Fear is the only thing which keeps people behind closed doors. And fear is the
only thing that defines life in this part of the country. However the fear
stems not so much from absence of light as much from the sense of insecurity
that darkness brings. In Manipur one would find an assortment of archaic laws
and the consequences of its application in full force. Death is accepted as run
of the mill stuff which does not deserve any attention. The sense of acceptance
amongst the people is not because they have successfully achieved the
Eriksonian’s “Ego Integrity” stage when a man welcomes death with open arms but
because they are suffering from learned helplessness.
However it is the man in the street that is caught in the cross-fire. They have
learnt to take the hit from all sides: state and non-state actors. Here rules
are observed more in violation than in obeying it. The law of the land is
violated with impunity as accountability exists only in name. A guy with a gun
in his hand is the man of the moment and his wish becomes the command of the
victims. Here the only certainty is uncertainty of one’s life. One can never
guarantee whether the man who leaves the house smiling would come back in safe
and sound. Here the issue is not about meeting an unfortunate accident. Rather
it is about falling to a stray bullet coming out of a gun irrespective of the
identity of the shooter. So many incidents have taken place in the last couple
of years which are too well known to repeat here. Such is the level of
insecurity prevailing in the State.
But the
issue surrounding the vexed problems is the impact on the fairer sex and how
they cope with the social and economic consequences upon the death of their
husbands. Every year hundreds of widows are generated by the ongoing conflict.
Many of them are still fighting for ‘Justice’ as none has got satisfactory
explanations regarding the killing and disappearance. In almost all cases young
men attending to their daily chores were picked up randomly by security forces
and killed in cold blood. In several of these cases eye witnesses, parents and
neighbours were present who have narrated the cold established practice of
picking up innocent young men and women by members of Assam Rifles and Manipur
Police and gunning them down in the most condemnable manner. Some of the
problems faced by the widows of the hidden war which takes place in the State
on daily basis are:
•
ostracization by the relatives including in-laws and maternal family ;
•
Economic hardship due to lack of source of income; and,
•
Deprivations from enjoying state benefits normally given away to widows as
their husbands were classified as anti-state.
Amidst all the confusion, one Act which has come under heavy attack in the last
three decades is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act commonly known as AFSPA.
This archaic law has come under heavy attack from left, right and centre for
its rather draconian provisions under which the perpetrators of heinous crimes
have taken sheltered. However the larger issue is the impact on the common
people who have become the unlikely victims of the conflicts. Today many of
them have been left high and dry with no support coming from any side. With
neither the society approving their existence nor the government of the day
extending any support, these unfortunate women are in the proverbial no man’s
land.
The focus of this story is on the plight and initiative of the unfortunate
women who are made the victims of the fall out of low intensity conflict in the
region. One organization that has come into limelight is Extrajudicial
Execution Victim Families Association known as EEVFAM. This organization was
formed on 11 July 2009 by the mothers and widows of those killed by police and
security forces.
Renu
Takhellambam, President of the EEVFAM says: “some thirty of us got together,
shared our stories and cried the
whole day on each other’s shoulders. On the other hand pouring out our pent up
emotions and finding that we not alone was such a relief, we all felt
considerably light at the end of the day. We wanted to build on this collective
strength and fight for justice together”. The members of the association meet
every second Saturday and share their day to day problems and stories. To save
their organization funds, they contribute a little amount of money. They formed
some self-help group and take loan from Just Peace Foundation, a civil society
organization, in low interest. The loanee uses the money according to her own
choice and convenience to improve their lives. Some are doing business in
clothes, some weaving, some are running small grocery shops, yet others are
farming or making detergents, etc.
Recently a petition was filed by Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families
Association Manipur (EEVFAM), with the help of Human Rights Alert in the
Supreme Court demanding to set up a special investigation team to investigate
the cases. The petition also demanded to declare that the sanction under
section 197 CrPC and section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 or
any other similar provision in any other law is not necessary to be obtained in
cases of fake encounters and to pay compensations to the families of the
victim. The petitioner placed before the Court details of 62 cases from 2007 to
2012 and also a list of 1,528 cases of extra-judicial executions, compiled by
the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the United Nations.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Union
and Manipur governments on the petition. However on 4th November, 2012, the
hearing of the petition filed by the body seeking for a probe into cases of extra-judicial
killings in the State was extended till 23rd November, 2012 following a request
from the Manipur Government. The Government of Manipur requested to extend some
more time for further inquiry and to cross-check the documents.
On November
23rd, the Supreme Court questioned the “orientation” of the Manipur government
over extra-judicial killings in the state and reprimanded it for drawing a
parallel with the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, which are already under
the court’s scanner over contentious encounters.
“What do you
mean when you talk about Maharashtra and Gujarat? Are you saying that since
people are getting killed there, so people will get killed in your state too?,”
questioned a Bench led by Justice Aftab Alam, expressing its displeasure at the
stand by Manipur in its affidavit. The Bench termed Manipur’s affidavit as
“strange”. It also expressed displeasure over another submission pointing that
militancy, and its difference from ordinary law and order problem, also
necessitating a law like the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act. The Bench once
again granted time till December 3 to the Centre to respond on the plea for
scrapping the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur Special Powers) Act in Manipur.
The petitioner documented 1,528 extra-judicial executions carried out by the
police and security forces. It is alleged that the huge majority of the
killings were in custody and in cold blood. This is a frightening situation
that should shock the conscience of the entire nation. During the last decade,
the torture and killings in Manipur of innocent civilians with no criminal
records whatsoever, who are later on conveniently labelled as “militants”, has
been widely covered in the print media and on television. In this way, it would
appear to the people of Manipur that the Constitution and the Criminal
Procedure Code have ceased to operate within the boundaries of this State.
Hence the present petition for a direction to set up a special investigation
team to investigate the cases; conduct disciplinary proceedings in all the
cases listed, facilitate the giving of evidence by the family members and
eyewitnesses to punish the guilty; pay compensations to the families of the
victims and declare that the sanction under Section 197 of the Criminal
Procedure Code and Section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, or
any similar provision in any law, was not necessary to be secured for
prosecution in cases of fake encounters.
However
the larger issue is the impact on the lives of women who are sacrificed on the
altar of societal scrutiny and the consequent economic hardship especially
those who are not economically dependent. Given the volatile situation in the
region coupled with lack of accountability, it is very likely that more could become
victims with little or no relief. But the matter which deserves greater
attention is how to prevent recurrence of such situation in future. So long
there is no improvement in the level of insecurity which shrouds the lives of
the people in the region and so long draconian laws are in force, nothing could
be said with certainty about the lives of the people. It is high time the issue
is taken seriously and efforts are step-up to ameliorate the lives of the
victims. Nothing could demand better attention than this if we are to maintain
a shred of humanity in this much troubled state.
Original Link: http://www.northeasttoday.in/featured-on-northeast-today/seeking-justice/
No comments:
Post a Comment