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Front Page >> Editorials > Story

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All About Rights
Much like December 1 which is observed through out the world as World AIDS Day, December 10 too has come to occupy an important date in the calendar of Manipur and not without reason. Human rights is a term that has been bandied about by each and every social and voluntary organisations and even the military has come to acknowledge the need to sensitize the security personnel to respect human rights, if the various seminars, workshops and interactive sessions organized by the law enforcing agencies are any indication. 

However seminars and workshops and interactive sessions are at best academic exercises where speakers after speakers will talk about many aspects of human rights and refer to many clauses declared by UNO, especially the Geneva Convention. Why have human rights come to mean so much to the people of Manipur is a question that should be asked and introspected by the people who matter, especially the security personnel and the law enforcing agencies? There is something beautiful and noble about the whole concept of human rights for basically it means allowing a human being to live unfettered and as a free member of society enjoying all the rights that are bestowed on him/her by democracy or the Constitution of a Nation or a country. 

We may also take this opportunity to ask whether human rights violation should be seen only through the acts of commission and omission of security personnel or should encompass the action and acts perpetrated by other organisations which are not strictly under the Government. We may also ask whether it is desirable to curtail the rights and opinion of the individual for the sake of society or whether the individual should be given the freedom to do as he pleases as long as it does not infringe upon the law of the land.

Rights and accountability are two sides of the same coin and when we talk about human rights we need to ask whether this right is unconditional or whether we have certain obligations to enjoy the rights to live as free men and women. In Manipur the definition of human rights is still primarily seen through the excesses perpetrated by security personnel. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is today the focal point of all human rights activists in the State and while we do definitely agree that too many atrocities and excesses have been committed under the immunity granted by this Act to the security personnel, we feel the definition of human rights should take on a larger scale now. 

Our right to live without fear and retribution not only from the security personnel are also rights that we can demand. Our right to protest and question the policies and programs of any organization or voluntary bodies are also rights that should be defended by all votaries of human rights. Our right to say no to intimidation from any quarter or pressure groups should also encompass the definition of human rights. 

Our right to employment and to earn a livelihood and to lead a decent life is also definitely a part of human rights. These are the issues which should be addressed today and only then observing International Human Rights Day will attain its full significance. In observing this day we also respectfully remember the gutsy young woman, Irom Sharmila Chanu who has been on a fast unto death agitation demanding the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for the last couple of years.

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)

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