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Balance of Terror
By Leader Writer: Jagjit T
The decision by the state Cabinet Wednesday to extend the state’s ‘disturbed area’ status under the provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, for another one-year term from tomorrow comes as no surprise. The imperatives of governance more or less made the decision inevitable. However one may wish it otherwise, the situation in Manipur is nowhere near normal, as would be obvious from a casual perusal of the headlines of the local dailies.
Where the civil police and other state forces still cannot adequately tackle the problem of insurgency; there is no option but to continue to utilize the Army and other Central forces. In the circumstances, the government had little choice but to continue with the AFSPA, however unpopular that decision may be. Even the Democratic People’s Party, which has been vociferous in demanding the removal of the application of the Act, seems to have realized this, judging from its muted response so far.
Having said that, it is hard to challenge the argument that the induction of the Army and the imposition of the AFSPA have done little to curb insurgency, but rather the reverse. The tales of fake encounters, involuntary disappearances, custodial deaths, torture, and other excesses that are routinely committed under the cover of the Act are a familiar enough litany, and the argument that such excesses, and the virtual immunity that the Act grants the security forces have driven many into the arms of those with a secessionist agenda, and left many more profoundly distrustful of the Indian agencies and the Indian system, is a convincing one.
The problem, it would seem, is not much with the Act itself, but its abuse, and the lack of any effective mechanism to curb such abuses. The requirement of Central sanction for the prosecution of any security personnel for offences committed under the cover of the Act means, in practice, that such offences are almost never prosecuted, since the Central government very rarely gives its consent. What it amounts to, therefore, is that the Army has been given great powers, but without the requisite accountability, thus opening the floodgates for misuse.
Remove the provision requiring the Center’s consent for prosecution of offences by the security forces, make the latter answerable to the state government, ensure strict monitoring, and it may very well be that the AFSPA will be something that most people of Manipur can live with. Such a step may impinge upon the Center’s prerogative to exercise control over the defense forces, but since the Army is here only to aid the civil administration, there is nothing wrong in making it accountable to the latter. Within the Army apparatus also, there is a need to ensure greater accountability for acts committed by Army personnel.
Sadly, it has been our experience over the years, that the authorities of the Army and the security forces routinely turn a blind eye to excesses committed by the rank and file, other than in exceptional cases. What rankles most about such incidents as the Malom massacre of November 2000 is that the killers are almost never called to account, nor punished. Multiply this with every fake encounter, every disappearance that goes unanswered, and it should come as no surprise that there is considerable resentment and distrust among the public – a pool of anti-establishment sentiment that has to retaliate at some point in time.
The military civic action programs, while commendable, are not enough in themselves to counteract this; what the Army’s authorities have to ensure is strict accountability for every single act of discourtesy, every excess, and every unlawful act committed by its troops. Moreover, the Army must not only act to curb abuse of power, but also must be seen by the public as doing so. The Army must realize, if it has not done so far, that in a situation such as in Manipur, the question of whether it is able to accomplish the job it is here to do, depends very much on public opinion.
(Courtesy: The Imphal Free Press) |
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