People who don`t want AFSPA repealed are also our own!

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By Deben Bachaspatimayum

From what has been going on it seems like three sets of people do not want AFSPA 1958 repealed in India and each of them do that for all sound reasons. In the first place, the Chief of the Army and the Defense Minister have been very clear and consistently against any move for repeal of the Act. They do it obviously for their own security on ground in the first place and justify that as national interests. Any elected members in the seat of defense minister and Chief of Army of a nation do not need any review on this Act as long as Govt wants them in counter-insurgency duty. There is a valid reason. The second set of people is Coutinho `“ British born NRI who reportedly have contacted an affair with Sharmila. Mr Coutinho`™s clearly wants court to drop the `attempted suicide case`™ on her and release her honourably so he may get married and settle somewhere else. The third sets of people are those within the state who are in power and positions in the Government and those who are drawing direct and indirect benefits from the ongoing violent situation. This set of people also clearly does not want to repeal AFSPA because they badly need the army for their own security within the state.

From the above observations, it is not difficult to surmise how these three sets of people work together in tandem to ensure that anti-AFSPA or for that matter, the anti-security struggles are demoralized and trivialized to insignificance in the international community which has taken serious note of the Act. It is difficult to find how Coutinho eavesdropped into the struggles for repeal of AFSPA in 2006 but it is becoming easier to make out how Coutinho `“ a foreign hand is apparently weakening the struggles for repeal of AFSPA by stealing Sharmila`™s heart on a diversionary tract. If Coutinho were from Pakistan or China I am sure New Delhi would have made him a threat to national security. How and why is that Coutinho whose background is dubious allowed to play so easily out on critical issue like `Right to Life` for the politically threatened and marginalized sections of people in Manipur for eight long years without any restrictions from the concerned ministries and intelligence?

This is the second time Coutinho has come to Manipur knowing very well how he will be treated after earning even more foes of the people than friends in Manipur through his own arrogance and provocative email communications. This man clearly and whole heartedly supports Sharmila with his own vested interests not the people for who Sharmila has been consistently fighting since 2000. For his own interests he even goes to the extent of alleging that Human rights activists, individuals and women groups who are supporting Sharmila to be working in collusion with police and intelligence for her death!? All that, he wants is Sharmila ends her fast and get married with her as soon as possible. Compare Coutinho with Michael Aris, the British Anthropologist and an authority in Tibetan and Bhutanese studies (who married Aun San Suu Kyi `“ a political leader fighting for democracy in our neighborhood). While anybody may have any judgment on how Coutinho impacts our struggles for life and dignity his feelings for Sharmila may also be honoured with dignity. Sharmila`™s tears for Coutinho while being whisk away from the Court campus on that fateful day must guide our community responses to him and the situation lest we should end up losing all: our child, bathwater and the tub. Possibly, Iron Sharmila became an easy and soft target for national security especially when she has been experiencing legal and social isolation for years together for the alleged crime of asking for `Right to Life`™ for ordinary people in India`™s own home grown insurgency ridden geo-strategic region. Coutinho owes the credit of filling in emotional, socio-psychological, intellectual vacuum and personal material requirements of Sharmila`™s prime time life in isolation.

However, any sensible person would not have meddled with the sensitive situation and Sharmila`™s life after the incident of burning and banning the Telegraph Newspaper by civil society organizations for reporting about Sharmila`™s personal life stories which was perceived as an act of sabotage in the struggles for repeal of AFSPA 1958. But Countinho braved to venture in Imphal by forcing himself to be part of the observation of decade old struggles of Sharmila way back in 2010. He even tried to sit close to Sharmila to the extreme displeasures of her support group staging Dharna. His act was considered blatant and lacked of traditionally approved gendered behavior in public. Resentment caused by his behavior triggered hostile behavior among women leaders sitting Dharna and created a contemptuous scene in public. But Coutinho did not learn any lesson and continued to be a romantic hero while acting as someone who represents the international solidarity for Sharmila. Not that, how he was treated by the women folk was any worthy behavior towards a foreigner Coutinho dared to challenge the social norms governing around how a man who wants to have a love affair with a woman should conduct in front of elders in the society and the consequences of not following the norms.

Knowing well how he will be treated again this time Coutinho not only dared to stay for longer time, met many times with Sharmila by taking legal help from the law court and also reportedly tried to influence Sharmila`™s opinion in the court proceedings but what was surprising most absence of any security arrangements for Coutinho `“ a foreigner who was an unwelcome guest!

Alongside Sharmila`™s unprecedented struggles for repeal of armed forces; civil society groups, coalition of legal and human rights activists in the state has been tirelessly sensitizing and mobilizing people across length and breadth of India through national network, and across countries and the international community to put pressure on Indian Govt to repeal the back on basis of Govt`™s review committee reports. AFSPA also figured in the election manifesto of national and regional political parties during the last General Assembly and Parliamentary elections in 2012 and 2014, respectively. However, the defense ministry under pressures from the chief of army has been stiffly against repeal of the Act as something that is not only against the national security and interests but immediate threats to it.

Given the context in which AFSPA is considered an essential instrument for keeping the politically disturbed regions in India it is easy to understand how a nondescript person like Coutinho `“ who, Dr Rebello, a medical doctor turned international peace activists once reported in a personal communication as having a mental condition `“ continued to be allowed to come to Imphal for his personal mission without any hindrance from the state Govt and making any security arrangements accorded to a foreigner on tourist visa, especially when his presence could infuriate Sharmila local support groups. The scene of manhandling Coutinho by Sharmila supporters and the ways he was allowed to be chased outside the court campus freely under the nose of police personnel and security arrangements was revealing of a plan. Coutinho is known as Sharmila`™s closest supporters in some quarters of Europe and social network. Surely, the news of manhandling Countinho in Imphal court complex through electronic and social media is expected to discredit the decade long struggles of the people for rule of law and democracy in this part of the world.

Reliably, Coutinho seemed to have won the hearts of Sharmila and succeeded to influence her deeply. Clearly, Sharmila is in love, and so also, the Defense Minister and the Chief of Army are in love with their own national interests. Love is blind. It is blind to the truth, democracy, reality of and justice to the people who struggle for it. But the struggles for right to life and dignity do not end here. Those who are against the repeal of AFSPA and take decisions to prolonged its operations against all democratic standards, norms, and practices of rule of law are also our own very powerful people who we dutifully elect every five years and strengthening their positions further, term after terms! The enemy is within and it is the most powerful and oppressive. Any amount of Leikai wayels, mobo-cratic and arbitrary actions cannot repeal a legislation of the Parliament rather it can only strengthen the prevailing lawlessness in the society to our own detriments. AFSPA is a political and legal act and it must be fought by the same means. While we may think our local action of manhandling a foreigner was legitimate for disrespecting local sentiments and violating social norms we must also ensure that our thoughts are in tune with the global community.

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