UN Special Rapporteur on Extra Judicial Executions held regional consultative Meet with North East groups

Guwahati, 29th March 2012

the dais/ first session---From l-r---Irina ( Prof Heyns assistant who did the writing part took all the notes), Prof Heyns, Justice Shishak

UN Special Rapporteur on Extra Judicial or Arbitary Executions, Professor Christof Heyns held a regional consultative Meet with various groups of the North East on 28th of March in Guwahati . The Manipur team that came for the meeting was the biggest under the umbrella organisation--Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights(CSCHR) in Manipur which is a conglomerate/coalition of 18 Manipur civil society/HR organisations. The President of the Centre for Organising Research and Education(CORE), Manipur , Dr Debabrata Roy Laifungbam who is also the Chief Convenor of CSCHR led the Manipur team. Babloo Loitambam of Human Rights Alert, Manipur was the main co-ordinator .

Assam was represented by Manad Adhikar Sangram Samiti.Its President Bubumoni Goswami made a presntation. Senior journalist from Assam, Mrinal Talukdar made a presentation based on his new book namely "Secret Killings in Assam".

A representative from Barak Valley Human Rights Peoples Organisation also made a presentation. The representation from Meghalaya was a joint collaboration between the Civil Society Womens Organisation(CSWO) and the 'Impulse NGO Network'. Rosanna Lyngdoh of Impulse made the presentation on behalf of the joint group.

Taring Mama of Arunachal Citizens Right , Anthony Debbarma of Borok Peoples Human Rights Organisation from Tripura , Neingulo Krome from NPMHR, Nagaland and Angela Ralte of Human Rights and Law Association of Mizoram were the others who made presentations from their respective states.

-mothers of victims breaking down while talking and posing for the media.

The inaugural session was chaired by W.A.Shishak, former CJ of the Chattisgarh and Himachal High Courts as also the former Chairperson of Manipur HR Commission. Professor Heyns said in this session that the outlook of the UN as also the main guiding principle of his visit was to save human life as it is significant. " And if any life is lost then it is imperative to make one accountable for the loss. This is how loss of lives will get reduced. I am here in India for two weeks...my visit will end this Friday when I will hold a Press Meet in New Delhi just to reveal my experience. What actually have been collected will be formulated into a report and only placed next year in the UN. One copy of the report will go to the UN and I will make a presentation in the UN General Assembly, another copy will be given to the Govt of India while a third copy will be given to the International HR Council. I also want to make clear that my task is to hear you and then file a report in which I can make recommendations...to change Govt's and regimes is not in my hand. I can only raise and pass whatever you want to convey to the International community. ", he said.

Shishak , chairing this session, on his part made a scathing attack on the AFSPA saying that India being a republican Govt, the clamping of an Act like the AFSPA is ghastly. " There is no pretensions...rampant HR violation is a reality as far the North East India is concerned.", he said to the Rapporteur. He asked the gathering to utilise the visit of the Rapporteur to the hilt by feeding him well with the present ground reality in every part of the North East and asked the Speakers to come out with the naked truth in their presentations.

A two minute silence for all those who have been killed was kept. In the business end of the Meet which was a closed door affair , there were testimonies given from across the NE by families of conflict victims and reactions/responses placed by different bodies and Institutuions of the region to extra judicial and arbitary killings, other than the formal state presentations. The meeting ended with a brief interactive session with the Special Rapporteur.

group photo at the end of the Meet/ Rapporteur with families of the victims

Debarata Roy Laifungbam, Chief Convenor of CSCHR,Manipur talking to the present mediapersons revealed that the Special Rapporteur has come of his own volition and wish rather than being asked/requested to pay a visit. “He has had heard about NE India and the number of HR violation and extra judicial killing cases that occur here and so was himself desirous to pay a visit . He took approval of this visit from the Govt of India....the only thing is that the Govt of India didn’t give him permission to hold this meeting in Imphal where it was originally planned for. The GOI didn’t give permission to him to visit Imphal and Raipur. ”, he said He also revealed that the main aim of various groups of the region was to impress upon the following facts to the Special Rapporteur---

1. That a situation of armed conflict exists in the region.

2. The military was pushed in to ostensibly train and build up an efficient police force. But if even after 40 years the police force hasn’t been trained then what is the meaning?

3. It is not a question of merely HR but also humanitarian law . The victims of the armed conflict are not only security forces and militants but also a huge number of innocent civilians. It is a very relevant issue as India is also a signatory to the Geneva Convention.

4. After every extra judicial killing no proper inquest is held. The enquiry is given under an executive magistrate which is actually a farce. The executive magistrate remains bogged down and is easily influenced by the security forces. Enquiry should be under nothing less than a judicial enquiry or an enquiry under the Metropolitan magistrate.

5. Families of the victims are not provided with a copy of the post mortem report. If they holler for it the police only asks them to move the Court and collect it from there which is a difficult procedure and so simple people fail to get the same. Getting a copy of the p.m report is a just right of the victims family and they should get it directly from the police.

6. The AFSPA is a political statement and has no justification in being clamped only in one or two regions of the country whereas it has no presence in any other states.

The family members of the victims, particularly from Manipur who had come specially for the occasion posed for photograph with the Special Rapporteur after the meeting got over . They also narrated their loss before the present media...many of the aged ladies broke down and were inconsolable . The hysterically asked the media to do their bit for the cause of justice.

While most present had high hopes following the Rapporteur’s visit but that he spent just around three hours to grasp all details from the North East was felt by many as too small and concise a time period to relate everything well and properly to him and also for him to form a clear understanding.