Imphal, October 15: Wholeheartedly supporting the bandh called to protest the continued imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the State, the All Manipur Tribal Women Union today said that the imposition of the Act has allowed the security personnel to target the innocent public.

The bandh will be enforced 5 am tomorrow and will be in force till 2 pm.

Students will boycott classes tomorrow.

Making its stand known, the Union said that though AFSPA has been imposed to check militancy, it has not succeeded and added that on the contrary militant outfits have mushroomed since the imposition of the said Act.

In fact situation has come to such a pass that Manipur and some States of the North East have been turned into a training ground for the security personnel and the Act has been used to further their career.

Raising some points, the Union questioned whether the imposition of AFSPA has checked militancy or not.

Even though the Reddy panel has dubbed AFSPA as repressive and oppressive, the Government has been sleeping over the matter, charged the Union.

Asserting that the people of Manipur are being discriminated against under AFSPA, the Union contended that if law and order situation is the defining criteria for the continuation of the Act, then Delhi too should come under the Act.

Parliament was attacked and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated there, said the Union and reasoned that Delhi is also a fit case for AFSPA to be enforced.

Training its guns on Chief Minister O Ibobi, the Union contended that lifting AFSPA from only the Imphal Municipal Council areas amounts to playing the divide and rule policy.

The hills are still under this Act.

The convenor of the All Manipur Tribal Women Union is former MP Kim Gangte and significantly, she had spoken out vociferously against the Act in Parliament in 1998.

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