Irom Sharmila and Anna in the eyes of GoI; Delhi shows indifference and deference
Source: The Sangai Express / Vishwajoy Mukherjee Courtesy Tehelka
New Delhi, December 11 2011:
Anna Hazare and his team are all set to stage a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar on Sunday and have also got a no-objection letter from the Delhi police and booked Ramlila Maidan to kick off another protest on 27 December.
But the Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign (SSSC) could hold only a brief meeting at the Press Club of India here on Saturday because they were denied permission by the police to stage a one-day peaceful protest at Rajghat The campaign shows solidarity to civil rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been fasting since 2000 seeking withdrawal of the AFSPA from Manipur.
A nationwide signature campaign was started on 2 October aiming to pressure the government to engage in dialogue with Sharmila.
Her long-time associate Babloo Loitongbam, member of the National Advisory Council and prominent leader of the Right to Information (RTI) Campaign Aruna Roy and social activist Medha Patkar addressed the media.
"This is not just Irom's fight.
It is a fight for everyone in Manipur who has been a victim of human rights violations under the AFSPA," said Loitongbam, of the Just Peace Foundation.
The speakers also slammed human rights organisations for "not giving attention" to Sharmila's decade-plus struggle in Manipur.
"In response to the RTI application we filed, we found that despite 11 years of protest and countless human rights violations under the AFSPA, the National Human Rights Council has never visited Irom or the people of Manipur," Loitongbam added.
"Human rights and democracy are intrinsically linked.
A country which has a law like the AFSPA can never call itself democratic," said Roy.
"The reason for the dialogue on revoking the AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir is the international attention the state gets because of Pakistan's involvement.
The people of northeast are invisible� they aren't even considered a part of the nation," Roy told Tehelka.