Lamka, March 24 2009: The Sharmila Kanba Lup has asked all political parties not to make the issue of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act their election plank.

Taking part in the relay hunger strike being staged at Porompat PDA complex in solidarity with the cause of Irom Sharmila and demanding to save her life, convenor of the Sharmila Kanba Lup AK Janaki slammed the political parties which have been using the issue of AFSPA as a tool in their elections campaigns.

While there have been innumerable cases of human rights violation under AFSPA, elections have been held many times since the infamous Act was imposed in Manipur, she maintained.

In almost every election, most of the political parties undertook their election campaigns with a promise to repeal AFSPA from Manipur, she observed.

But these political parties quickly forget their own election manifestoes and the assurances they gave to the people at the time of election once they got elected.

Rather they started acting against the interest of the people, she asserted.

Saying that people are well aware of the incredibility of the political parties and hollowness of their assurances, Janaki asked all political parties not to use the emotive issue of AFSPA in their election campaigns.

The Sharmila Kanba Lup would not like to encourage the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, she asserted adding that the capability of each and every political party would have been known had they worked sincerely to repeal AFSPA from the State.

Co-convenor of the Lup, Momon said that the refusal of the Government to acknowledge the eight year old crusade of Sharmila only exposed its irresponsibilities.

Decrying the failure of the Government to register the people's demand to save Sharmila even as the Save Sharmila Campaign has completed 105 days, the Sharmila Kanba Lup functionaries maintained that they will continue with their campaign until the Govt listen to the people's demand and the AFSPA is repealed from Manipur.

On the other hand, supporting the Save Sharmila campaign, Meira Paibis of Lamjao Awang Leikai staged a relay hunger strike at Wabagai Lamkhai in Thoubal district.

The continuing Save Sharmila campaign and the relay hunger strike was launched on December 10 last year under the aegis of the Sharmila Kanba Lup.

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