Guwahati/Shillong, February 27, 2010: The Director General of Assam Rifles, Lt.Gen.

KS Yadava, has advocated the continuation of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the Northeast.

�We (soldiers) function under orders and hence our interests need to be protected," General Yadava said.

�We talk of human rights but what about our rights? Is anyone concerned about our rights?" he asked while talking to a couple of reporters in Shillong.

�If a soldier is not protected to do his own legitimate job, why shall he do it? I feel he needs it (AFSPA) for his protection.

But if it is repealed, who will protect him?" the General asked further.

Rights groups say the Act gave security forces unbridled and unaccounted powers to carry out their operations once an area is declared disturbed.

Viewing AFSPA as something like �amnesty" to soldiers, General Yadava pointed out that the Act did not allow a soldier to be spared if he did something wrong.

�Even when the Act is here, a soldier is not spared if he does something wrong," he said.

With a strength of 46 battalions, the Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force of the country, plays the dual role of guarding the border with Myanmar as well as fighting insurgency.

�We�ve a total of 46 battalions.

While most of them are in the CI (counter insurgency) role, some are doing the border guarding job.

Given the obvious constraint, another 26 battalions would be raised phase wise over a period of seven to eight years from now," General Yadava informed.

�These battalions will come up along with infrastructures such as roads, helipads etc.

They will be deployed all over the Northeast but the first few would be deployed to Manipur along with Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh".

A number of underground groups are active in Manipur while Tirap and Changlang districts are the stronghold of Naga underground factions, General Yadava said while adding, militants of the Northeast use the Tirap-Changlang route to sneak into or sneak out of the porous Myanmar border.

General Yadava said the insurgency situation in the Northeast was relatively peaceful though Manipur continued to be a cause of concern.

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