Manipur okays partial removal of Army Act

The Manipur Cabinet on Thrusday decided to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the municipal areas of Imphal and Greater Imphal on a trial basis.

The decision came even as the political crisis building up over the agitation for the withdrawal of the Act threatened to snowball.

Minutes after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Ibobi Singh and some of his Cabinet colleagues went to hospital to persuade 33-year-old social activist Irom Sharmila to end her fast-unto-death to press for the withdrawal of the Act from the state.

Singh decided to convene a Cabinet meeting after it became clear that the agitation threatened the existence of his government.

He had earlier announced that the government would review the Act on or before August 15.

A 12-hour bandh by students' organisations to press for the withdrawal of the Act saw districts, towns and headquarters deserted, with people preferring to stay indoors. Markets, shops and business establishments remained closed, while attendance in government offices was almost nil.  Transport services were also suspended in response to the bandh called by the All Tribal Students Union Manipur and All Naga Students Association Manipur.

The CPI, a ruling partner, and eight Congress legislators, including two ministers "" K Govindas (Public Health) and Alaudin (Minister of state for Public Health) "" had earlier threatened to resign if the Act was not repealed by August 15.

Whether the partial repeal of the Act will satisfy the agitators is not clear.

The decision of the Manipur government was discussed threadbare at a late-evening meeting of the Centre's Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which took place in Delhi.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil spoke at the PAC on the implications of lifting the Act from the other parts of the state as well.

The Centre did not favour the lifting of the Act but the state went ahead because of the protests against Manorama Devi's alleged killing by Assam Rifles personnel on July 11, Singh said at a press conference. He admitted that the Centre had the power to withdraw or reimpose the Act in the state.

The chief minister said the Centre's argument for not lifting the Act was that if it was withdrawn what would be the reactions from neighbouring Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. Singh said except Sikkim, the Act was in force in the other northeastern states.

He said the people of Manipur had been subjected to atrocities by the security forces for the last 24 years, ever since the Act was first imposed in the state.