IMPHAL, April 28 MNS NNN: Fast-unto-death hunger striker Irom Sharmila who has been on fast for 13 years on the demand of withdrawal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and EEVFAM today submitted memorandums to Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (UNSRVAW).
Manjoo is currently in Imphal on a two day-visit to the state. She accepted an invitation sent on March 13 from the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN (CSCHR) requesting her to visit Manipur and the North East region during her mission to India.
Sharmila, who is also known as ‘Iron Lady,’ said in her representation to Manjoo that she believes in collective persistent efforts of a democratic and non-violent protest in a democratic country like ours.
She said that no law is a God sent. Every law is man-made. “We social beings make laws to govern the society in orderly manner,” the memorandum to the UNSRVAW mentioned.
At the same time, the Extrajudicial Execution Victims Families Association (EEVFAM) in a separate memorandum to Manjoo said families of most of the women victims in Manipur face critical livelihood challenges on daily basis, adding young widows with children face the additional burden of giving them proper education.
Against the backdrop of the present armed conflict situation in Manipur, these widows and mothers are just innocent victims of violence on the rebound and that it is most unfortunate that Manipur Government treats them as if they are ‘criminals’ and deprives them of any humanitarian entitlements on the allegation that the victims were terrorists/insurgents’ killed in fierce encounters, the memorandum said.
It said the truth behind the so-called fierce encounters has begun to unravel in the course of a joint petition submitted by EEVFAM and Human Rights Alert (HRA) to the Supreme Court of India in 2012.
A Supreme Court appointed inquiry commission headed by a former Judge of the apex court has conclusively stated in its report that the dead of seven persons in six cases referred to it were ‘innocent victims’ of extrajudicial killings in fake encounters, it added.
The six cases were chosen randomly by the Supreme Court from among 1528 documented cases submitted to it by the petitioners. The writ petition is listed for next hearing on July 1, 2013.
It also requested the Special Rapporteur to recognize that by generating a culture of impunity and immunity, the AFSPA is one of the overarching structural frameworks for violence against women in Manipur.
And, EEVFAM also requested Manjoo to recognize that the recently amended anti-rape law in India did not incorporate an important recommendation of Justice Verma Commission which clearly mentioned the withdrawal of immunity enjoyed under AFSPA by the armed forces personnel who are perpetrators of sexual assault and to treat them as ordinary criminals, saying it is a blatant discrimination, the memorandum added.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/sharmila-tells-manjoo-she-believes-in-non-violent-protest/