By IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 13 Oct 2014: The draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act must be repealed to facilitate the release of Irom Sharmila, former justice Rajinder Sachar has demanded as his Socialist Party on Sunday observed a one-day token fast for the iron lady of Manipur.
“The AFSPA must be repealed to facilitate the release of Irom Sharmila who has been protesting against this draconian law for 14 years. All Indians who believe in democracy and non-violence should unite in support of this demand,” Sachar told a gathering at Jantar Mantar here.
President and the Supreme Court to intervene in this one of the most serious issues of our time, he said. Sachar is a senior member of the Socialist Party.
“The Socialist Party has observed one-day token fast on 12 October (Dr. Lohia’s Death Anniversary) 2014 in all the states demanding the release of Irom Sharmila and repeal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (Assam and Manipur) 1958,” said a party statement.
The Delhi unit of the party observed the fast at Jantar Mantar in which members of the party and Socialist Yuvjan Sabha (SYS) participated in a big number.
The party also submitted a memorandum to country’s President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention in the issue. “The AFSPA in northeast has been synonym for extra judicial killings, extra judicial deprivation of liberty to people by illegal imposition of curfew, long periods of detention at army posts and camps and use of churches and schools as detention or interrogation centers,” the memorandum to the president said.
Scholars and representatives of several organizations supported and attended Socialist Party’s daylong protest demonstration including ND Pancholi (vice president, PUCL), Arun Kumar Srivastav (general secretary, Janata Dal United), Mr. PC Hamzha (secretary, Welfare Party of India), Rafiq (secretary, Social Democratic Party), Imamur Rehman (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), and scholars Dr. Vir Bharat Talwar, Dr. Apoorvanand, Dr. VP Srivastav and Dr. Bhagwan Singh.
