[Assam] From the Sentinel

[Rajib Das]

Ramda,

Not true. The day after Irom Sharmila reached Delhi, I
saw quite a few pictures in the Indian newspapers of
civil liberties supporters sitting in dharna with her.

Here is one I could locate:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2106250,curpg-4.cms

As an Indian, it gave me a bit of a heart!

Rajib


--- Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com> wrote:

> >Unless I missed it, there was not a voice of
> democracy waving Assam Netters
> to be heard >in support of Sharmila's lonely
> struggles,
> 
> C'da,
> 
> You are correct. The Sentinel article, also says
> that she is virtually alone
> in her protest and it is surprising, that there is
> no one, be it India
> lovers or India baiters.
> 
> But there has been a lot of lip service - specially
> from the media. But
> thats about it.
> 
> --Ram
> 
> 
> On 10/11/06, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net>
> wrote:
> >
> >  Another surprisingly good editorial from the
> Sentinel.
> >
> >
> > Unless I missed it, there was not a voice of
> democracy waving Assam
> > Netters to be heard in support of Sharmila's
> lonely struggles, when it was
> > aired a few days ago in this forum.
> >
> >
> > Some 'democratic' values, these. Be it Indian, be
> it Assam Netters'!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > cm
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Inbuilt Brutality
> >
> >
> > The hunger strike campaign of Irom Sharmila in New
> Delhi to protest
> > against the continuance of two discriminatory
> Draconian laws in some of the
> > northeastern States comes much too late in the
> day.* However, that is not
> > the worst of it. What is indeed a pity is that
> this just campaign of protest
> > should have been taken up by just one woman in the
> national capital instead
> > of being a concerted and ceaseless campaign by the
> people of all the
> > northeastern States*.* Nay, it should have been a
> national campaign of the
> > people of all the States as an act of solidarity
> with the people of the
> > Northeast. But when has anyone seen the entire
> nation rising in protest
> > against a gross injustice against the northeastern
> States?* However, the
> > voice of protest has been strong in Manipur even
> though Manipuris constitute
> > a very tiny part of the Indian nation. One recalls
> the several powerful
> > demonstrations against the armed forces in
> Manipur, culminating in the one
> > where a dozen Manipuri women protested naked in
> front of the Assam Rifles
> > headquarters after the gang-rape and murder of
> Thangjam Manorama in the
> > custody of the Assam Rifles.
> >  The two Draconian laws against which Sharmila is
> demonstrating in New
> > Delhi are the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
> and the Disturbed Areas Act.
> > Armed with these two laws for Asom, Manipur,
> Nagaland and Tripura, the armed
> > forces have the power (in these four States) to
> shoot down just anybody even
> > on mere suspicion. These two laws empower even a
> noncommissioned officer to
> > shoot down any citizen of these four States on
> suspicion of anti-national or
> > terrorist activities. There is no provision like a
> magistrate having to be
> > present even somewhere in the vicinity. And it is
> such Draconian and inhuman
> > provisions for a democracy that have led to
> countless fake encounters with
> > so-called insurgents. The normal protocol for
> these four States is that the
> > armed forces shoot down someone on mere suspicion
> first, and then plant the
> > necessary incriminating evidence like an AK-47
> rifle, a Chinese pistol, hand
> > grenades and "incriminating documents" on him
> thereafter. Likewise, the
> > armed forces can gang-rape and then murder a woman
> and later claim that she
> > was a terrorist. This is one blatant act of
> injustice involving no less than
> > human life that is attracting more and more people
> towards insurgency. These
> > two laws go a long way in taking away the
> responsibility of accountability
> > from the armed forces. And even when this is done
> in respect of the armed
> > forces vis-à-vis citizens in a democracy,* it is
> like wilfully turning
> > that democracy into a banana republic.*
> >  What is amusing about the review of the Armed
> Forces (Special Powers) Act
> > is that the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee
> constituted to review the
> > controversial Act has recommended that the
> legislation be repealed, but only
> > after incorporation of certain features into the
> Unlawful Activities
> > (Prevention) Act.* This is like having another law
> with the features of
> > the black law to be repealed so that the
> overweening powers given to the
> > armed forces in the four States of the Northeast
> as also in Jammu & Kashmir
> > continue to be available to the military.* This is
> like passing on to the
> > left hand what we do not like to see in the right
> hand. Not surprisingly,
> > this suggestion of the Reddy Committee has raised
> the hackles of all the
> > civil rights groups in Manipur, though one does
> not see very much of a
> > reaction in the other States where the two black
> laws are in force as well.
> > If it is the duty of the Centre to protect
> citizens of every Indian State
> > from external aggression and internal disturbance
> (responsibilities that the
> > Centre has failed to discharge), it is equally the
> responsibility of the
> > Centre to put an end to state terrorism and
> needless brutality with an iron
> > hand.There are many more disturbed areas in the
> country. Why are such
> > Draconian laws reserved only for some States?
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > assam mailing list
> > assam at assamnet.org
> >
>
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> assam mailing list
> assam at assamnet.org
>
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com