NEW DELHI, Nov 30 � The Centre has ruled out the possibility of withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, (AFSPA) 1958.
In view of the security situation in some of the North Eastern States, it is necessary that the AFSPA continues to be in force, Minister of State for Home Affairs, M Ramachandran said. ���
Meanwhile, the� entire State of Assam and a 20 kilometre-wide belt in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya bordering Assam were declared� �Disturbed Areas�� for a further period� of one year� with effect from� November 3�� under section 3 of the� Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
Meanwhile, at least 87 innocent civilians belonging to different communities were killed in the North Eastern States by various militant outfits this year. In Assam, 52 civilians of which 14 belonged to Hindi-speaking community were killed followed by Manipur, where 29 civilians were killed.
It may be mentioned that several human rights groups have been demanding withdrawl of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, for they felt this Act was responsible for numerous deaths, illegal confinements and torture of innocents in the Northeastern Region.
