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The Manipur government, in a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs Saturday, requested the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, from areas under the jurisdiction of six police stations in the state.
The decision came after a meeting of the State Cabinet held on Friday. The Cabinet resolved to ask the Central Government to review and revoke the AFSPA declaration for areas under the jurisdiction of Semkai, Lamsang, Lamlai, Jiribam, Leimakhong, and Morang police stations.
AFSPA had been re-imposed in these areas on Thursday (November 14), days after a fresh wave of violence hit Jiribam.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May 2023.
Manipur has had the Disturbed Area status under the AFSPA since 1980, and it was only withdrawn from some parts of Imphal in 2004 following strong protests after the killing of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama earlier that year.
Since 2022, areas notified as Disturbed Areas have been incrementally reduced. It had been removed from 15 police stations in six districts in April 2022, and with its removal from another four police stations on April 1, 2023, it had been withdrawn from the jurisdiction of 19 police stations in total, all located in the Meitei-dominated valley.
A press statement announcing this decision on March 25, 2023 had hailed it as a sign of “significant improvement in the security situation due to the untiring efforts of the Modi government”. A little over a month later, the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state broke out on May 3.
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