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‘Probe, punish troops refusing deployment'
Prominent human rights organisation — Asian Centre For Human Rights — has demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh institute an inquiry into the "refusal by the Army to be deployed in riot-affected areas of Assam, fix responsibility and take necessary measures including disciplinary action for criminal dereliction of duty".
The ACHR has also recommended the Government of India develop a standard operating procedure so as to establish the supremacy of State Chief Minister as the chairman of the unified command structure and to enable deployment of the Army at the Chief Minister's instruction without any sanction from the Ministry of Defence in cases of riots or natural calamities, organisation director Suhas Chakma said on Tuesday, while releasing a report on the communal clashes in Assam titled — "Assam Riots: Preventable but not prevented" at Guwahati Press Club.
Chakma while releasing the report also recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs hold a national consultation on the issue of illegal immigration and take effective measures to stop illegal immigration by raising the issue with the Bangladeshi Government.
The human rights body had also filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission seeking, among others, development of "Guidelines for Ensuring Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation of the Conflict Induced IDPs" in the light of the displacement in Assam. "The ACHR is firmly of the opinion that the recent riots in Assam that started on 20 July were absolutely preventable but not prevented by the state government and the Ministry of Defence," said Chakma while adding that there were numerous warnings about the impending riots but the State failed to take note of the early warnings. He also alleged that the riots in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts were absolutely preventable but not prevented because of criminal dereliction of duty "by officials starting from the officer-in-charge of Kokrajhar police station to the highest authorities of India's military establishment — Secretary of Ministry of Defence, Chief of the Army Staff, Director General Military Operations and Commander of Eastern Command".
Prominent human rights organisation — Asian Centre For Human Rights — has demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh institute an inquiry into the "refusal by the Army to be deployed in riot-affected areas of Assam, fix responsibility and take necessary measures including disciplinary action for criminal dereliction of duty".
The ACHR has also recommended the Government of India develop a standard operating procedure so as to establish the supremacy of State Chief Minister as the chairman of the unified command structure and to enable deployment of the Army at the Chief Minister's instruction without any sanction from the Ministry of Defence in cases of riots or natural calamities, organisation director Suhas Chakma said on Tuesday, while releasing a report on the communal clashes in Assam titled — "Assam Riots: Preventable but not prevented" at Guwahati Press Club.
Chakma while releasing the report also recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs hold a national consultation on the issue of illegal immigration and take effective measures to stop illegal immigration by raising the issue with the Bangladeshi Government.
The human rights body had also filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission seeking, among others, development of "Guidelines for Ensuring Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation of the Conflict Induced IDPs" in the light of the displacement in Assam. "The ACHR is firmly of the opinion that the recent riots in Assam that started on 20 July were absolutely preventable but not prevented by the state government and the Ministry of Defence," said Chakma while adding that there were numerous warnings about the impending riots but the State failed to take note of the early warnings. He also alleged that the riots in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts were absolutely preventable but not prevented because of criminal dereliction of duty "by officials starting from the officer-in-charge of Kokrajhar police station to the highest authorities of India's military establishment — Secretary of Ministry of Defence, Chief of the Army Staff, Director General Military Operations and Commander of Eastern Command".
