Rise in abductions worries rights body

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya People's Human Rights Council (MPHRC) has urged the government to take all necessary measures to ensure that abduction is established as an offence in its domestic law.

The rights body is concerned over the recent spate of kidnappings across the state, especially by the recently banned Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), which, on January 24 last kidnapped two engineers of the Meghalaya Electric Corporation Limited (MeCL) who are yet to be traced,

Observing that abductions are being carried out with impunity, the MPHRC said, "It is everyone's duty to ensure that all human beings are safe from harm, and the government has a responsibility to enact and enforce measures that provide a safe environment for all citizens".

The council also called upon the Garo terror outfit to "commit themselves to creating a climate favourable to the resumption of peaceful negotiations and to respect both the most elementary principles of human morality and the most fundamental international humanitarian standards".

MPHRC also urged the government to ensure that the abduction cases are thoroughly and effectively investigated and suspects are prosecuted and those found guilty punished with sanctions proportionate to the gravity of their crimes. The activists further urged the government to ensure that any individual affected by an abduction has access to information about the fate of the disappeared person, as well as to fair and adequate compensation.

Meanwhile, efforts are being made to trace A Pohthmi, assistant executive engineer of Tura-based Rural Electricity Corporation of MeECL, and his colleague Boney Majaw, a junior engineer, who were abducted by suspected GNLA cadre at gunpoint. The GNLA had apparently abducted the two officials to protest the "poor power facilities" in the three impoverished districts of Garo Hills.

The state government, in a bid to tide over the crisis, said that a number of initiatives had been made for improvement of power supply not only in the Garo Hills, but across the state.

The GNLA, headed by police officer-turned outlaw R Sangma, has unleashed a reign of terror in the three impoverished districts of Garo Hills in western Meghalaya. To protest the abductions, public rallies were held at Tura and Shillong recently by several NGOs, which saw spontaneous participation by the common masses.


(2012-02-05/timesofindia)