In this exclusive interview with Communalism Combat and Newsclick, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves speaks of the significance of the July 8 verdict of the Supreme Court of India on the Encounter Killings in Manipur. Gonsalves has been closely involved in cases related to the excessive use of force against the people of Manipur, especially in connection with the special impunity from prosecution granted to the armed forces and paramilitary, for over fifteen years.
It was after a people’s tribunal organized by Colin Gonsalves and others, in which Justice Hosbet Suresh, retired judge of the Bombay High Court participated that Sharmila Irom then in her early twenties began her iconic fast unto death for the repealment of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Irom Sharmila has been on a hunger fast for the past 15 years since November 4, 2000, arrested and released several times. She is presently, again, in judicial custody.
This interview with Colin Gonsalves was conducted by Teesta Setalvad, co-editor of Sabrangindia, in Delhi on July 11, 2016. Tripura, one of the states of the north-eastern region ruled by the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) took the bold step of repealing the dreaded AFSPA in March 2015.