Nagaland Tribes Council urges President of India to repeal AFSPA

Dimapur, Dec. 17 (EMN): The Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has urged the President of India to revoke the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the state in order to restore the confidence of the victimised people of Nagaland in particular and the Northeast in general.

In a representation to the President of India, the NTC accused the government of India (GoI) of declaring the entire state of Nagaland as “disturbed area” all these years without proper assessment of the ground reality, thus giving the armed forces the power to victimise the civilians on the pretext of dealing with insurgency.

Maintaining that the state is peaceful with all the state-based Naga political groups (NPGs) having signed ceasefire with the GoI for the past 24 years, it said there is no reason for the Centre to extend AFSPA in the state. It added that the dialogue between Indian government and NPGs had ended on October 31, 2019 “with agreed points for settlement” and ‘all unresolved matters to be pursued through democratic political process post-solution’.

It stated that the Indian armed forces gunned down 13 innocent civilians and injured many in Mon district earlier this month when people were expecting solution to the Naga political issue before Christmas. Pointing out that similar incidents have been taking place for over six decades, it said atrocities should and the security personnel responsible for the criminal act in Oting villagers be brought to justice at the earliest.

Stating that olive branch is being offered to the peace-loving Nagas on one hand and killing civilians on the other hand amid ceasefire with NPGs, the NTC said that the Indian army will continue to abuse AFSPA till it is revoked.

‘Peace and war can’t go together,’ it said, adding that Nagas can’t be hunted down at the whims of the Indian armed forces.

If peace is to be given a place, civilian killing and atrocities have to stop and the AFSPA revoked in Nagaland, it said.

“This double standard policy of GoI proves that Nagaland was brought to its Union to be suppressed indefinitely,” read the representation while urging the President “to take immediate steps and impress upon the GoI” to repeal the Act.