- DIMAPUR — The Global Naga Forum (GNF) has
termed the recent decision of the Government of India to extend the Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA), for the next six months in “Naga
homeland” as “completely unacceptable.”
- In a press release on Monday, the GNF said AFSPA is
fundamentally anti-democratic and anti-people, and its normalisation in Naga
lands through a six-monthly renewal routine for the last sixty-seven years
running does not stand up to scrutiny – political, legal, or moral.
- “It is unconscionable and universally condemnable,” the
forum said.
Also read: AFSPA extended to Meluri district
- It maintained that the ongoing ceasefire between Naga
political groups and Government of India (GoI) has effectively led to a
suspension of armed conflicts in the region and that peace has prevailed for
years.
- Yet, instead of building on the gains of the ceasefire for a
more lasting peace by repealing the colonial-era law as a goodwill gesture, GoI
has repeatedly imposed the draconian law in Naga areas, “thereby making AFSPA a
permanent fixture in the lives of everyday Naga civilians,” the forum said.
- “AFSPA has come to represent for the vast majority of Nagas
the Indian State’s unending repression of Naga people in their own homeland
through military oppression and intimidation.
- “So, the question Naga civil society has for GoI regarding
AFSPA boils down to one thing: Does India truly cares about the legitimate
aspiration and concerns of the Nagas – the long-cherished Naga desire as a
people for lasting peace and a dignified future? Is the Indian government
committed to justice for the Nagas by fostering genuine dialogue to reach a
negotiated peaceful settlement without AFSPA hanging over the heads and
haunting our lands?” GNF asked.
- The forum iterated that the extension of AFSPA undermines
the spirit of the ceasefire, contradicts democratic governance principles, and
blatantly disregards the Naga people's aspirations.
