Dimapur, Jan. 5 (EMN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has described the march against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) as hitting the tail of snake to kill it instead of the head.
The disturbed area tag and AFSPA will automatically become infructuous if the Naga political issue is resolved, stated the party while accusing the state government of delaying the solution.
“We are against the draconian laws. Congress under the leadership of Dr. S. C. Jamir has interpreted clearly to Govt. of India that ‘unrest in Nagaland is political and needs to be settled politically. The issue is not insurgency. It is related to our identity, religion, culture, customs and social practices’,” read a press release by the NPCC communications department.
It stated that the NNC/FGN has adopted policy of non-violence but ‘the political movement underwent changes with rampant killings and recruitment’ when NSCN broke away from it.
“GOI may divide factions but cannot divide the inherent political goal,” it said, adding that AFSPA was forgotten in the decades of tumultuous situation and ‘how to stop factional warfare and assassinations became the priority’.
The NPCC said that the Indian Army faces no threat with all the Naga political groups having signed ceasefire and ‘talks concluded’. It added that the demand should be to “implement solution”, saying that the Centre won’t have a reason to extent AFSPA once the final settlement is arrived at.
“AFSPA has nothing to do with justice to the victims of the Oting massacre,” it said, adding that the culprits should be prosecuted under CrPC.