Dimapur, Dec. 15 (EMN): The Naga Club has submitted an open representation to the President of India requesting him to repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) with utmost urgency.
The representation stated that the recent Mon incident that killed 14 innocent civilians and injured many others had sparked civil unrest among the Nagas, bringing back memories of the decades of hardship, pain and humiliation endured in their quest for self-determination.
Terming AFSPA as a “symbol of abuse, oppression and discrimination”, it said this law, which is an offshoot of the British colonial era act, had allowed soldiers to rape and torture the Nagas for five decades without fear of being held accountable.
“The Act violates international human rights law including the right to life, the right to be protected from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to be free from torture and cruel inhuman or degrading treatment. It also denies the victim of abuse the right to seek remedy,” read the representation.
It stated that the Nagas had faced unimaginable human rights atrocities in the past, citing incidents that happened in Matikhru village of Pochury area on September 6 1960; Yenkeli village, Wokha in 1971; Operation Blue Bird at Oinam village, Senapati district, in 1987; Mokochung town on December 27, 1994; and Kohima town on March 5 1995, where many were killed, raped and houses burnt down.
“There are hundreds of instances of AFSPA being forcefully used in the guise of quelling the separatist movement which were gone unnoticed to the outside world because it was ignored by the media and went unreported,” read the representation.
“The AFPA is certainly a specific area-targeted draconian law that forces the people to the dictum of the armed forces controlled by the political leadership,” it said, adding that it’s a “racial law” that disregards the right to life.
It went on to say that the “nation needs laws to counter separatist movements” but should review the situation before deciding to extend it, while citing the peaceful atmosphere witnessed in Nagaland after ceasefire with Naga political groups was signed and political negotiation started in 1997.
It is time to let the people live without the fear of being tortured, arrested and shot, said the representation.
“AFSPA is not the answer to the decades old problem of the Nagas. Political will is the answer to this long-standing Indo-Naga issue. The Act which was passed by independent India to suppress the Freedom movement of the Naga people should be repealed and ended with the Liberation of the Naga People,” it concluded.