DIMAPUR — The Naga Students’ Union Delhi (NSUD)
urged the authorities to reconsider the decision to deny prosecution sanction
against the army personnel involved in the killing of civilians in Oting
village.
In a press statement marking the fourth anniversary of the
tragedy, the NSUD stated that the root of this and numerous other human
tragedies lies in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (AFSPA), which
grants sweeping powers to armed personnel without ensuring corresponding
accountability.
“Unsurprisingly, the legal proceedings initiated against the
personnel involved in the Oting tragedy were quashed by the Supreme Court of
India on 17 September 2024. Mon, along with several other Naga areas, continues
to be a “disturbed area” under AFSPA—for several decades now,” it read, adding
that the effects of AFSPA over the decades have been catastrophic.
“It should be known that the so-called ‘disturbance’ in the
Naga areas is solely the creation of the Government of India—a result of its
refusal to resolve the Indo-Naga political issue,” it further said, noting that
the notion of power without responsibility as instituted in the AFSPA is both
unreasonable and a brazen affront to life and liberty.
“We call upon the Government of India to withdraw AFSPA from
all Naga areas effectively,” it said.
