The Nagaland Home Commissioner promulgating the 144 CRPC in and around Rilan, Indisen, Aoyimkum and Dikoi villages owing to the ‘mounting tension’ created by the war against our people by the armed Assam Police inside Nagaland is nothing short of admitting the abject failure of the Government of Nagaland and the district administration of Dimapur in particular in enforcing the rule of law in its own jurisdiction.
It is well known fact that the ‘tension’ is the creation of the unlawful intrusion of well armed Assam Police inside Nagaland and willfully destroying and burning houses and properties and killing Naga people by waging war with the Naga villagers. Instead of stopping and preventing high-handed, arbitrary and unilateral actions of armed Assam Police well inside Nagaland State and providing security to the Naga people who are all from legitimate recognized villages of the Government of Nagaland, the law enforcing agencies and the district administration allowed the Assam Police to indulge in arson and killings. Instead of pursuing the matters against this outrageous actions of the Assam Police with the Government of Assam, the Home Commissioner, Nagaland have promulgated 144 CRPC inside Nagaland against our people for no fault of theirs. The Naga villagers in and around the border areas has done nothing that merits the promulgation of 144 CRPC in their own home and orchards.
If ever the 144 CRPC is to be promulgated in connection to the war waged against our people by the Assam Police and killing of our people, it should be promulgated inside and beyond Doldoli and other areas in the border districts of Assam so as to prevent the armed Assam Police from facilitating encroachers who have been unscrupulously occupying large tracks of Naga lands all along under the direct supervision of the Government of Assam.
Let it be reminded once again to the Government of Nagaland and the law enforcing agencies that under Clause 1 of 28th January 1979 Agreement, the Assam Armed Police were prohibited from entering inside the ‘areas inhabited predominantly by Nagas in the Diphu, Nambor and Rengma Reserve Forests…..’ and that the Assam Government agreed to withdraw all Assam Armed Police posts from these areas let alone establishing other Police Posts inside Nagaland. This agreement was re-affirmed in Delhi Agreement of 11/04/1979 and Imphal Agreement on June 7, 1985. It is therefore the bounden duty of the Government of Nagaland to implement all these Agreements so as to protect our land and its people. However, it is very unfortunate to see the complete lack of political will on the part of Government of the day and the lack sincere commitment in their assigned duties from our bureaucratic hierarchy.
The UNTABA shall therefore demand:
1. The Home Commissioner, Nagaland to immediately revoke the 144 CRPC promulgated in and around the Naga villages so as to allow them to live their normal day to day lives in peace lest its actions becomes a laughing-stock; and,
2. The Government of Nagaland to issue a ‘white paper’ on the Assam-Nagaland border issue vis-à-vis the high-handed actions of the armed Assam Police inside Nagaland in the current Assembly Session.
Hukavi T. Yepthomi
Chairman, UNTABA
Ejanthung Ngullie
General Secretary, UNTABA
