Guwahati: Thousands took to the streets in Nagaland’s capital Kohima Friday, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The demand follows the incident in the state’s Mon district, in which 14 civilians were killed on 4 and 5 December.
The incident was described by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a “case of mistaken identity”, as the Army’ Special Forces ambushed a vehicle carrying local miners. This sparked protests, and more civilians were killed in the resultant firing.
The Nagaland government has also demanded the repeal of AFSPA, with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio describing the incident near Oting village as a misuse and abuse of the act.
Friday’s protest was organised by the Nagaland Students’ Federation (NSF) and saw the attendance of members of several civil society groups and student organisations, including the state’s tribal apex body, the Naga Hoho, North East Students Organisation, Eastern Naga Students’ Federation and All Assam Students Union (AASU). The protestors carried placards and banners bearing slogans like “How many times must bullets be fired before repealing AFSPA” and “AFSPA rears devil in the Indian armies”.
“Ever since the introduction of the Act, NSF has been opposing this tooth and nail. We are trying our best to send a strong message of resentment to repeal this act. This time, we are hopeful that as a government are people’s representatives, they will heed our demands. If they refuse to comply, we will continue to do this with the best possible effort,” NSF president Kegwayhun Tep told ThePrint.
The protestors marched from the Old MLA Hostel Junction in the town centre of Kohima to Raj Bhavan (governor’s residence), where they handed over a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The memo listed the demands for “immediate justice for the Oting villagers” in Mon district, “ the repeal of the draconian” AFSPA and expediting of the “Naga political solution”( a reference to the ongoing Naga peace talks).
Friday’s demonstration spilled over to Manipur, where the All Naga Manipur Students’ Association, in collaboration with the NSF, led the protest in parts of Ukhrul, Chandel and Tamenglong districts.
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‘SIT will not do justice’
The memorandum claimed that the Special Investigation Team set up by the Nagaland government to probe the 4 December incident “will not do justice to the willful acts of the Indian armed forces under the protection of the repressive AFSPA”.
Referring to the Naga peace talks, which have been in process since 1997, the memorandum added: “The Federation sees no rationale as to why the entire Naga homeland within India is tagged as ‘disturbed areas’ and the repressive AFSPA is thrust upon its people when the Indo-Naga political dialogue’s been held at the Prime Minister’s level is at a very crucial stage.”
Earlier Monday, the Konyak Union — the apex body of the Konyak tribe (the predominant tribe in Mon) — launched a “non-cooperation movement”, calling for a restriction on Army movement in the district, military recruitment within the area, any aid and packages received by civil society organisations from the Army, among others.
Demonstrations had also been organised in other districts of the state in the past few days, including in Longleng, Noklak, Tuensang and Kiphire districts.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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