Nagaland govt to discuss Armed Forces Special Powers Act

Several organisations demand special session after the counter-insurgency operation led to the security forces killing 14 civilians at Oting in Mon district last week

Neiphiu Rio.: File photo

Umanand Jaiswal   |   TT  |  Guwahati   |  11.12.21:  The Nagaland government has decided to hold a daylong special session of the Assembly to discuss the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the ongoing Naga political talks, stepping up pressure on the Centre to have the “abusive law” repealed.

Several organisations, including the Naga Students’ Federation, had demanded the special session after a botched counter-insurgency operation led to the security forces killing 14 “unarmed and innocent” civilians at Oting in Mon district last week.

Nagaland minister and government spokesperson Neiba Kronu told The Telegraph on Friday that the special session would be held on December 20.

“Our future course of action will be decided after the discussion…. A resolution on the twin issues will be adopted,” Kronu said.

On Monday, the Nagaland cabinet had decided to formally approach the Centre for repeal of the AFSPA.

The core committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Naga Political Issue, headed by chief minister Neiphiu Rio, decided on the Assembly session during a meeting in Kohima on Thursday. The parliamentary committee consists of all the 60 MLAs and two MPs in the state while the core committee has 20 members.

The Nagaland Assembly is presently without any Opposition because all the MLAs have joined hands to help facilitate the peace process between the Centre and the Naga Political Groups. The process, which started with the ceasefire of 1997, is said to be at a very advanced stage.

Rio, whose Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party is a BJP ally, has gone all out against the AFSPA since the killings while striving to calm the Konyak community, the largest of the Naga tribes, to which the firing victims belonged.

Sources said the overall mood in the state was against the AFSPA and any unrest could affect the peace talks.

Nagaland police have registered a suo motu case against the security personnel involved in the botched operation. A special investigation team has been given a month to complete the probe.

At a government tribute programme for the firing victims on Thursday evening, Rio said the incident reflected “misuse and abuse” of the AFSPA, which was “violative of human rights” and had been opposed by the Naga people for decades.

He urged people to shun violence and show the nation that the AFSPA was not needed. Rio said no force could be allowed to derail the “hard-won” peace process.

Former chief minister T.R. Zeliang told the tribute programme that the AFSPA should go because it had caused more suffering than good.

Zeliang said the Oting incident had come at a time the Nagas were expecting a breakthrough in the peace talks.

K. Elu Ndang, general secretary of the Naga Hoho, the apex body of the Naga tribes, said the Prime Minister had been approached to have the AFSPA removed from Naga-inhabited areas and a judicial probe constituted into the killings. The Centre had been asked to “come out clear” on the Naga peace process.

The North East Students’ Organisation too is seeking repeal of the AFSPA. It has asked all the chief ministers in the region to jointly press the Centre to scrap the “draconian” law.