The Nagaland government is going to organize a special session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA). The special session of the assembly to be held on December 20 and the assembly will discuss and a resolution to abolish AFSPA will be passed.
“The special session is scheduled for December 20 and the Governor of Assam and Nagaland Jagdish Mukhi will formally convene it,” Nagaland Parliamentary Affairs Minister Neeba Kronu told reporters in Kohima.
The decision was taken during the meeting of the state government’s core committee on the Naga political issue here. The Naga political issue will also be discussed in the special session.
On December 4, 21 Special Para Commandos ambushed Oting village in Mon district and killed 13 innocent civilians who were returning to their homes from coal mines. Following the dastardly incident, on 5 December, an angry mob attacked the Assam Rifles camp in Som and set its properties on fire. One civilian died on the spot and six others were injured in firing by the Assam Rifles that day.
After these incidents, there is a demand to abolish AFSPA from Nagaland. Nagaland Chief Minister Nephio Rio had on December 6, after laying wreaths on the bodies of the victims, demanded the repeal of the harsh law.
Tribal organizations and civil society, including the Naga Students Federation and women’s groups, have been asking the state government to hold a special session of the assembly and pass a resolution to repeal the Act.
Meanwhile, an emergency cabinet meeting was called by Chief Minister Rio in Kohima on 7 December and it was decided to repeal AFSPA from Nagaland. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, empowers the Army to arrest and detain in disturbed areas.
Addressing a tribute program in Kohima in memory of the slain civilians on Wednesday, Nagaland Chief Minister Rio appealed to the people not to retaliate against anyone in connection with the tragic incident.
“It is time to defeat violence in a non-violent manner and people should show the nation that AFSPA is not needed. Society cannot allow any force to derail the hard-won peace process.”
Former Chief Minister TR Zeliang made a strong demand to abolish AFSPA from the state, saying, “AFSPA only brought pain and suffering. No reason can justify the killing of innocent civilians.”
Zeliang said that while the Nagas were hoping for an eventual success in the ongoing peace talks on political issues, the December 4 incident came as a harsh shock.
It is noteworthy that the Nagaland government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the chairmanship of Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Sandeep M Tamgadge, to probe the December 4 incident, which has taken any information regarding the incident. People have been requested to contact. ,
“With regard to State Crime Police Station Case No. 07/2021 of Oting murder case in Mon district on 4th December 2021, Special Investigation Team (SIT) would like to request any person having information about this unfortunate incident to contact Is. SIT. Sandeep M Tamgadge said in a statement, “Photos, videos, suspicious activities or any other information related to the incident has not been originally forwarded to any person from the primary source (secondary source), please do so in the interest of police investigation.” can share.
‘If AFSPA is not removed then there is no solution’
Naga insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) on Wednesday said ‘Indo-Naga’ political talks would not be fruitful in the shadow of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
Referring to the killing of innocent civilians on December 4 in Oting village, the NSCN(IM) said it has been prompted to take a stand on the harsh AFSPA.
“This infamous AFSPA has given license to Indian security forces to shoot and kill anyone only on suspicion. We the Nagas have suffered the humiliation of our human dignity for a very long time. The Nagas have had a bitter taste for this act on several occasions and have shed a lot of blood. Blood and political dialogue cannot go together. Nagas can no longer be made laughing stock in the eyes of the world. No political talks will be fruitful under the shadow of AFSPA.
“If the government India (Government of India) wants to do justice to the Naga people, AFSPA should be withdrawn immediately and probe should be set up immediately for proper prosecution. The investigation should be free and transparent,” the rebel group said.
AFSPA
AFSPA, 1958 is an Act of the Parliament of India that provides special powers to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”. According to the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, once declared ‘disturbed’, the area has to maintain status quo for at least 3 months. One such Act passed on 11 September 1958 was applicable to the Naga Hills district, Which was a part of Assam at that time.
In the following decades it spread one after the other to the other northeastern states – Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Further, the words “Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958” were substituted by “Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958”, which is an abbreviation of AFSPA, 1958.
However, the Tripura state government has decided to withdraw the controversial Act, citing a significant reduction in the extent of terrorist activities in the state.
The AFSPA was initially stated to have been enacted to assist state governments that were unable to sustain internal unrest. The AFSPA gives the armed forces extraordinary powers and legal immunity to bring back order in areas designated by the government as “disturbed”.
Some of these powers include shooting at any person acting against law and order, arresting anyone without warrant, stopping and searching any vehicle or ship, and prohibiting the assembly of five or more people. Is. The possession of firearms by civilians is also prohibited under the AFSPA. The law also provides special powers to non-commissioned officers.
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