Konyak Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have condemned the military intelligence agency(s) for allegedly having deliberately misinformed the Central government and misrepresenting facts pertaining to the December 4 Oting massacre.
They have also demanded that the Government of India (GoI) and state’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) book person(s) responsible for the massacre and award befitting punishment. In a joint statement by Konyak Union president S Howing; Konyak Students’ Union president Noklem Konyak and president of Konyak Nyupuh Sheko Khung Ponglem, appealed to chief ministers and student and youth organisations of the North-eastern States affected by Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 to stand united for the cause of fighting the draconian law that was affecting peace in the region.
The CSOs also clarified that restrictions on media fraternity from different parts of the country had been put in place owing to misinterpretation of facts and due to politicisation of the incident. As the voice of the people, the CSOs urged upon the media not to misinform and politicise the tragedy, but to relay the truth to rest of the country and world.
The CSOs also appealed to DC Mon for immediate allocation of a site for construction of a Genocide Memorial Park for victims of both Mon and Oting at Assam Rifles Camp, Mon. They also urged upon the SIT to conduct a fair investigation of the incident and submit the report to the government before December 25. The CSOs also expressed the belief that Christmas will be celebrated with justice being delivered and pave the way for a peaceful atmosphere during celebrations and for future lives ahead.
The CSOs informed that they will meet family members of the victims of December 4 and 5 incidents at Oting, Jakphang and Chi villages on Saturday.
They have also invited media to the press conference scheduled on Saturday at 12 noon at KU office in order to disseminate clear information on the events that unfolded during that horrific incident.