Say, will continue to abstain from national day events till justice delivered; demand repeal of AFSPA
Konyak Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Sunday asserted that there was no reason for the Central and State governments to delay the reports of Court of Inquiry and SIT respectively on the Oting incident when top officials of Indian Army and the Centre had already officially admitted the mistake and expressed regrets.
In a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, which was sent through Mon deputy commissioner and copies of which were marked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of opposition in Lok Shaba, Union home minister Amit Shah, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi and chief minister Neiphiu Rio, they said that when the involvement of 21 Para commandos and jawans was evident and accepted by the government, the law must take its own course.
They demanded also that all officers, special commandos and jawans involved must be arrested immediately and their names shared in public domain to ensure transparent trial.
They stressed that the assurance to take appropriate action against the culprits of Oting killings by top Central government officials, including Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane, should not be fictional.
Following the Oting incident, they said the onus was now on the Central government to show to people of the Northeast and to the global community what India really was, and that it was its responsibility to act on the matter.
The CSOs also declared that they would continue to abstain from national day celebrations until justice was delivered to the victims of the Oting massacre adding that there was no alternative to and substitute for justice.
They also reiterated their demand for repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 at the earliest.
The CSOs further asserted that they would continue with their non-cooperation against the Indian Army and warned Konyak citizens that violating this directive would be dealt with as per Konyak customary laws. No matter how much the forces might connive to suppress the movement for justice, they said the Konyaks would stand firmly on the side of history that respected, honoured and valued the lives of 14 innocent brothers lost at Oting and aftermath.
They insisted that the government must be unequivocally on the side of the victims by delivering speedy justice.
Mentioning that they were deeply anguished and that their sorrow did not subside since the December 4 and 5 incidents at Oting and Mon district, the CSOs stated that it was unimaginable how soulless the perpetrators were.
They said resentment against Indian Army and the government inaction had resulted in Konyaks, Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) and other tribes of Nagaland and by different sections in many parts of the Northeast abstaining from Republic Day celebrations. They said the spirit of celebration and oneness had vanished after December 4.
According to the memorandum, the Oting massacre was an appalling, indelible and indefensible transgression by deluded and misguided agents of the Central government against its own people. It declared that any intent by the government to protect and justify the 21 Para commandos would be untenable, especially in the backdrop of evidences of unprovoked and merciless killing of the innocent without due warning when there was no element of suspicion.
The CSOs cautioned that indisposition and failure of the government to take action against those involved would not only deepen the pain, but also shatter people’s trust in the authority of the government.