NPF through its press bureau has expressed dismay at the extension of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland for another six months and said it “clearly” exhibited the “callousness” with which the BJP-led government at the centre was dealing with the Naga people and their political problem.
NPF said the extension of AFSPA came at a time when Naga people were expecting the final solution to the vexed Naga political problem. The main opposition said the move was “highly worrisome” when the Government of India signed a Framework Agreement with the NSCN (I-M) on August 3, 2015 and further strengthened the process by bringing the NNPGs to the negotiating table and when Nagas were hopeful of concluding the talks. It also pointed out that during election, the BJP had coined the slogan ‘election for solution’ to bring hope to the Naga people for solution to the decades-old Naga problem. Instead of exploring for a solution, NPF said the Centre has been repeatedly extending the “draconian Act” and whose imposition had no tangible contribution to the peace process except to create an environment of distrust and an overwhelming feeling of being oppressed in the minds of the Naga people.
NPF said Naga people have been extending unstinted support to the “Indo-Naga” peace process since the Ceasefire in 1997 and have also been appealing to the Government of India to repeal the AFSPA or at least lift it from Naga areas so as to create conducive atmosphere for peaceful negotiations. NPF said continued extension of AFSPA could be interpreted as “an attempt to exploit the long-suffering condition of the Naga people to impose a forced Accord on us, instead of a mutually agreed and negotiated settlement.” It therefore urged upon the BJP-led government to exhibit its sincerity and expedite a speedy conclusion to the vexed Naga political problem.