At the call of North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) organised sit-in dharna in front of Raj Bhavan here on Thursday against the imposition of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the North-eastern States.
Students took part at the dharna with placards that read “Repeal the Draconian Law AFSPA 1985”, “Indian Army foe of North Eastern people”, “We stand in solidarity with our Naga brethren – the innocent civilians who were brutally killed at Oting village, Mon district”, etc. They also burned effigies of security forces with AFSPA written on them.
Addressing the gathering, NSF president Kegwayhun Tep reiterated the demand that Government of India (GoI) should set up a court-monitored committee headed by a retired Supreme Court or high court judge to conduct an impartial probe into the killings at Oting and Mon.
He insisted that the culprits should be brought to justice immediately.
He demanded that the draconian law should be repealed and human rights restored in the Naga homeland.
Mentioning that the dharna had been called in coordination with student bodies in other North-eastern States under the aegis of NESO to show solidarity with the victims of Oting massacre and to demand removal of AFSPA from the region, Tep demanded that the government must immediately stop its policy of militarisation of the region and paying lip service in the name of solving the Indo-Naga political issue.
He cautioned that the draconian law should not be allowed to further terrorise the people, pointing out that the life of an innocent civilian was worth no less than that of a gun-wielding soldier.
Delivering a short speech, former NSF president Chuba Ozukum asserted that AFSPA had no relevance in a civilised society and its application had no place in the modern world. He demanded that the Act must be repealed if government of India (GoI) really honoured the peace process and was sincere in finding a peaceful solution to the vexed Indo-Naga political issue.
He insisted that GoI must do away with “outdated, draconian, imperialistic, aggressive, uncivilised, stone-aged AFSPA” if it was trying to become a permanent member of UN Security Council. He said the Act was first applied in Assam and Manipur and amended in 1972 before extending it to all the seven North-eastern States.
Ozukum alleged that enforcement of AFSPA had resulted in innumerable incidents of arbitrary detention, torture, rape and loot by security forces. He regretted that the draconian law was sought to be justified by GoI on the ground that it was required to stop the North-eastern States from seceding from the Indian Union because there was a movement for self-determination.
Pointing out that AFSPA was extended in Nagaland every six months, he said it was unfortunate that GoI failed to take into account the ground reality but, rather chooses to dehumanise the Naga people by imposing the most inhuman Act.
Speaking on the occasion, Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) president Chingmak Kumchuba Chang shared an update about Oting, while NSF social and cultural secretary Benjong Longchar delivered words of gratitude.
Invocation was pronounced by Kohima Baptist Church pastor Rev Dr Benry Lotha and NSF speaker James Brillantson Kashung was the chairperson at the event.