The CSOs demanded the prime minister to take cognizance of the serious human rights crime committed by “Indian armed forces in the Oting massacre”, by bringing justice to the victims, their families, and the injured.
By Imna Longchar, TFM Nagaland Correspondent
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nagaland on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narednra Modi through the state governor Jagdish Mukhi demanding the repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA) from Naga homeland and the Northeast region of India. I was received by Commissioner and Secretary to Governor of Nagaland
The copies of the memorandum was also to be forwarded to the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, Minister for Defence, Rajnath Singh, and BJP President, JP Nadda highlighting the need for urgent action to be taken on AFSPA.
The memorandum was submitted after the culmination of the Walkathon Against AFSPA, Dimapur to Kohima, January 10 & 11, 2022. The long march was organised as a mark of protest against the imposition of AFSPA.
It was learnt that more than the 500 public who had marched from Dimapur after halting for a night at Piphema, reached the Raj Bhavan, Kohima, at around 1.45 pm on Tuesday following a civic reception by the public and the well-wishers at the same venue.
In the memorandum, the CSOs made an earnest appeal to Prime Minister Modi and requested “urgent action” on AFSPA and the brutality that have accompanied its operations in Naga homeland for the last 63 years.
“Everybody knows what happened last month in Oting. Mon, was not an isolated incident. Among other abominable things, AFSPA has repeatedly deprived innocent civilians of their right to live, which contradicts the very concept of human rights and the reason for governments to exist in the first place”, said the memorandum.
The CSOs demanded the prime minister to take cognizance of the serious human rights crime committed by “Indian armed forces in the Oting massacre”, by bringing justice to the victims, their families, and the injured. They also urged Modi to bring the perpetrators under civil court for criminal prosecution, and immediate and adequate compensation be given to the families of the victims and to the injured.
The memorandum also demanded that AFSPA be repealed in toto from the Naga homeland and the Northeast region. While doing so, the CSOs aked Modi to take cognizance of “past atrocities and excesses committed by the Indian military”. Seeking adequate compensation be paid to the victims or to the nearest kin, these CSOs asked Modi to initiate the process of justice and of “righting past wrongs” by bringing the perpetrators under civil court for criminal procedures.
The memorandum asked the Prime Minister to recognize the government’s role of handling law and order of the state, and make provisions that henceforth AFSPA, 1958 will not be enforced in Nagaland.
The organisations that endorsed the memorandum included the Global Naga Forum, Naga Students’ Federation, Naga Mothers’ Association, Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation, Dimapur and the Konyak Union.
It may be mentioned that on January 10, a massive crowd conglomerated at the Supermarket area and began their march towards the state Capital, Kohima covering a distance of over 70 Kms by the walkathon.