NSCSN (IM) stand on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA)

NAGALAND: The statement of the Home Minister in the Parliament on the recent incident at Nagaland's Mon district didn't go well along the NSCN-(IM) (National Socialist Council of Nagalim). The NSCN(IM) Chief Issac Muivah on 8th of December 2021 outrightly slammed the HM's statement by expressing it as an  "Irresponsible statement". The NSCN won't accept such a botched-up statement addressed by the HM in the parliament when the state of Nagaland mourns the death of the innocents.

In-Depth

NSCN -GPRN on its Press statement and as per the Nagaland Post stated, "In a situation like this, Amit Shah was expected to show political maturity and practical statesmanship in order to cool down the socio-political upheavals. Ironically, he poured fuel to the burning issue by standing behind the Para Commandos under his command with his fictional sleuth stories supporting the Para Commandos for their heinous act of killings. This is like rubbing salt and chili in the wounds of the Nagas. Truth be told that there was no signal to stop the pick-up van of the coal laborers as mentioned by Amit Shah in Parliament".

One of the survivors, Sheiwang who is undergoing treatment at the Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh, said, “They shot right at us, no signal to stop, we did not flee.”. (Indian Express).

Whereas the Union Home Minister had stated  the vehicle “was signaled to stop” and was fired upon after it “tried to flee.” However, Sheiwang says: “We were not signaled to stop. They killed us directly. We were not trying to flee…we were just in the vehicle.”

NSCN (IM) has vehemently condemned this kind of statement from the HM and further clarified that "the Army was found stripping naked the dead bodies of the Naga civilians with military dress to give the impression in the eyes of the media and the world that they have gunned down the militants. Luckily, they were caught red-handed by the villagers before they succeed through their plan".

"This notorious AFSPA has given the Indian security forces the license to shoot and kill anyone on mere suspicion. We Nagas have endured the insults heaped on our human dignity for too long. The Nagas have had the bitter taste of this act on numerous occasions and it has spilled enough blood. Blood and political talks cannot go together. The Nagas can no longer be made the laughing stock in the eyes of the world. No political talks will be meaningful under the shadow of AFSPA. Let human dignity take control and be made an integral part of the Naga political peace process".__added NSCN (IM).

The NSCN in their statement further added that "Now if the Government of India (GoI) wants to do justice to the Naga people, AFSPA must be immediately withdrawn and investigation for proper prosecution must be immediately constituted. The investigation must be independent and transparent. The prosecution must be done for justice for the people in general and the victims in particular. It must also be transparent so that scrutiny from any quarter must sustain.".

"It is necessary to remind oneself that the reckless perpetration of atrocities and tortures meted out to the Naga people during the Oinam’s Bluebird Operation in 1987 for which a case was taken up in the Gauhati High Court (GHC) but when judgment was about to be delivered by the GHC the Chief Justice of India had prevented may be at the behest of the GoI from writing the required judgment.

Thus, the Indian soldiers are emboldened beyond measures and they have been treating the Nagas like sub-human beings without fear of any scrutiny of the court of law. Therefore, this time round, the Naga people expect that the judgment must be transparent and must be swiftly delivered. This is the only way to establish absolute fidelity between the Naga people and Government of India"____Nagaland Post, NSCN/GPRN.

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