New Delhi, November 5 (MExN): A representation delivered personally to the Prime Minister of India from the Naga people has urged the Government of India to withdraw the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from all Naga areas for it is not “relevant with the peace processes.”
The representation was signed and presented to Narendra Modi in New Delhi today by Abieu Meru, President of the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA), Neingulo Krome, Secretary General of the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and Subenthung Kithan, President of the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF).
While urging for an ‘accelerated’ and “logical conclusion” to the Indo-Naga political negotiations, the organizations informed the Prime Minister that in the midst of ceasefires and peace negotiations, the armed forces were behaving contrary to the spirit of peace.
The organizations broached the July 16, 2015 Wuzu firing incident, as well as the October 22, 2016, Mekokla village incident wherein “Assam Rifles personnel forcibly occupied a Church in Mekokla village under Wokha district..against the directive of the Supreme Court and even in the midst of protests from the Church leaders and villagers, after which they attacked a column of Naga army who are in Ceasefire with your Government and killed one of them and injuring another, the very next day.”
The NMA, NPMHR and NSF reminded PM Modi that the AFSPA is an “extension” of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance of 1940, used by the British Colonials to suppress the Indian civil disobedience movement.
“The Naga people have undergone untold sufferings which need no elaboration,” they stated while reiterating that the Government of India has entered into Ceasefire Agreements and Peace Negotiations with various Naga Political Groups over the past decades, some of which continue till date, but the continued imposition of AFSPA goes contrary to the spirit of such peace processes.
Naga issue to be resolved once and for all: Rajnath
New Delhi, November 5 (PTI): The ongoing Naga peace talks have made good progress and the decade-long insurgency issue will be resolved to the greatest satisfaction of all, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today. Addressing the annual event of the Naga Students Union, Delhi (NSUD) here, Singh said the central government was confident that enduring peace in Naga areas is not far away.
“The initiative to resolve the Naga issue, for once and all, to the greatest satisfaction of Naga people has made good progress in the last two years,” he said. The Home Minister said the government is committed to ensure that Naga people have their rightful honour, dignity and pride of place, while blaming the colonial legacy for many of the problems faced by people of the Northeast.
“My dear friends, this city is yours. And it is the duty of the government to help you feel the ownership,” he said. “In order to make you and other friends from the Northeast feel safe and secure in Delhi, I have created a Special Cell in Delhi Police headed by a Joint Police Commissioner from the Northeast to address your day-to-day security concerns. “I have a Minister from North-East in the Home Ministry, Kiren Rijiju ji, who can understand your problems and relate with you better,” Singh said.
