Nagaland students demonstrate against Army killings, demand repeal of AFSPA

The Naga Students Federation NSF and The Eastern Naga Students Federation ENSF Thursday demonstrated outside the Raj Bhavan here against the killing of 13 civilians by the Army in Mon district and demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers ActThey demanded that the draconian act be repealed once and for all and that human rights be restored in the stateThe actvists carried placards some of which read Repeal the draconian law ndash Armed Forces Special Powers Act Nagas have every right to live in peace and We stand in solidarity with our Naga brethrens ndash The innocent civilians who were brutally killed at Oting village Mon districtThey also burnt effigies of security forces and shouted slogans Repeal AFSPAThe student unions demanded that the Centre set up a court monitored committee headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court Judge for an impartial probe into the Mon firingThey sought the identification of the army personnel involved in the incident and demanded that they be booked for the highest level of punishmentThey also demanded that the action taken against the perpetrators be made publicNSF president Kegwayhun Tep addressing the gathering said the killing took place at a time when the Naga people from across the region come together to celebrate their rich cultural heritage and identity through the Hornbill Festival and wait to celebrate ChristmasHe demanded that the Centre immediately stop its policy of militarisation of the north east regionWe cannot allow this draconian law to cause further terror in our homelandrdquo Tep said adding that as long as the draconian AFSPA remains in force in the state the land and its people will be tormented by fear and uncertaintyThe AFSPA1958 is one of the more draconian legislations that the Parliament has passed in its 75 years of being said former NSF president Chuba OzukumAlso read Nagaland MP raises Oting violence issue in RS demands AFSPA repealHe recalled that as the then president of the student body he had staged a sitin demanding repeal of Act some 25 years ago at the same placeThe enforcement of AFSPA has resulted in innumerable incidents of arbitrary detention torture rape and looting by security personnel in Nagaland and the north eastern region he claimed and said the Centre keeps extending AFSPA in Nagaland every six months but fails to take into account the ground realityIf the country is trying to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council it should first do away with the outdated and draconian AFSPA This inhuman law has lost its relevance in a civilised society and its applicability has no place in the modern world AFSPA must be repealed if the Government ofIndia truly honours the Naga peace process and a peaceful solution to the vexed IndoNaga political talksrdquo Ozukum saidENSF president Chingmak Kumchuba Chang said the firing by the Army at Mon on innocent villagers showed the complete failure of intelligence and cannot betermed as an incident caused by mistaken identity he saidHe also called upon all Nagas to unite and fight for the repealing of AFSPAThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever