ITANAGAR, 4 Apr: The Global Naga Forum (GNF) has vehemently condemned the “repeated killings in Naga areas of Arunachal Pradesh and predictable fake encounters and mistaken identities that trash the basic human rights of the people of the Northeast.”
Citing the recent shooting incident that occurred in Chasa village in Tirap district, where two villagers were shot at by the army, the forum said that the incident happened on the very day that the AFSPA was renewed in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts on 1 April.
The forum appealed to the law enforcing agencies to book the culprits immediately. It said that criminal prosecution should be initiated against every offender.
The GNF also demanded that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) be repealed from “the entire Naga homeland in the interest of India’s survival as a democracy.”
It said that the AFSPA has “legalised the oppression, murder and dehumanisation of the Nagas for 64 years.”
“The extra-judicial Act, which was passed in 1958, enabled the Indian government and the army to use the region for two kinds of exercises – false policy propaganda for the government and military training camp for the army.”
“The Indian government’s Doctrine for Sub Conventional Operations 2006 states: ‘Remember that the people you are dealing with are your own countrymen; your behaviour must be dictated by this single most consideration’.
“The violation of human rights, therefore, must be avoided under all circumstances, even at the cost of operational success. The operations must be people-friendly, and it must be ensured that minimum force is used and there are no collateral damages,” it added.
The North East Dialogue Forum meanwhile condemned the recent incidents in Tirap district, including the one that occurred in Chasa village.
Expressing grave concern over “the series of inhumane acts carried out by the army” in Arunachal and Nagaland, the forum urged the union home minister to initiate proper investigation into all these incidents and take appropriate action against the guilty.
While hailing the decision to reduce the ‘disturbed area’ tags in three states of the Northeast, it appealed to the Centre to repeal the AFSPA and direct the army and the Assam Rifles to stop killing and harassing the civilians in the northeastern states.
