ITANAGAR, 5 Dec: The NSCN-GPRN came down heavily on the Indian Army for killing “15 innocent villagers” in Oting village in Nagaland’s Mon district, and said that the “absurdity and insanity of the Indian security forces has been exposed in the most brutish manner.”
“Today is the black day for the Nagas as they mourn the barbaric killing of 15 innocent villagers in Oting village under Konyak region (in Mon district, Nagaland) in the evening of 4 December,” the NSCN-GPRN said in a press statement.
Terming the incident “one of the most unfortunate incidents of the Indo-Naga ceasefire signed in 1997,” the NSCN-GPRN said: “The Indian security forces will never be able to wash its hands off, smeared with the blood of innocent Nagas, no matter how it come out with a nonsensical statement which is linked to credible intelligence reports of movement of insurgents.”
“It is learned that the killing was the work of the trigger-happy 21st Para Commandos/Assam Rifles.
The Nagas had in the past faced a trigger-happy Indian security forces, acting with impunity under the government of India’s Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) which is mainly used against the Naga political movement.
“Notwithstanding the ongoing Indo-Naga political dialogue that has seen much fruition during the period running more than two decades, the violence against the Nagas continues unabated,” it said.
“Under this circumstance, we find it difficult to use the right words to condemn the killing of unarmed civilians and it can’t be justified in any manner in Nagalim, where the peace process has seen much progress. Such a barbaric act of killing innocent people is against humanity and those responsible for such heinous acts should be brought to justice,” the statement said.
“Ironically, the fact that the ubiquitous Indian security forces has brought about toxic storm of bloody dust in Nagalim is not a new thing but a repeat of the past to suppress the legitimate Naga political movement,” it added.
The NSCN-GPRN expressed deep anguish and conveyed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. It expressed sympathy with those who are grievously injured, and prayed for their speedy recovery.
The Konyak National Workers, under the leadership of its president Q Tuccu, vice president Tongmeth Wangnao and ato kilonser Th Muivah strongly condemned “the heinous crime.”
“Under no circumstances the security forces have the right to inflict upon the general masses. The unscrupulous and savage act of the Indian security forces should be condemned by the entire right-thinking citizen,” it said in a release.
“The six decades of the old AFSPA has done nothing right rather than being used as an Act to suppress the self-determination of the Nagas to live as a nation,” it said.
“Let this incident be the first and the last in the Naga soil and together we will flash out the AFSPA from the Naga soil once and for all,” the release said.
“The Konyak National Workers deeply mourn along with the Konyak brethren and convey our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members,” the release added.
The Eastern Naga National Workers Union (ENNWU) also condemned in the strongest terms the “cowardly act of the Assam Rifles over the peace-loving citizens.”
“This act of atrocities towards the innocent Oting villagers under Konyak’s communities and the Nagas in general will be remembered as a tumultuous moment in the Naga history,” the ENNWU said in a release, and conveyed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
