Protests against the killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland and the demand for the repeal of the “draconian” Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act spread to other states of the Northeast with the influential North East Students’ Organisation holding dharnas in seven state capitals on Thursday.
The Naga Students’ Federation, organising a dharna under the aegis of NESO from 11am to 1pm outside the Raj Bhavan in Kohima, burnt the effigy of two army personnel tagged with the word AFSPA, the move reflecting the overall mood in Nagaland against the death of the civilians in a botched counter-insurgency operation over the weekend reportedly conducted by the 21 Para Special Forces operating out of Assam.
NESO has as members eight leading student organisations of the region — the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF), All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU).
NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa told The Telegraph that member-units staged dharnas in all state capitals of the Northeast for three reasons — to condemn the massacre of civilians in Oting, express solidarity with “our brothers” from Nagaland and to demand that the Centre repeal AFSPA. The dharna in Shillong by the KSU started at 3pm and was followed by a candle-light vigil, he said.
AFSPA gives sweeping powers to the armed forces to search, arrest and shoot in areas deemed disturbed and there is no effective prosecution. Besides Nagaland, the law is in force in Manipur (barring the Imphal municipal area), Assam, and parts of Arunachal Pradesh, and in Jammu and Kashmir.
AASU held a dharna at Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati. AASU president Dipanka Nath said there should be an immediate probe for swift punishment of those involved in the Nagaland killings and also called for the scrapping of AFSPA.
The army had in a statement regretted the incident and its aftermath and said the cause of the “unfortunate loss of lives is being investigated” at the highest level and “appropriate action” would be taken.
The Nagaland government headed by the NDPP, an ally of the BJP, has set up a special investigation team to probe the massacre and has also decided to formally move the Centre for the repeal of the “draconian” AFSPA.
The SIT on Thursday requested any person having information on the “unfortunate incident” at Oting, such as “photos, videos, suspicious activities from primary source or any other information connected with the incident in original, not forwarded (secondary source)” to share them with the team “in the interest of the police investigation”.
The information may be shared via phone call or a WhatsApp message to +91 6009803048 or email to otingsit@gmail.com. The identity of the informant will be
kept confidential on request. The original recorded audio/video/document will be collected from the source after following due legal procedures, the police said.
The government also organised memorial service in Kohima, which was attended, among others, by chief minister Neiphiu Rio.
Sources said the Nagaland government was taking all possible steps to douse the fire triggered by the botched operation because an adverse fall-out could have a bearing on the law-and-order situation as well as the ongoing peace process to end the decades-old Naga insurgency.
The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M), which is part of the peace process, had on Wednesday said: “...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.”
The Tizit Union of the Konyak Union, the apex body of the largest tribes (Konyak) in the state, has also planned a mass silent rally on December 11 against the “barbaric” killing.