News Analysis India

Tag: Nagaland

  • Government doctors on stir, health services hit in Nagaland

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI:  Public health services in Nagaland were partially affected on the second day of a three-day stir launched by the government doctors across the Northeast state. The Nagaland In-Service Doctors Association (NIDA) had told its members to go on casual leave en masse in protest against the government’s ‘failure’ to increase the retirement age from 60 years to 62 years.

    While the NIDA had a meeting with Chief Secretary J Alam on Tuesday, details of the discussions were not known. Earlier in the day, NIDA president Dr E Phyantsuthung told this newspaper that the doctors, other than those assigned for emergency services, were not attending duties. “We will not relent unless the retirement age of all government doctors is raised to 62 years,” Dr Phyantsuthung said.

    As over 500 regular and contractual doctors are staying away from duties, the government has turned to private doctors for help. But the move is unlikely to provide relief as there are only a small number of private hospitals in Nagaland. “The government has sought their help. It had a meeting with them two days ago,” Dr Phyantsuthung said.

    The government had earlier warned that doctors going on agitation would face action under the provisions of Nagaland Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1968. It had also said that the salary of the agitating doctors would be deducted as per its policy of “no work, no pay”.

  • Money laundering: Nagaland party asks CM Rio to clear air on ED summons to ‘confidants’

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Enforcement Directorate’s summons to five persons in Nagaland, believed to be close confidants of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act has raised a political storm in the otherwise politically-dull state where the BJP is a key component of the ruling coalition.

    One of the persons to have received the summons is Rio’s personal assistant in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

    Stating that it is nothing less than a direct indictment of the CM himself, opposition Rising People’s Party (RPP) asked him to clear the air.

    According to the RPP, of the five individuals, at least two have CBI cases pending against them since 2019.

    The party said the biggest shocker was that Kuovisieo Rio, appointed in the CMO as the personal assistant to Rio, was one of the five persons summoned to appear before the ED in Guwahati.

    “Interestingly, all the summoned persons – Kuovisieo Rio, Mengutuo Rio, Dsesevi Pielie, Vibeilietuo Kets and Mhalelie Rio, have given their addresses as Sovima village, Dimapur,” the RPP said.

    The party also said that apart from Kuovisieo Rio, the remaining four others were believed to be close confidants of the CM.

    “It’s incumbent upon the CM to clear the air regarding the money laundering case. The ED summon letter was issued on February 24 of this year but the deafening silence of the CM and the CMO in this matter till now is a story in itself,” the RPP said.

    The party demanded that the CM publicly address the issue in order to put to rest all speculations.

    The five persons had approached the Kohima bench of Gauhati High Court, pleading the court to declare the money laundering case filed against them as “void, non-operative” but the court rejected their plea.

    The RPP requested the ED to pursue the case to its logical end based on available facts.

    “This summon is a first in the history of the state and the harried general public reeling under blatant corruption is beginning to believe that the long arm of the law will finally prevail. The charge of ED being used as a ‘political weapon’ by the ruling government at the Centre should not surface in this case,” the RPP demanded.

  • Nagaland government seeks public coop to abolish AFSPA

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio Monday said that the reduction in the area under AFSPA in the state by the Centre is a test and has sought the support and cooperation of the people in respect of law and order situation so that the contontious Act is completely abolished.

    Rio said that all stakeholders had appealed for the abolishment of the “draconian law” and the Centre has “finally” heard the appeals of the people.

    The appeal for people’s support was made by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairman T R Zeliang and senior bureaucrats, besides Rio during a meeting with tribal Hohos (apex bodies) and organizations.

    It followed the March 31 announcement by the Centre curtailing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958, in areas of Nagaland which has been protested against by the Naga civil societies who demanded complete repeal of the Act from the State.

    “The total abolition of AFSPA may take time but the partial abolishement of the Act is a test,” Rio said.

    Stating that this is a crucial period for the state in respect of AFSPA, he said that if law and order is disturbed the Act may be reinstated.

    He appealed for cooperation by the people to ensure that no untoward incidents occur and urged all stakeholders to seriously ponder how to maintain law and order in the state.

    Rio said that a solution to the Naga political issue is for all Nagas and all of them should harbor a sense of unity and oneness and not be selfish in their demands.

    Echoing him, the chairman of the ruling Uniting Democratic Alliance, T R Zeliang said that partial lifting of AFSPA is an experimental phase with the goal being the complete withdrawal of the Act from the state.

    He appealed for cooperation from the people as the police would be handicapped without their support.

    AFSPA has been removed completely in three districts and partially removed in four districts of Nagaland, Nagaland chief secretary J Alam said.

    Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha said the earlier notification on AFSPA issued in December 2021 has been withdrawn and a fresh notification has been issued.

    Out of 72 police station limits, AFSPA has been withdrawn in 15 of them, he added.

    Director general of police T John Longkumer told reporters after the meeting that if everything goes well, depending on the situation the Act may be withdrawn from more areas of the north eastern state.

    “We agree with the GoI’s stand to proceed in a systematic manner,” he said.

    Interacting with the media persons after the meeting, a section of the civil society said they want complete repeal of AFSPA from the state.

    Naga Students Federation president Kegwayhun Tep said the students’ body is not satisfied with the partial lifting of the Act and appealed to the state government to be serious to ensure that the Act is repealed.

    “We have seen many leaders accepting piecemeal solutions, given particularly to the Nagas and the state of Nagaland…We have to ensure that AFSPA is revoked in Nagaland,” he said.

    Another civil society body – Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights too criticised the partial withdrawal of AFSPA in the state.

    “We cannot reject what has been done, but it should be repealed as the AFSPA does not deserve to exist in any democracy,” its secretary general N Krome said.

    Eastern Naga Students Federation appealed for justice for all victims of the firing by the Army at Oting in December last year and said that the state government should remind the Centre in this regard.

  • 80-year-old woman with hip implant ‘strip-searched’ at Guwahati airport

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: An 80-year-old wheelchair-bound woman from Nagaland was on Thursday allegedly strip-searched during the security check at the airport here, while the authorities said she was asked to go through a mandatory screening as a metal plate was attached to her hip bone.

    The elderly woman’s daughter Dolly Kikon said that her mother who had undergone hip replacement surgery last year was on her way to Delhi from here and was accompanied by her granddaughter.

    After metal detectors triggered an alarm, a security woman of the CISF at Lokopriyo Gopinath International Airport allegedly asked the elderly woman to take off her clothes, including her undergarments, even after the lady repeatedly said that she had a hip implant.

    Dolly claimed that her niece who was accompanying the octogenarian had filled up a complaint form but the CISF personnel took it away, claiming that it was not allowed.

    A spokesperson of the Guwahati airport said that the passenger with reduced mobility was requested to go through the mandatory security screening but as she had a metal plate attached to her hip bone, the CISF team asked her to go for further checks.

    “The authorities politely explained to the passenger about the mandatory security protocol and the matter was sorted out. The octogenarian passenger was initially irritated but later she understood the matter and left for her destination in a happy mood,” she said.

    “We place the safety and security of all our passengers as topmost priority”, the spokesperson added. Repeated calls by PTI to the CISF commandant posted at the airport were not answered.

  • 2021: As Nagaland mourns Mon killings, aspiration for normalcy stays a distant dream

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: The killing of 14 civilians by security forces in Mon district brought a disconsolate 2021 to a close for Nagaland, with the shared aspiration of its people for an early solution to the decades-old political issue remaining a distant dream.

    Fourteen civilians, including six daily wagers working at a coal mine, were shot dead in a series of firings by security forces in Mon district over December 4-5 in a botched anti-militancy operation, triggering a nationwide outrage and reigniting the demand for withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the Northeastern state.

    Even as political leaders of the region, including Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, pushed for repeal of the controversial law, the Centre declared the entire state of Nagaland a “disturbed area” for six more months with effect from December 30 under the AFSPA while terming the state’s condition “dangerous”.

    ALSO READ: Partial AFSPA lift in Nagaland soon?

    The state assembly also held a special session on December 21, when it passed a resolution demanding withdrawal of AFSPA from the state and the Northeast, besides an apology for the killings in Oting village in Mon.

    The move drew flak from the Congress and the newly-formed Rising People’s Party as they demanded justice and not mere apology.

    In solidarity with Konyak Nagas, the tribe to which the victims belonged, the state government called off the signature Hornbill Festival, which was being held after two years due to the pandemic.

    Diplomats from a number of countries were attending the festival when it was called off amid rising tension.

    ALSO READ: ‘AFSPA empowers military, cannot solve insurgency’: Northeast activists say 1958 law must go

    The issue of resolution of the Naga political issue hit a bump during the year with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) refusing to hold talks with the then Centre-appointed interlocutor and state governor R N Ravi, claiming it did not trust him.

    Ravi was shifted to Tamil Nadu as governor on September 9.

    The talks resumed on September 20 in Dimapur with the appointment of former Intelligence Bureau special director AK Mishra as the new interlocutor.

    The dialogue subsequently moved to New Delhi but the insistence of the NSCN(IM), which had signed the Framework Agreement in August 2015, on a separate flag and constitution blocked a final solution as the Centre held on to its position of not conceding those demands.

    On the other hand, the parallel talks with the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (NPPGs), which is willing to go ahead and reach a final agreement, could also not make much headway.

    ALSO READ: Nagaland firing incident proves high time AFSPA is repealed from NE, says Irom Sharmila

    To facilitate resolution of the Naga issue and put forth a united voice before the Centre, principal opposition Naga People’s Front (NPF), having 25 MLAs, proposed joining the government, which was accepted by the ruling People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA).

    This led to the formation of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government, leaving no significant opposition in the state.

    Asserting that resolving the Naga political issue tops its agenda, the state government in June constituted a committee of 60 legislators and two MPs to iron out the differences between the negotiating parties.

    The assembly also adopted a four-point resolution on the vexed political question in February, with the 60-member House resolving to work unitedly to facilitate meaningful negotiations.

    However, unanimity proved elusive as the Congress urged all the 60 MLAs to resign to demonstrate their sincerity and pressure the Centre for a solution to the decades-old problem.

    ALSO READ: Amid AFSPA debate, civilian casualties in northeast highest in three years

    The year also witnessed a split in the NSCN (Reformation) with Akato Chophy becoming its new president.

    At present, there are at least 13 Naga underground groups in the state.

    Factional tussle within the state BJP continued for the second year with presidents of six district units demanding the removal of the party’s Nagaland president Temjen Imna Along, but that did not find favour with the central leadership.

    The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), a major constituent of the ruling coalition, won the bypolls to Noksen and Shamator-Chessore uncontested, raising its tally in the state assembly to 21.

    In March, inter-district dispute between Peren and Dimapur districts turned violent, claiming the lives of three people.

    Tensions also prevailed along the interstate boundary with Assam.

    However, defusing the situation, Assam and Nagaland signed an agreement on July 31 to maintain peace in areas around Ao Senden and Vikuto villages.

    The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the state in April-May, forcing the government to impose strict restrictions.

    The state has reported 32,188 Covid cases.

    Of the total 702 deaths so far, 623 happened in 2021.

    The state has till date administered 13,33,991 doses of vaccine.

    Nagaland witnessed a drought-like situation this year with the delay in the arrival of monsoon and erratic rainfall.

    According to Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) data, the districts recorded rainfall deficiency of 20-59 per cent, except for Mon which received 40 per cent excess rainfall.

    The Nagaland government launched the Vision 2030 document in August, along with the District Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Localisation and Integration Manual, aiming for a well-governed, peaceful, inclusive and prosperous state with a sustainable and diverse economy, a skilled and healthy population, providing equitable opportunities for all citizens.

  • Panel to look into withdrawal of AFSPA from Nagaland, says Amit Shah

    New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Nagaland Chief Minister on Sunday and said a committee will be formed to look into the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland.

    A statement released after the meeting stated that the committee will be chaired by the additional secretary-NE, MHA and will include the chief secretary and director general of police Nagaland. IGAR (N) and representatives of CRPF will also be part of the committee, which will submit its report in 45 days. It also added that the withdrawal of Disturbed Area and AFSPA from Nagaland will be based on the recommendations of the committee.

    The controversial Act gives powers to the armed forces to detain and arrest people without a warrant in areas designated as “disturbed”.

    Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland deputy CM Y Patton and NPFLP leader TR Zeliang were also present.

    A court of inquiry will initiate disciplinary proceedings against Army personnel who were directly involved in the killing of 14 civilians in a botched anti-terrorist operation earlier this month.

    The state government said it’ll also provide government jobs to the next kin of the deceased. To initiate this process, the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police of Mon district will carry out necessary procedures in consolation with the concerned village councils and government jobs will be given on compassionate grounds on the basis of eligibility.

  • Partial AFSPA lift in Nagaland soon?

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to explore the possibility of partially lifting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Nagaland and some other northeastern states.

    The move follows a late night meeting on Thursday between Union home minister Amit Shah and the Assam and Nagaland chief ministers. If the AFSPA is lifted even partially from Nagaland, it will be a first in the state’s history. 

    Sources privy to the meeting said Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton and former CM T R Zeliang were unanimous in their opposition to the AFSPA. But Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is believed to have taken a different stand for his state.

    Shah is believed to have told Rio and the others that if the AFSPA were to be lifted even partially, the modalities would have to be worked out and the state police would have to shoulder more responsibilities in maintaining law and order. 

    ALSO READ: AFSPA to continue in Assam, to be withdrawn if peace lasts, says CM Himanta

    Shah is expected to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the talks before a final call is taken on the matter.

    The Centre will have to decide before December 31 when the disturbed areas notification, which enables AFSPA, will expire in Nagaland. 

    A senior Nagaland police officer said if the AFSPA is withdrawn, among the modalities that can be considered is the setting up of a unified command so that the Army can have a role in the maintenance of law and order.

    The government may consider lifting the AFSPA only in rural areas as the Act was needed in urban centres where insurgents groups are engaged in large-scale extortion and kidnapping, he said.

    ALSO READ: ‘AFSPA empowers military, cannot solve insurgency’: Northeast activists say 1958 law must go

    There is also the possibility of continuing the AFSPA only along a 20 km India-Myanmar border stretch. 

    There has been a clamour to withdraw the AFSPA after the tragic incident in Nagaland’s Mon district in which the Army gunned down 13 civilians in a case of mistaken identity.

    Special home ministry aircraft sent for Assam CM and Naga leaders

    The North-east state has seen massive protests against the law that empowers Army and paramilitary personnel to kill, arrest and search premises merely on suspicion and they are protected against any legal prosecution.

    On December 20, the Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution demanding that the “government of India repeal the AFSPA from the Northeast and specially from Nagaland so as to strengthen the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the Naga political issue.”

    ALSO READ: Nagaland firing incident proves high time AFSPA is repealed from NE, says Irom Sharmila

    At present, the Assam Rifles is majorly responsible for maintaining law and order in the Northeast and it also guards the Indo-Myanmar border with the Army. The Assam Rifles is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure.

    While its administrative control lies the Union ministry of home affairs, its operational control is with the Army.

    MHA officials told this newspaper that both the Assam Rifles and the CRPF, which has about 35 battalions in the Northeast, including 18 in Assam and two in Nagaland, have conveyed to the government they are in favour of a status quo on the AFSPA.

    “All central police forces were asked to convey their stand on the AFSPA and they have all said they do not want any changes in the deployment and want a status quo,” said a senior official of the home ministry.

    ALSO READ: Amid AFSPA debate, civilian casualties in northeast highest in three years

    A special MHA plane was sent from the national capital to fetch the Assam CM and the Nagaland leaders for the meeting with Shah. Currently, the AFSPA is applicable in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts and two police stations of Namsai district in Arunachal Pradesh, and the entire Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, except Imphal municipal areas.

    Central police forces want status quo ante

    As for the central police forces, they do not want any changes in deployment in the Northeast. They want a status quo, a senior official of the Union home ministry said.

  • Nagaland firing victims’ families demand justice, refuse compensation

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: The villagers of Oting in Nagaland’s Mon district and families of the 14 people killed in the shootings by security forces refused any government compensation until the personnel involved are “brought to justice”.

    In a statement, the Oting Village Council said that on December 5 when the locals were busy with funeral arrangements and other works in the aftermath of the killings, Rs 18.30 lakh was given by state minister P Paiwang Konyak and the district’s deputy commissioner.

    ALSO READ: Nagaland killings – Konyak Union demands apology from Amit Shah, retraction of ‘misleading’ Parliament statement

    At first, they assumed it to be a “token of love and gift” from the minister but later learnt it was an installment of the ex gratia from the state government for the families of those killed and injured, it said.

    “The Oting Village Council and victim families will not receive it until and unless the culprit of 21st Para Commandos of the Indian Armed Force are brought to justice before the Civil code of law and repeal of Armed Force Special Power Act (AFSPA) from the entire North Eastern region,” the statement said.

    ALSO READ: Nagaland firing: Eerie calm in Oting a week after killing by security forces

    The statement, issued on Sunday, was signed by Village Council chairman Longwang Konyak, Angh (‘king’) Tahwang, Deputy Angh Chingwang and Gaon Burahs (village chieftains) of Mongnei and Nyanei.

    At least 14 civilians and a soldier were killed in a botched anti-insurgency operation and retaliatory violence over December 4-5 in the district, as per police.

    Villagers claim attempt was made to pass dead off as militants

    Assam’s Jorhat administration on Wednesday prevented Congress general secretaries Jitendra Singh and Ajoy Kumar along with MP Gaurav Gogoi from visiting Nagaland citing the “sensitive situation on Assam-Nagaland border areas and apprehension of breach of peace and tranquility in the border areas of Jorhat”.

    Later, the troika staged a sit-in protest at the Jorhat airport. They had planned to visit Mon in Nagaland to meet the families of 14 civilians killed by the security forces.

    In an order, the Jorhat district magistrate said the movement of civilians and others from Assam to Mon had been restricted by Nagaland in view of the prevailing law and order situation in Mon and other bordering districts arising out of the Mon incident.

    OPINION: Nagaland and the perils of a militaristic approach

    “We have been sitting on a dharna at Jorhat airport for last three hours. Our only aim is to visit our brothers and sisters in Nagaland and tell them Congress party stands with them at this hour of grief,” Gaurav Gogoi said in a tweet.

    Breaking their silence after four days of a shoot-out in which 13 of their village youth died in firing by Para commandos, the Oting Citizens Office, representing Oting village in Nagaland’s remote Mon district on Wednesday rubbished official claims and asserted security forces had tried to hide the dead bodies and dress them in fatigues in a bid to pass them off as militants after a botched up ambush.

    The citizen’s body also claimed the killings were in “cold blood” with the driver being among the first to be shot dead with a bullet which pierced the windshield.

    OPINION: Nagaland ambush reopens old AFSPA wound in Northeast

    Attempts to contact the Army spokesperson in Kohima to cross-check the allegations have as yet remained unanswered.

    An official statement made by the Government on Monday had said that based on inputs received by the Indian Army about movement of the insurgents near Tiru village in Mon district, a team of para-commandos laid an ambush on Saturday, during which, “a vehicle approached the location and it was signaled to stop. However, the vehicle tried to flee, following which the vehicle, suspected of carrying insurgents, was fired upon resulting in killing of 6 out of 8 persons travelling in the vehicle. However, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.”

    The Oting villagers through a statement related that “on the fateful evening of 4th December 2021, around 3:30 PM, one pick-up truck loaded with 8 Coal miners were returning from (a) mining site as next day was Sunday, which we the Christians consider a day of rest. Around 4:30 pm, the security forces ambushed that very pick-up truck without ascertaining anything about the passengers.”

    ALSO READ: Mon killing clear abuse of AFSPA, says Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio

    The security forces then “blocked the road for all traffic and diverted all vehicles to the less frequented old Pioneer road. Meanwhile, villagers were anxiously waiting for the pick-up truck to reach the village, for they learnt that there was a shootout” on that stretch, according to the Oting Citizens’ body.

    The Oting Citizens Office claimed that around 8:00 PM, the villagers went searching and found the empty pick-up truck, “with the bullet mark piercing through the windshield exactly at the driver’s position, blood stains covered with dust and mud, and the boys missing from the vehicle.

    “The pierced windshield in the front by bullets clearly indicates that they first shot the driver of the pick-up truck to (bring it to a ) halt and ambushed the remaining point blank,” the statement alleged.

    ALSO RED: Nagaland firing – BJP ally NPP claims Union Home Minister Amit Shah twisted facts

    The villagers claimed they chased three fleeing vehicles used by the security forces on motorcycles and intercepted them.

    Though securitymen denied any knowledge of the missing boys, a search found six of the missing miners under a tarpaulin.

    These boys were half dressed and lying dead.

    The Oting Citizens accused the security forces of attempting “to brand the boys as militants by planting weapons and dressing them in camouflage uniforms and boots.”

    Soon after heated argument between security forces and villagers broke out and turned into physical scuffles.

    Armymen according to the villagers “started firing indiscriminately, abruptly killing and injuring few others on the spot.”

    “We may be small and tiny in area and population, yet we are ready to compromise with situation to lose our heads and take the enemy’s heads. For we are warriors by blood and origin, and no force can intimidate us,” the statement asserted.

    (With Inputs From ENS)

  • Nagaland killings: Konyak Union demands apology from Amit Shah, retraction of ‘misleading’ Parliament statement

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: Konyak Union, a tribal body in Nagaland, on Saturday demanded apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and retraction of his “misleading” statement in Parliament, while rejecting the term “mistaken identity” and that the forces had opened fire on civilians in “self-defence”.

    Shah had earlier said in Parliament that six civilians mistaken as insurgents were killed by security forces on December 4 after the pick-up truck they were traveling in did not stop when signalled to, and later seven more people were killed after forces opened fire in self-defence when they were attacked by a mob near Oting village in Mon district.

    An uneasy calm prevailed in Mon district as the Konyak tribe entered the sixth day of mourning.

    The union threatened to take their agitation beyond the district and the state if their demand for repeal of AFSPA and justice in the killing was not heeded by the end of the mourning period on December 13.

    Konyak Union spokesperson T Yanlem said that there was no question of acting in “self-defence” because those killed were unarmed civilians.

    “The 21 Para commandos, an elite force, did a blunder without asserting anything. They killed six young boys…they were innocent villagers returning home,” he said.

    The union’s another spokesperson Yingphe Konyak said that Shah’s “misleading statement” in the Parliament was “shameful”.

    “AFSPA is a law of torture, rape and killing. Stop treating Nagas and the Northeast as the fourth gender. The entire episode can’t be forgiven on the pretext of mistaken identity.

    “How can Union Home Minister Amit Shah give such a statement without checking the facts? How can he be so wrong?” she said, adding that he owes an apology to Konyaks and people of Nagaland.

  • Mon killing clear abuse of AFSPA: Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio

    By PTI

    KOHIMA: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Thursday said the killing of civilians in Mon district by the security forces was a “clear case of abuse” of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and said the incident, which took place five days ago was not the first instance of the people having to bear the brunt of the draconian law.

    Speaking at the ‘In Memorium’ programme organised by the government in memory of the 13 civilians, he said innocent lives have been cut short by the “most unfortunate and careless act of the Indian security forces”.

    AFSPA, he said, is law that has colonial genesis and is violative of human rights as it legitimises killing on mere suspicion and the people of Nagaland will continue to demand its repeal.

    Expressing his condolences to the Konyak community, to which the civilians belonged, the chief minister appealed them to maintain peace.

    “This is the time for you to defeat violence with non-violence. This is the time for the biggest Naga tribe to show the world that they also have the biggest heart,” Rio said.

    He took the opportunity to appeal to all Nagas political groups to “say farewell to arms”.

    “Unless we show and prove ourselves to be peace-loving and non-violent people, our demand for the repeal of AFSPA will not carry weight…Let us say that we do not want AFSPA. But let us also show that we do not need AFSPA. Let us also make sure that we do not, in any way, allow any force to derail the hard-won peace process,” Rio urged.

    Naga People’s Front legislature party leader T R Zeliang called AFSPA a “black law” which has not brought any good to the nation or its people.

    “Rather it has brought shame to the nation”.

    It is therefore high time for the leaders of the country to repeal such an act immediately in order to prevent inhuman activities meted out to its citizen, the former chief minister said.

    He said the Nagaland government has been writing to the ministry of home affairs almost every year against the application of AFSPA in the state.

    “But the Centre continues with the extension of AFSPA in our state despite having ceasefire agreement with NSCN(IM) since 1997 followed by signing of the Frame Work Agreement in August 2015 and the Agreed Position in November 2017.

    “This proves that the concept of federalism in spirit and unitary in practice enshrined in the Constitution is defeated,” he said.

    It is high time for the entire north east to come together and fight for its future, Zeliang added.

    The president of the Kohima unit of Konyak Union, H Angnyei Konyak hit out at a section of the media for their reports that the 13 coal mine workers and daily wage earners killed by the security forces on Saturday at Oting village were insurgents.

    This coupled with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in Parliament that the civilians were fired at when they did not heed the security forces’ order to stop and tried to flee had caused pain and anger in the people, he said.

    “Existence of peace in our land is a hard earned one,” he said and echoed Rio’s implorations to revoke the “draconian” AFSPA without any delay.

    “Nagas do not want to see another Oting in the country…Our hearts are heavy at the loss of the lives of the innocent civilians,” Konyak added.