• NET Web Desk

In an attempt to strongly condemn the killings of innocent civilians in Nagaland by the Indian armed forces, the former Arunachal Pradesh minister & incumbent vice-president of National People’s Party (NPP), Arunachal unit Thangwang Wangham demanded the immediate repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958.

The minister visited the Oting village on Tuesday and offered heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, thereby citing the killings as a heinous crime.

“We want peace, development and inclusive growth for a happy life and not the suffering and oppression under the AFSPA,” – asserted the minister.

He further added that “there are IPC, CrPC and UAP Act, which are sufficient enough to curb the insurgency menace in the country”.

While mentioning the repeal of “draconian” law – AFSPA, the NPP leader asserted that “the mindset and attitude of every citizen has changed today. Even the extremist has changed to liberal thoughts with the change of time.

According to PTI report, the Arunachal Pradesh minister expressed his shock on the massacre, and added, “I was shocked by the news of the massacre at Oting village by those security personnel who are supposed to be protecting the life and property of the people. These villagers were earning bread and butter working in the coal mines but unfortunately they received bullets.”

During the visit, he also emphasized on the current requirement to resolve all internal conflicts through political negotiations.

Its worthy to note that on December 4th & 5th this year, at least 13 civilians identified as coal-miners were gunned down by security forces in Mon district of Nagaland. Referring the killings as “unfortunate”, the Indian Army confirmed the incident.

The unfortunate incident is basically the repercussion of army operation, which mistook the civilians as insurgents from the Yung Aung faction of the banned militant outfit – National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K).

After the incident, clamour associated with the repeal of AFSPA were raised by different quarters of Northeastern regions.

On June this year, the Centre had declared Nagaland as “Disturbed Area” and further extended the operation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for 6 more months. The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades.

Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, asserts that once declared “disturbed”, the area has to maintain the status quo for a minimum of three months. Under this act, in a “disturbed” area, an officer has full power to warn, or open fire and other kinds of forces against the person who is acting against law.