TR Zeliang (File Photo)
Says Union Home Minister’s statement was ‘based on false reports’
Our Correspondent
Kohima | December 20
Naga People’s Front (NPF) Legislature party leader TR Zeliang today termed the Armed Forces Special Forces Act as a ‘license to kill’ and said that the Government of India must repeal the same if it has a strong conviction to attain permanent peace in Nagaland and the North-East region.
Under AFSPA, he said, any crime committed by armed forces is given complete impunity and so far, according to reliable reports, more than 20,000 innocent lives in North-East India have been lost, besides incidences that stretches to rapes, arrests, torture and extra judicial executions.
“In today’s world, the oppressive Act which was first promulgated on August 15, 1942, by British viceroy and Governor-General, Lord Linlithgow, under Section 72 of the Government of India Act, 1935 is no more acceptable not only to North-East India but the Nation in general,” he said.
He further said that the 60 MLAs should urge upon both the investigation teams set up to judiciously carry out the investigation without fear or favour.
“For the SIT, we expect two important questions to come out with clarity in their investigation report (1) Who or which intelligence agency provided inputs to the Indian Army in Assam to lay ambush on vehicle carrying civilian (daily wage earners)? (2) Who informed MHA that the vehicle carrying civilian did not stop when army personnel gave signal to stop for which HM has misled the house in parliament? ,” Zeliang said.
He further stated that the identity of the army jawans along with the commanding officer should be established by the SIT and the State Government should write to Army HQ to place all those culprits under suspension for fair conduct of investigation. Secondly, the same treatment should be applied to those informers because they are equally responsible for the incident of senseless killing, he added.
He further said Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in Parliament was “based on false reports without ascertaining the factuality on the ground is most unfortunate.”
Zeliang meanwhile maintained that the absence of a State Human Rights Commission in Nagaland is a matter of great concern.
“In the 28 years of the existence of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (PoHRA), the State of Nagaland has not been able to established a State Human Rights Commission. This, I feel, is due to negligence by all of us,” he reflected.
He urged upon the NLA Speaker to see to it that necessary action is initiated so that constitution of a State Human Rights Commission in Nagaland is successfully implemented before the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly comes to an end.
