Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio speaking during the 10th session of the 13th NLA on December 20. (DIPR Photo)
Our Correspondent
Kohima | December 20
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today said that the present situation in Nagaland does not requiring declaring the state as a ‘disturbed area,’ and hoped that the Centre would not extend this tag after the expiration of its current period by the end of the month.
Informing that the current declaration of Nagaland as a 'disturbed area' is set to expire by the end of this month, the CM said: “Let us hope that this time the Central Government will heed our voice, and decide not to renew or extend it anymore.”
The CM recalled that the NLA had already adopted resolution for withdrawal of AFSPA in 1971 and 2015.
He said many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch (HRW) have condemned human rights abuses in India such as “extra-judicial executions”, “disappearances”, torture; and the “Armed Forces Special Powers Act”, which “provides impunity for human rights abuses and fuels cycles of violence.
He said that Human rights organizations have also asked the Indian Government to repeal the Public Safety Act, since “a detainee may be held in administrative detention for a maximum of two years without a court order.”
“We should also remember that repealing of AFSPA will take some time as it will require Parliamentary approval.
Meanwhile, we need to convince Government of India that the present situation in Nagaland does not require, or justify declaring the state as a 'disturbed area' for the purpose of imposing the provisions of the AFSPA,” he stated.
The CM noted that the “Government of India and all Naga Political Groups (Excepting one Myanmar based NSCN-K Yung Aung faction) are currently engaged in political dialogue to resolve the long pending Naga Political Issue, and are under cease-fire agreements.”
“The ceasefire agreements are working well, so much so, that there has been no major or significant armed clash or conflict between the Indian Security Forces and the armed cadres of the Naga Political Groups in Nagaland during the last many years,” Rio said.
He stated that there have been much more bloody armed conflicts, with much higher death tolls in certain Maoist affected areas during recent years, as compared to Nagaland and other states of the North East.
“But the Centre does not want to impose AFSPA in these Maoist affected areas; and relies on state police forces and CPMF to deal with the situation. So, there is no reason why it cannot do the same in Nagaland, and other NE States to deal with a much less volatile situation,” he said.
In view of the improved situations in Nagaland, the State Government has been consistently taking the stand that there is no need for declaring Nagaland as a 'disturbed area' under Section 3 of the AFSPA, he said, adding that this has been the stand of the government for the last more than 20 years.
“The declaration of a state or any area as 'disturbed area' under Section 3 of the AFSPA is made by the Government of India generally for a period of 6 months only at a time. So, just on the eve of the expiry of the 6- month period, the Government of India will seek the views and comments from the State Government. Every time, we have been taking the same stand, that there is no need or justification for extending the declaration of Nagaland as a `disturbed area'. But every time, our views, and our objections are ignored, and the declaration is renewed again and again for the last many years,” the Nagaland CM lamented.
The desire of the people is to repeal this undemocratic and draconian law, the CM stated and called upon the House to unite in one voice and send out a clear message that “Nagas do not want to see this act anymore.”
He added that removing AFPSA will also contribute towards confidence building, strengthening trust and removing the feeling of alienation in the people's mind.
He meanwhile informed that ex-gratia and employment to the next of kin of the deceased families have been assured by the Central Government. However, he said that in case the families of the deceased prefer a job in the State Government, “we are ready to give grade III or grade IV as per their qualifications.” Further, medical expenditure for all the injured will be borne by the state, Rio assured.
He appealed to the citizens of Mon district and its civil societies to extend cooperation to the Government and its agencies to restore normalcy in the interest of all the citizens.
