Nagaland wants AFSPA repealed; calls off famed Hornbill Fest in protest

The Nagaland government has decided on Tuesday (December 7) to write to the Centre, demanding the repeal of the controversial Armed Formed (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and to quickly complete the probe of the killing of 14 civilians by their newly constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) within a month.

These decisions were taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. The ongoing 10-day Hornbill Festival, the state’s largest tourism event, will also be discontinued, to protest against the civilian killings, said media reports.

The stalls at the venue, the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama near the state capital, will however remain open and the tourism department will hold a simple closing ceremony. The festival was scheduled to end on December 10.

Earlier, the CM Rio, while attending the funeral of the 14 civilians in Mon town on Monday, had also sought the repeal of AFSPA that gives special powers to security forces in “disturbed areas”.

Several tribes from eastern Nagaland and other parts of the state too have suspended all activities after the killings in Mon district, said an Indian Express report. Meanwhile, Ubi Posehu Kezo, the officer in-charge of the Tizit police station in Mon district, had filed a suo motu FIR on Sunday (December 5) against the 21st Para Military Force. In the FIR, he has alleged that it was the “intention” of the security forces “to murder and injure civilians”.

Also read: Nagaland killings: Time to change tack on counterinsurgency, scrap AFSPA 

Further, he stated that on December 4, coal mine labourers from Oting village were returning home from Tiru in a Bolero pick-up vehicle when, “on reaching Longkhao, between Upper Tiru and Oting villages, security forces blankly open fired at the vehicle without any provocation, resulting in the killing of many Oting villagers and seriously injuring many others”.

There was no police guide to aid the AFSPA and neither did security forces made a requisition to the police station for their operation. Hence, it is obvious that that the intention of the security forces was to murder and injure civilians, the FIR stated.

Expressing deep regret, the army has ordered a Court of Inquiry into the incident. “The cause of the unfortunate loss of lives is being investigated by a Court of Inquiry at the highest level and appropriate action will be taken as per the course of law,” it said, reported the media.

The Konyak Union (KU), the apex tribal body in Nagaland’s Mon, too has joined the protest against the killings by imposing a day-long bandh in the district on Tuesday. They will also observe a seven-day mourning.

Security forces should refrain from patrolling Konyak region during this seven-day mourning period, the KU said, warning that they will not be responsible for “any untoward incident that might occur”, if they do not abide by this request.

The KU has also requested President Ramnath Kovind to form a Special Investigation Team  “also comprising two members of Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) in it”, and identify the army personnel involved in the incident. They wanted the action that is being taken against the police officers to be made public within 30 days.

The KU also demanded that 27 Assam Rifles immediately vacate Mon because they had failed to protect civilians, and the AFSPA be removed from the entire north-east.