India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—The Nagas are up in arms against the killing of 14 civilians by 21 Para Special Forces army unit soldiers. Several Naga outfits have given a call for non-cooperation with the Army if the soldiers involved in the killing are not punished.
While six of them, all mineworkers, were killed by the soldiers on December 4 when the victims were returning in trucks from work, the remaining were killed from army bullets while protesting against the December 4 killing. Meanwhile, several organizations, including US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), have condemned the killing of civilians.
Nagas are demanding the repeal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA that provides sweeping powers to military personnel in “disturbed areas.” AFSPA is currently in force in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding capital Imphal), and parts of Arunachal Pradesh and union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. However, it has been withdrawn from Tripura and parts of Meghalaya.
The protest that began from Mon district, where the miners were killed, reached the state capital of Kohima. Activists of the Naga Students Federation and other Naga organizations have been protesting for the last four days, demanding repeal of AFSPA. They carried placards and banners, saying, “Ban AFSPA, not our voice”.
One of the banners carried by the Naga Students Federation at Kohima read, “How many times must the bullets be fired to repeal AFSPA”.
Naga outfits have described the killing of civilians as “state terrorism”.
Protesters also burnt the effigies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who said that the soldiers fired bullets when the truck drivers did not stop. But one of the survivors said they had all halted and soldiers shot at from close range.
The Army, however, said that it happened by mistake. While the Army has ordered an internal investigation against the soldiers, Naga protesters are demanding arrest of the soldiers involved in the killing and withdrawal of “false” and “fabricated” statements of Amit Shah made in Parliament on December 6. Police have registered a case of murder against the soldiers involved in the firing, but no arrest can be made due to AFSPA in place in the entire Nagaland…
Meanwhile, Naga groups have announced “non-participation in Army civic programmes”. Naga organizations have also declared not to allow recruitment drives for the Army in the state. They have also announced to “abstain from any national celebration” till their demands are met.
South Asia director at Human Rights Watch Meenakshi Ganguly said, “So long as the AFSPA protects soldiers from accountability, such atrocities will continue.” She said that assurances to investigate the horrific killing by the Army would not yield any result unless those responsible were punished.
“The government should ensure an independent civilian investigation into the Nagaland killings and urgently repeal AFSPA,” Ganguly demanded.
But the killings have revived the demand for repeal of AFSPA by opposition parties, human rights activists, and chief ministers of Nagaland and Meghalaya, both having political alliances with the BJP that is in power at the Centre.
AFSPA was enacted in 1958 as a short-term measure to counter insurgency in Nagaland, but it has continued for the last 60 years. In addition, it was extended to many other states and union territories to fight insurgency.
According to HRW, soldiers get “wide powers to shoot to kill, make arrests on flimsy pretexts, conduct warrantless searches, and demolish structures in the name of aiding civil powers” in “disturbed areas.” Moreover, the declaration of “disturbed area” can not be challenged in court.
A report posted on December 8 this year on the multi-lingual portal of HRW alleged that “equipped with special powers, soldiers have raped, tortured, forcibly disappeared, and killed people without fear of being held accountable.”
Stating that the AFSPA requires the Central government’s prior approval for civilian prosecution of military personnel, HRW alleges that “the central government routinely denies permission for civilian prosecution of military personnel.”
“In 2018, the Defence Ministry informed Parliament that it had denied all 50 requests from Jammu and Kashmir state government for civilian prosecution since 2001,” HRW report says.
HRW report says that in a rare prosecution in 2014, a military court sentenced five soldiers, including two officers, to life term for faking an armed encounter in Machil village in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010. But the punishment was suspended by a military tribunal in July 2017, and all five were released.
According to HRW, the Supreme Court in 2017 ordered an investigation into alleged extra-judicial killings of about 1528 persons in Manipur from 1979 to 2012. Still, the central government denied permission to prosecute armed personnel, citing AFSPA.
–Written by Syed Khalique Ahmed
