After a botched army operation which saw death of 14 civilians in Nagaland, the state government will write to the Centre calling for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, a law that gives sweeping powers to the army in troubled regions.
Six civilians, said to be workers in a coal mine, were killed in an ambush by security forces in an area between Tiru and Oting village in Nagaland’s Mon district while returning home in a vehicle Saturday evening.
The incident triggered violence in the area Saturday night and late Sunday afternoon, in which eight more civilians (seven on Saturday, and one Sunday) were killed after security forces allegedly opened fire.
The firing on the vehicle carrying the coal miners in Oting village, home to the Konyak Naga community, was carried out by soldiers of the ‘21 Para Commando Unit’, and attributed to a case of mistaken identity.
A soldier succumbed to injuries in the violence Saturday night, and several others were severely injured, said the Army’s Dimapur-based 3rd Corps in a statement.
A police FIR has said the Army’s 21 Para Special Forces “blankly opened fire”.
Shattering the relative calm in Nagaland, the killings and the subsequent violence put a question mark on peace talks. The killing of civilians has been condemned by local civil society organisations, Naga outfits, national political parties, and the state government itself.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had yesterday said AFSPA must be removed as it was the cause of unrest and pain in his state. Speaking at the funeral service for those who were killed, he called the law a black stain on the image of the country.
“AFSPA gives powers to the Army to arrest civilians without any arrest warrant, raid houses and also kill people. But there is no action against the security forces. They have created a law and order situation,” the Chief Minister said.
The remarks were significant coming from Mr Rio, an ally of the BJP and part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, another BJP ally, echoed the view.
The Nagaland killings have revived demands for the scrapping of AFSPA, which gives the armed forces special powers to search, arrest without a warrant and open fire in areas declared “disturbed”.
AFSPA
The controversial law is in place in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh, besides Jammu and Kashmir. Tripura and parts of Meghalaya were taken out of the list.
Under AFSPA, the forces may arrest or shoot to kill on mere suspicion.
AFSPA also protects security forces from legal proceedings unless cleared by the centre. In the context of the Nagaland violence and killings, there are concerns the centre will cite the law to protect the Army’s elite 21 Para Special Forces from investigation.
The Nagaland police have filed a murder case against the army unit, accusing the troops of “intent to murder”.