SHILLONG, Dec 6: The Meghalaya government has decided to move the Centre seeking withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the North East region.
In a statement issued here on Monday, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the state government will continue its stand against AFSPA and added that the draconian law is not the way to address issues concerning the region.
According to him, it is important to look and understand the issues faced by the region like development, problems related to the youth and insurgency, issue of identity, peace, law-and-order and national security.
Admitting that law-and-order was a problem in the Northeast, Sangma said, “AFSPA is not the way to move forward since this draconian law leads to more unrest. We are seeing a situation where lots of precious lives have been lost. People have to go through a lot of pain and suffering.”
“The opposition against AFSPA has been there for a long time. This demand to repeal this legislation has not come in the past few days,” the CM added.
Civil society groups, rights activists and political leaders of the Northeast have been demanding the withdrawal of the “draconian” law for years, alleging excesses by security forces with impunity under the cover of the Act.
Earlier taking to Twitter, Sangma wrote: “AFSPA should be repealed.”
Conrad is the national president of the National People’s Party, which supports the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Health Minister James Sangma also condemned the killings in Nagaland.
“It is painful to witness such levels of brutality by forces mandated to protect the citizens. There is no justification in the use of force against innocent people of the land and there should be an in-depth investigation into the matter to ensure the guilty are punished and justice is delivered to the victims. Peace cannot be expected in a democracy if violence by state forces is allowed to go unchecked,” he said.
CLP leader Ampareen Lyngdoh backed the CM’s demand for the repeal of the 1958 Act. “We must go all out to demand the immediate repeal of this draconian oppression of our people,” she added.
The state Congress urged the CM to convene a meeting for consultation over the issue.
Congress MLA from Mawlai, PT Sawkmie also demanded that AFSPA should be repealed from the entire Northeastern region. Condemning the brutal killings in Nagaland, he said that all 60 MLAs of Meghalaya should stand united and ask the Government of India to repeal the Act.
All India Trinamool Congress MLA, Miani D. Shira lamented the death of the Nagaland villagers due to a case of ‘mistaken identity’. “As long as the AFSPA is operational, the inquiry can never bring justice. Appeal for repeal of AFSPA. Condemning isn’t enough,” she added.
Civil society and pressure groups in Meghalaya have also called for the immediate and unconditional repeal of the AFSPA.
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council said AFSPA should be withdrawn in order to build a peaceful Northeast.
“We call upon the Government of India to rein in their armed forces if they really wish peace to prevail in the region as incidents like these will only bring instability, which is not a good sign for the region as a whole,” its general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said.
“The so called Operation of the Armed Forces is nothing but a mere excuses and cover up of its complete failure to distinguish between innocent unarmed civilians and the so called militants and hence civilian lives are lost as a result of the shooting spree,” Synrem said.
“We call upon each and everyone especially our elected representatives in the Northeast to stand together and impress upon the Centre to repeal the operation of AFSPA in the Northeastern Region in order to avoid any further loss of innocent civilians lives like the “Oting Massacre” or the “Malom Massacre” in the future,” he said.
The Khasi Students’ Union said the government should formulate laws to safeguard the rights of the indigenous people of the Northeast.
The union, under the aegis of the North East Students’ Organisation, will organise a sit-in followed by a candlelight vigil at U Kiang Nangbah monument near Shillong Civil Hospital on December 9 to condemn the Nagaland massacre.
NESO has decide to organise programmes in all the state capitals of all the Northeastern states on December 9, as a mark of protest against the heinous act committed by the security forces at Oting village in Nagaland.
“This programme is to show solidarity with the people of Oting village in particular and the people of Nagaland in general who are going through this heart stricken grief,” NESO chairman Samuel B Jyrwa said in a statement.
NESO also reiterated its demand that the Government of India should show its willingness and sincerity for peace to prevail in North East by repealing AFSPA. “…otherwise it will only be seen as an act of aggression and suppression of the voice of the people by using the military power at their disposal without a concern for the well being of the people of the region,” it stated.