Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio echoes Meghalaya counterpart; demands repeal of 'draconian' AFSPA

After Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio too demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) on Monday. Speaking to the media in the context of the Nagaland civilian killings, the NDPP founder termed it as a "draconian law" that has "blackened" the image of India. He mentioned that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was taking the incident very seriously and revealed that the Centre would provide an ex-gratia of Rs.11 lakh to the kin of the deceased civilians whereas the injured would be given a compensation of Rs.1 lakh. 

Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio remarked, "We always ask the government of India to remove it (AFSPA). India is the biggest democratic country in the world. And this is a draconian law. So it should be removed from our country. There can be many laws which can handle (the situation). But this has blackened the image of our country. That is my feeling". Already, the Nagaland government has announced a compensation of Rs.5 lakh for the families of those who lost their lives and Rs.50,000 for the injured. 

AFSPA repeal demand

Enacted on September 11, 1958, to bring the situation under control in conflict-hit areas, AFSPA was initially implemented in the Northeast followed by Punjab. This law empowers the Armed Forces personnel to use force even to the extent of causing death, destroy structures used as hideouts, training camps or from where attacks are likely to be launched and arrest anyone without a warrant. In Jammu and Kashmir, a separate law- Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act has been in place since July 5, 1990. 

On June 30 this year, the Home Ministry extended the applicability of AFSPA in Nagaland by a period of 6 months after declaring the entire state as a "disturbed area". In the aftermath of the Nagaland civilian killings, several organizations including the Naga Students' Federation have renewed their demand seeking the repeal of the AFSPA in the region. The Nagaland CM's demand assumes significance as the NDPP is the ally of the BJP. 

Nagaland civilian killings

On the evening of December 4, 6 coal mine labourers were killed in an ambush by security forces while they were returning to the Oting village of the Mon district in Nagaland. Subsequently, there was a backlash from angry locals leading to the death of 7 more civilians as well as one security personnel. Shah will give a statement on this matter today in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at 3 pm and 4 pm respectively. While the Indian Army has constituted a Court of Inquiry, the state government has formed a SIT to probe the incident. 

Image: ANI