Global Naga Forum writes to PM over extension of AFSPA in Nagaland

The Global Naga Forum‘s Rosemary Dzuvichu and Prof. Paul Pimomo have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre’s “violation of human rights in Nagaland through the extension of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the state, on December 31, 2021”.

The letter to the PM stated that the widows, children, and parents of the innocent Naga civilian young men murdered in cold blood by the Indian Armed Forces on December 4 and 5, 2021, in Mon district of Nagaland, are still in mourning and that the Indian government has taken no moral responsibility for the murders, nor tried to remove the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (1958).

The letter further addressed how leaders of state governments in the region, including Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Manipur have appealed for the removal of AFSPA, and that the people and civil society of the region have long wanted AFSPA repealed.

“The Government of India is currently in negotiation with Naga political groups for a
peaceful settlement of the Indo-Naga political problem going back to the year India
herself became an independent nation from British rule. And, your answer as Indian Prime Minister to all these is to extend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Nagaland?” read the letter addressed to the Prime Minister.

“From where Nagas have been vis-à-vis India since 1947, and what you are doing to us as a people in 2021, your place in history will be that of the Indian Prime Minister under whose leadership India committed the 2021 Oting, Mon, a massacre that disrupted our cultural Hornbill Festival and brought gloom to our joyous and peaceful Christmas celebrations; the Prime Minister who extended AFSPA, after the Oting massacre, as India’s 2022 New Year’s gift to the people of Nagaland,” wrote the Global Naga Forum, appealing to the conscience of PM Modi.

“As long as there’s life, there’s hope for changing course for the better in the life of individuals and for nations. We look forward to a peaceful future with the government of India and in our homeland,” the letter concluded.

Also read: 2021: Nagaland mourns Mon killings, hopes for normalcy a distant dream