Kohima, October 1 (MTNews): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has condemned the “overarching approach” of the central government in extending “draconian” Armed Forces Special Powers’ Act (1958) for another six month “under the pretext of law and order problem” in major parts of Nagaland state.
The NSF in a press release on Saturday stated that it denounces “this continuous attempt of the central government to paint the state as a land of lawlessness and chaos.”
The world, NSF said, is witness to the fact that Nagaland is a beautiful state being inhabited by peace loving citizens which is contrary to what it is made to look like by the “impugned order.” “The history of excesses committed by the armed forces upon the Naga people under the cover of AFSPA calls for condemnation from all right thinking citizens of the world,” NSF added.
The federation also reiterated its stand that the Naga People do not merit the draconian Act which has empowered the Indian Military and Para-military war machines with unlimited powers to extend evil claws and judicial impunity to arrest, torture, and kill.
AFSPA, NSF said, is unconstitutional as it only encourages abuses and serious human rights violations by the armed forces acting on behalf of the state.
It appealed to the central government to objectively assess the situation and not act upon biased reports from their agencies. It added that the Ministry of Home Affairs takes the right steps forward to ensure that the controversial law is repealed once and for all from the entire Naga homeland.
Further, NSF said that AFSPA should be repealed or completely lifted from the entire Naga homeland and appealed to the Nagas to extend Non-cooperation to the Indian Armed forces or para-military forces “until such time the evil law is in operation.”