Kohima: The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), a strong students’ body of Nagaland, has condemned the Central Government in extending the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers’ Act 1958 (AFSPA) for another six months under the excuse of “law and order” problem in major parts of Nagaland.
A release issued by NSF President Kegwayhun Tep and General Secretary Shpuni Ng Philo denounced this continuous attempt of the Centre to paint the State as a land of lawlessness and chaos.
NSF said that the world was witness to the fact that Nagaland was a beautiful State and inhabited by peace-loving citizens, which was contrary to what it was made to look like by the impugned order to the Naga people “to extend non-cooperation to the Indian Armed forces or Para-military forces” until the Act is completely lifted from the entire Naga homeland.
The NSF reiterated its earlier stand that Naga people did not merit the draconian Act that had empowered the Indian military and paramilitary war machines with unlimited powers to extend evil claws and judicial impunity to arrest, torture, kill and to commit everything inhuman. Moreover, AFSPA was unconstitutional as it only encouraged abuses and serious human rights violations by the armed forces acting on behalf of the State, they pointed out.
The NSF release has appealed to the Centre to objectively assess the situation and not act upon bias reports from its agencies, while urging the Home ministry to take right steps forward in order to ensure that the AFSPA was repealed once and for all from the entire Naga homeland and also said that it will be their endeavour to ensure that AFSPA is repealed or completely lifted from the entire Naga homeland.
