The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) organised sit-in dharna in front of Raj Bhavan in Kohima on Thursday against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Students took part at the dharna with placards that read “Repeal the Draconian Law AFSPA 1985”, “Indian Army foe of North Eastern people”, “We stand in solidarity with our Naga brethren – the innocent civilians who were brutally killed at Oting village, Mon district”, etc. They also burned effigies of security forces with AFSPA written on them.
Addressing the gathering, NSF president Kegwayhun Tep reiterated the demand that Government of India (GoI) should set up a court-monitored committee headed by a retired Supreme Court or high court judge to conduct an impartial probe into the killings at Oting and Mon.
He insisted that the culprits should be brought to justice immediately.
He demanded that the draconian law should be repealed and human rights restored in the Naga homeland.
Mentioning that the dharna had been called in coordination with student bodies in other North-eastern States under the aegis of NESO to show solidarity with the victims of Oting massacre and to demand removal of AFSPA from the region, Tep demanded that the government must immediately stop its policy of militarisation of the region and paying lip service in the name of solving the Indo-Naga political issue.
He cautioned that the draconian law should not be allowed to further terrorise the people, pointing out that the life of an innocent civilian was worth no less than that of a gun-wielding soldier.
