- NET Web Desk
The Core Committee on the Naga political issue headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will hold a special session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on December 20, to discuss the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (ASFPA), 1958, operational in the northeastern regions, including Nagaland.
Based on the same, an emergency meeting was recently held in Kohima.
The Core Committee have fixed the tentative date for the Special Assembly Session on December 20, which was also approved by the Nagaland Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi.
Recently, in an attempt to express resentment against the merciless killings of civilians, due to the incessant spraying of bullets by the Indian Armed Forces, the Nagaland Cabinet decided to urge Centre for repealing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).
After the horrific incident, demands to repeal AFSPA have been escalating among different quarters of Northeast India.
On Saturday last, at least 13 civilians identified as coal-miners were gunned down by security forces in Mon district of Nagaland. Referring the killings as “unfortunate”, the Indian Army confirmed the incident.
The unfortunate incident is basically the repercussion of botched army operation, which mistook the civilians as insurgents from the Yung Aung faction of the banned militant outfit – National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K).
Its worthy to note that on June this year, the Centre had declared Nagaland as “Disturbed Area” and further extended the operation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for 6 more months. The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades.
Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, asserts that once declared “disturbed”, the area has to maintain the status quo for a minimum of three months. Under this act, in a “disturbed” area, an officer has full power to warn, or open fire and other kinds of forces against the person who is acting against law.
