Nagaland: Condemning the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the recent Oting massacre in Nagaland's Mon district, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (IM) has demanded immediate withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Nagaland and said that there will be no 'political talks' until the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is repealed.
The ceasefire militant outfit also termed the Oting 'massacre' as an incident which was executed deliberately. "This notorious AFSPA has given the Indian security forces the license to shoot and kill anyone on mere suspicion. The Nagas have had the bitter taste of this act on numerous occasions and it has spilled enough blood. Blood and political talks cannot go together," said a statement issued by the NSCN (IM).
The outfit also termed statement of the Union Home Minister in the Parliament as 'irresponsible', and said that Amit Shah was expected to show political maturity and practical statesmanship in order to cool down the socio-political upheavals.
"Ironically, he (read Shah) poured fuel to the burning issue by standing behind the Para Commandos under his command with his fictional sleuth stories supporting the Para Commandos for their heinous act of killings. This is like rubbing salt and chili on the wounds of the Nagas," the NSCN (IM) stated in a statement.
The 'massacre' by the paratroopers of Assam Rifles took place on the evening of December 4 between Turu and Oting in Mon district, leading to condemnation from all over the country.
The Union Home Minister on December 6 made a statement in the Parliament and pointed out "the vehicle, carrying the six civilians who were gunned down in an area between Tiru and Oting village in Nagaland’s Mon district on Saturday evening, was signaled to stop but it tried to flee. Following this, it was fired upon by the security forces, who had mistaken the civilians as extremists. The six civilians, said to be workers in a coal mine, were returning home in a vehicle when the incident took place. This triggered violence in the area Saturday night and eight more civilians (seven on Saturday, and one Sunday) were killed after security forces allegedly opened fire."
"Truth be told that there was no signal to stop the pick-up van of the coal laborers as mentioned by Amit Shah in Parliament", the statement added.
One of the survivors, Sheiwang who is undergoing treatment at the Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh, said, “They shot right a us, no signal to stop, we did not flee.” There is nothing to doubt that it was a botched ambush with deliberate mission to kill and nothing to do with ‘credible’ intelligence of NSCN movement in the area," the NSCN (IM) further stated in the statement.
"Nothing can be far from truth that it was something executed deliberately....This notorious AFSPA has given the Indian security forces the license to shoot and kill anyone on mere suspicion. We Nagas have endured the insults heaped on our human dignity for too long. The Nagas have had the bitter taste of this act on numerous occasions and it has spilled enough blood. Blood and political talks cannot go together. The Nagas can no longer be made the laughing stock in the eyes of the world. No political talks will be meaningful under the shadow of AFSPA," the statement concludes.
Read: Govt sincerely regrets civilian killings in Nagaland, HM Amit Shah tells Parliament
