National People’s Party’s Arunachal Pradesh unit vice president Thangwang Wangham urged the chief ministers of the AFSPA-affected states to adopt resolutions in their respective State Assemblies to scrap the Act.
“This draconian Act is currently promoting killing and victimizing innocent people in the guise of law and order situation,” Wangham said.
He said this during his visit to Oting village in Nagaland‘s Mon district on Wednesday, a Nagaland NPP release said on Thursday.
Vehemently condemning the action of 21 Para Special Force of the Army and the Assam Rifles in which 14 innocent civilians, belonging to the Konyak Naga tribe, were gunned down in Oting village on December 4 and 5, he said the security personnel involved in the carnage are protected by the provisions of the AFSPA, which is a gross violation of human rights.
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During his visit, Wangham interacted with the family members of the deceased and injured victims.
“I was shocked by the news of the massacre in Oting village by the security personnel who are supposed to protect the life and property of the people,” he said.
He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members of those killed in the security forces firing.
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The NPP leader termed the killing of daily wage earners in the village on December 4 as genocide and a heinous crime committed against mankind by the security personnel.
Stating that even the extremists have changed their mindset to liberal thoughts with the changing times, he said, therefore, the AFSPA is not at all necessary in the present context.
“While I demand a high-level inquiry and appropriate action against the erring armed forces personnel involved in the carnage, I also demand that the government immediately repeal the AFSPA,” he stated.
There are IPC, CrPC, and UAP Act which are enough and sufficient to curb the menace of insurgency in the country, he added.
Wangham stressed that the need of the hour for the country is to resolve internal conflicts by political negotiations and not by resorting to military repression and suppression, which create ill will and enmity.
He also appealed to the people of Mon district to maintain peace and let the law take its own course.