Nagaland: NSCN (IM) Condemns Supreme Court's Dismissal of Charges in Oting Killing

NAGALAND: In a joint council meeting, the NSCN (IM) strongly condemned the decision of the Supreme Court to acquit Indian army officials accused of mass killing Naga civilians at Mon district. "The ruling is a gross violation of human rights, an insult to the basic right to life and liberty," the council said.

This is a statement from the MIP underlining how impotent the Supreme Court appeared to be as AFSPA continued its detrimental impact on the Naga community.

The statement read: "Surely, the Supreme Court of India found itself helpless to go against the notorious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that continues to victimize the Nagas, even after the 1997 ceasefire to process the Indo-Naga political solution."

It further criticized AFSPA as incompatible with the Government of India's pursuit of a political solution for the Naga people, stating, "Nagas abhor AFSPA because it is incompatible with the spirit of the Government of India seeking Naga political solution. Nagas would not surrender tamely but fight for justice."

In this connection, the Joint Council not only condemned the Oting incident but also passed a resolution condoling the controversial Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland, stating that it undermines the very essence of indigenous identity within the context of God-given Naga nation.

The NSCN (IM) council opined that the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) brings divisive elements instigated by enemies of the Naga nation.

The council emphasized the oneness of the Naga people, stressing: "Nagas are a non-class and no boundary indigenous people. Nagas are one wherever Nagas are in the God-given land, Nagalim." The council said that at present classification of indigenous status under RIIN based on artificial state boundary lines is unacceptable to the Naga populace. "Come what may, we shall resist," it said in the resolution.

Aside from its stance on the RIIN, the council passed another resolution that called for a resistance to the border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar international boundary and the abolition of the Free Movement Regime (FMR).

The NSCN (IM) believes that the aforementioned steps go against the very grain of the present Indo-Naga political talks which aim to end with an amiable solution to the Naga political question.

We shall not tolerate border fencing, and we shall do whatever is deemed fit to stop such aggression against the existence of Naga brotherhood as a nation." This resolution shows that NSCN (IM) refuses to let Naga sovereignty and identity go, as soon as they attain political talks underway.

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