Nagaland Killings: Former Naga rebel group says 'No peace talks under shadow of AFSPA'

Dimapur: The principal negotiator in the Naga political dialogue with the Union Government, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) on Wednesday said no peace talks were possible "under the shadow" of the AFSPA.

The former rebel group also termed Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in Parliament on the botched counter-insurgency operation as "Irresponsible." The statement comes on the heels of a statement by Oting villagers where they claimed the army shot to kill villagers without ascertaining their identity and tried to dress them in fatigues in a bid to pass them off as militants after a botched up ambush.

"No political talks will be meaningful under the shadow of AFSPA. Let human dignity take control and be made an integral part of the Naga political peace process", the NSCN(IM) said in a statement

The strongly-worded statement of NSCN(IM) also condemned the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in the Parliament on the killing of at least 13 coal mine labourers in Oting village of Mon district on December 4.

'In a situation like this, Amit Shah was expected to show political maturity and practical statesmanship in order to cool down the socio-political upheavals. Ironically, he poured fuel to the burning issue by standing behind the Para Commandos, the former rebel group said.

They described this as "like rubbing salt and chilli in the wounds of the Nagas".

The NSCN(IM) said that there is nothing to doubt that it was a botched ambush with a deliberate mission to kill and nothing to do with 'credible' intelligence of the NSCN movement in the area.

'Nothing can be far from the truth that it was something executed deliberately, the statement said.

The NSCN(IM) argued that if the Government of India (GoI) wants "to do justice to the Naga people, AFSPA must be immediately withdrawn" and investigation for the proper prosecution of those responsible immediately constituted.

The NSCN(IM) said what is most sinister is when the Army was found stripping naked the dead bodies of the Naga civilians with military dress to give the impression in the eyes of the media that these were militants.

Luckily, they were caught red-handed by the villagers before they succeeded through their plan, the statement added.

The NSCN(IM) has been engaged in negotiations with the Union government for a solution to the decades-old Naga political issue since 1997 while the Framework Agreement was signed between them in August 2015.

However, no solution has been achieved with the former remaining adamant on its demand for a separate flag and constitution of the Nagas. PTI NBS JRC JRC