GUWAHATI: Civil society activists of Tizit in Mon district of Nagaland took out a “mass protest rally” on Saturday demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and flayed the Centre for not tendering an apology for the killings of the civilians by the armed forces last week.
The protestors demanded justice in the case and warned that the people of Tizit would not remain silent till the guilty personnel were punished.
“Innocent lives were lost in a botched up ambush by the security forces. The Government of India has not apologised so far. The home minister said the victims, who were travelling in a vehicle, did not stop when signaled by the security forces. Who is spreading lies? Tizit will not remain at peace,” a protestor told reporters.
Another protestor identified AFSPA as the root cause of the problem. “We demand AFSPA is repealed from the Northeast. We don’t need the security forces. We want to live independently,” the protestor said.
The protestors held banners that read “Indian troops killing innocent”, “We want justice”, “Revoke Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act”, “Stop state-sponsored terrorism”, etc.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently told the Parliament that the incident happened when the security personnel asked the vehicle carrying the victim mine labourers to stop but it tried to flee. The civil society groups in Nagaland have dismissed the statement as “lie”.