The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) on Thursday issued a statement in strong disapproval to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in the Parliament on the Nagaland killings.
The group said in the statement, "NSCN has taken a strong exception to the irresponsible statement of the Union Home Minister … when all Nagas are in a state of mourning in solidarity with our Naga brethren belonging to the Konyak community in Mon district".
Saying that they expected more political maturity from the home minister in the matter, the statement read, "Amit Shah was expected to show political maturity and practical statesmanship to cool down the socio-political upheavals".
It added, "Ironically, he 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 chilli in the wounds of the Nagas".
Refuting the home minister's statement, one of the survivors, Sheiwang, who is undergoing treatment at the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh, said, 'They shot right at us, no signal to stop, we did not flee.'"
The NSCN further said in their statement, "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 and the world that they have gunned down the militants".
Adding that luckily, they were caught red-handed by the villagers, the NSCN said it was now "driven to the point to take the stand on the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA)".
Saying that the AFSPA had given security forces the license to shoot and kill anyone on mere suspicion, the NSCN further echoed the newfound voices against the act.
Calling for immediate withdrawal of the draconian act, the statement further said, "If the Government of India (GoI) wants to do justice to the Naga people, AFSPA must be immediately withdrawn and investigation for proper prosecution must be immediately constituted".
