Nagaland’s big March demanding AFSPA repeal culminates in Kohima

Kohima, Jan 11
A day after over 200 people started off the Walkathon from Dimapur against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), protestors reached the Raj Bhavan in Kohima where their demands in the form of a memorandum were submitted to the Prime Minister through the office of the governor of Nagaland.
Nagaland's big March demanding immediate repeal of AFSPA culminates in Kohima
“We kept our machetes away and marched peacefully, fighting against our oppressors in a non-violent way. The public has risen and taken public leadership. How will India respond to our non-violent protest? Isn’t India ashamed of the draconian law?” questioned Kevitho Kera, one of the organizers of the Walkathon.
The protest comes after AFSPA was extended in the whole of Nagaland for another six months despite mass protests across Nagaland and the Northeast region following the Mon massacre where 14 civilians were gunned down by security forces.
The March began on Monday morning from Dimapur and the protestors reached Kohima on Tuesday evening after covering over 70 km on foot.
“We started our journey because we are demanding justice for our brothers. When we got to know that we had to walk to walk from Dimapur to Kohima, we were totally on it and we wanted to stand for our Naga brothers,” 22-year-old Sharen Thingpia, one of the three females who covered the whole journey on foot told EastMojo.
Standing among protestors outside the Kohima Raj Bhavan, she urged the need for the Government to take a step before another incident like the Mon massacre happens in the state.
Rosemary Dzüvichü, adviser of the Naga Mothers’ Association, while addressing the gathering said, “We stand in protest against the sons of Oting and against the killing of the and death of so many over the decades. We, as mothers, we grieve and share your sorrow.”
Saying that the youth is going to make a difference for the Nagas, she said that it is time for youth to lead.
The Naga protestors demanded that the Centre take cognizance of the “serious human rights crime” committed by the Indian Armed force in the recent Oting killing incident by delivering justice and that the perpetrators be brought under civil court for criminal prosecution, and immediate and adequate compensation be given to the families of the victims and those injured.
They also demanded that AFSPA 1958 be repealed in toto from Nagaland and the North East.
They also demanded that the state government’s role of handling law and order of the state be recognised, and make provisions that AFSPA will not be enforced in Nagaland. The memorandum was signed by the Global Naga Forum (GNF), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA), Eastern Nagaland People’s Union Dimapur, and Konyak Union Dimapur.
Several tribal bodies and civil society organisations took part in the protest. Many protestors also joined the Walkathon in Kohima. East Mojo