Guwahati: The Nagaland government decided on Thursday to conduct a special session of the assembly to examine and approve a resolution repealing the AFSPA in the aftermath of the death of 14 people by security forces in Mon district, according to a government spokesperson.
‘The special session is tentatively slated for December 20, and the governors of Assam and Nagaland, Jagdish Mukhi and Neiba Kronu, will formally summon it,’ Neiba Kronu, the Minister for Planning and Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs, told PTI.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 grants the Army authority to arrest and detain civilians in troubled areas.
He claimed the decision was made after a meeting of the state government’s core committee on Naga political issues that took place during the day.
Cabinet members, as well as representatives from all of the state’s political parties, make up the core committee led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
‘The Naga political issue would also be discussed during the special session,’ Kronu said.
On Saturday, six coal mine workers were killed in a bungled security force ambush at Oting village in Mon district. This resulted in later conflicts, in which seven individuals were killed.
‘A mob vandalized and set fire to parts of an Assam Rifles camp in Mon town on Sunday afternoon, killing another civilian,’ the police added.
Following the incidents, calls for Nagaland’s AFSPA to be revoked have grown louder.
The chief minister had urged for the draconian Act to be repealed after placing a wreath on the mortal remains of the victims on Monday.
Tribal organizations and civil society organizations, such as the Naga Students Federation (NSF) and women’s organizations, have urged the state government to call a special session of the legislature and approve a resolution repealing the Act.