Ao Senden has expressed shock and dismay at the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, closing all proceedings against the Indian Army personnel involved in killing of 14 “Konyak Naga unarmed brothers” on December 4, 2021 without any provocation or warning.
Ao Senden president Marsanen Imsong and general secretary Imtipokyim in a press release stated that the judgment was based on the February 28, 2023 order that declined sanction for prosecution of the army personnel by the central government in view of the specific bar contained in Section 6 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958.
Yet, they said they hope that the Indian Army would initiate its action against the murderers since the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had stated that the order would not prevent the army from taking any disciplinary action against its personnel.
They maintained that AFSPA was a classic example of the medieval mindset of the Indian political intelligentsia that had no relevance in the 21st century, except that it kept the citizens of Nagaland groaning and suffering under the might of the Indian armed forces as if they were in the medieval age.
Noting that the silence of the elected representatives post the Oting massacre was deafening, they deplored their insensitivity. They asked the elected representatives to raise their voices so that this kind of massacre was not repeated in the democratic country of India in modern times.
The duo called upon all right thinking and democratic people of India to impress upon the political parties and parliamentarians to repeal the savage and barbaric AFSPA in toto at the earliest.