Naga peace talks must include all militant groups, demands Assam student leader

GUWAHATI: Palash Changmai, the general secretary of student body Asom Jatiya Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP), condemning the incident in Nagaland's Oting where at least 13 Naga civilians were gunned down by armed forces, said that the peace talks must involve all the insurgent groups as stakeholders.

Stating that the AJYCP stands with the Naga people, he added that the decades old problems cannot be solved by "repressive policies" neither can it be solved with peace agreement with one or two militant organizations.

Changmai on Tuesday strongly condemned the incident in Nagaland's Mon district where the army had killed civilians in a botched counter-insurgency operation.

Changmai also lamented the 'draconian' Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the unfortunate incident in Nagaland’s Mon district on Saturday in which civilians were killed in Army firing in a case of "mistaken identity". Changmai has called for a black-badge protest tomorrow against the law.

Changmai said that the AFSPA should be repealed.

Meanwhile, except the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Khapland faction (NSCN-K), all other armed insurgent organizations have called for a ceasefire.

Changmai said that today, AJYCP will organise a statewide protest from 11 am against the incident.

He also said that Assam government has a lot to learn from the Nagaland state government. "The leaders of Assam should be able to call out a mistake when it happens.”

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