Barely ten days after 13 civilians were killed in a botched military operation at Oting in Nagaland’s Mon district, Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), the apex body of six Naga tribes of five districts- Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, and Noklak- declared non-cooperation with the armed forces until its three-point demand is fulfilled

Dec 14, 2021

Barely ten days after 13 civilians were killed in a botched military operation at Oting in Nagaland’s Mon district, Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), the apex body of six Naga tribes of five districts- Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, and Noklak- declared non-cooperation with the armed forces until its three-point demand is fulfilled.

In a chain of events that followed the Oting ambush, a security personnel also lost his life on December 4 while another civilian was killed the next day in Mon district headquarters reportedly by Assam Rifles personnel who opened fire to disperse angry protesters.

The ENPO, which held a joint consultative meeting of all the civil society organizations of the five districts on Tuesday at Longleng, demanded that the security personnel who were involved in the gruesome killings of 14 innocent civilians on December 4 and 5 in Mon district should be booked under the relevant law of the country and be brought under civil court for trial.

The organization also asserted that the statement of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah made in the Parliament on December 6 in regard to the Oting killings, where he had stated that the security forces fired in self-defense, should be withdrawn.RELATED STORIES

The ENPO’s constituent tribes are Konyak, Khiamniungan, Phom, Sangtam, Yimkhiung and Chang.

Also taking into account that such incidents would continue in the region for as long as the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA) is enforced, the ENPO demanded that the Centre revoke the “draconian law” from all northeastern states.

Highlighting its non-cooperation with the security forces, the ENPO stated that it would entail abstaining from any national celebrations, non-participation in army civic programmes, non-attendance to any army invitations, not allowing any recruitment drive within the eastern Nagaland area.

The influential ENPO also announced to hold public rallies in all its tribal headquarters on December 16 as a sign of protest against the brutal murder of innocent public and injuring several others and to continue to demand justice.

The Konyak Union, the main tribal body of Mon district, had also announced similar regulations to maintain non-cooperation with the security forces. The parameters included a total restriction on armed forces to convoy and patrol within “Konyaks soil”, no military recruitment rally within Mon district, no Konyak youth to participate in any army recruitment rally, no Konyak village council or any of its civil organizations should accept any form of developmental package/assistance from the army, and the same to denounce immediately any assured package/assistance from the forces.

The Konyak Union has also directed all customary landowners to immediately denounce past land-agreement allotted for setting up military base camps (operating points) within its respective jurisdiction (Naginimora, Tizit, Lampong Sheanghah, Wakching Town, Mon Town, Longshen Town, Sheanghah Wamsa, Longwa, Chenmoho, Chenloishu, Wangti, Aboi, Angjangyang, Tobu and Monyakshu etc.).

Further, the union has instructed all Konyak offices, schools and institutions to hoist black flags and vehicles to carry black flags until justice is served.