The move came days after the Union government constituted a high-level committee to examine the possibility of the withdrawal of the controversial Act.
The Union Home Ministry on Thursday, December 30, 2021 extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act to all of Nagaland for a further six-month period.
In a notification, the ministry said that “the central government is of the opinion that the area encompassing the whole state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous state that it is necessary to use the military. to help the civil power.
It added that in exercising the powers conferred by Article 4 of the law, “the central government declares that the whole state of Nagaland is a ‘disturbed area’ for a period of time. six months from December 30, 2021, for the purposes of the foregoing law.
The last time this extension was made was June 30.
The law, in force in the northeast since 1958, gives unlimited powers to the armed forces and central armed police forces stationed in “troubled areas” to kill anyone acting in violation of the law, arrest and search premises without a warrant and protection from prosecution and action. justice without sanction from the central government.
Central and state governments have concurrent powers to issue a notification under section 3 of the law.
On December 8, the government in Manipur issued a notification to extend the law in the state, excluding municipal areas of Imphal, for another year. The ordinance states that “the Governor of Manipur is of the opinion that due to the violent activities of various extremist / insurgent groups, the whole state of Manipur is in such a disturbed state that the use of armed forces to help the civil power.
Since the 1980s, the notification extending AFSPA to Manipur has been issued by the government of Manipur. Over the past 40 years, the Center has not issued any legal notices for Manipur.
On December 26, the Prime Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, announced that the Union’s Interior Ministry had set up a commission to examine the withdrawal of the law in Nagaland. The state has erupted into protests since December 4, when 13 civilians were killed in a failed army operation near Oting in Mon district. The Union Ministry issues the “disturbed area” notification only for Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in the districts of Tirap, Changlang, Longding and in the areas under the police stations of Namsai and Mahadevpur on the border with Assam.
In the case of Assam, the Union Ministry issued the “disturbed areas” ordinance until 2017. Since then, the state has renewed the notification every six months, with the latest decision taken. September 10.
