NPMHR questions use of ‘electrified wires’

Mokokchung :As the tension from the standoff between the Assam Rifles and NSCN (IM) in Shiroi village in Manipur entered the seventh day, the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights has taken strong exception to the alleged erection of electrified barbed wires. The AR is alleged to have erected electrified wires around the camp where the Naga underground activists are holed up.

“This act of the AR is a real violation of universal human rights, reminiscent of concentration camps in World War II. Even in war, soldiers do not use such inhuman methods against the enemy,” said NPMHR secretary general Dr. N Venuh on the sidelines of a meeting of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation with the apex tribal bodies of the Ao tribe in Mokokchung town, Saturday.

Venuh said the act of the Assam Rifles was equivalent to using landmines while reminding that both India and the NSCN (I-M) were signatories of the anti-landmine treaty. “During the ceasefire, the security forces should not resort to such provocative and humiliating acts. Both sides should come to an understanding instead of adopting tough stance,” he said. When queried about the contention of the Assam Rifles that the ceasefire ambit was confined to Nagaland only, the NPMHR secretary general asserted that “the ceasefire covers the whole world and cannot be confined to some Naga areas only”.