Protests were staged in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh on Monday demanding an end to the kidnapping and extortion being carried out by the banned NSCN (Khaplang-YA), a militant group that is not part of the ongoing Naga peace process.
The rallies were held jointly by community-based organisations, NGOs, students and other citizens in Longding, Tirap and Changlang districts, bordering Myanmar from where the Yung Aung faction of the NSCN (K) carries out its operations.
In a memorandum to governor B.D. Mishra, the Wancho Council, the apex community-based organisation in Longding, said the protest was staged to express their “pain and anguish” over the prevailing situation in the TCL region (as the three districts are jointly referred to) owing to a spurt in kidnapping and extortion cases involving the NSCN (K-YA).
The trigger for the protest was three recent kidnapping cases in Longding, which have created a “fear psychosis” in the area.
Sources said there had been at least 11 kidnapping cases in the past two months in the TCL region. Two of the captives are yet to be released.
The residents of Tirap and Changlang extended their solidarity to the people of Longding by staging protests.
The tone of the protests was similar in all the three districts with a resident of Tirap telling The Telegraph that they want peace and an end to all anti-social activities.
The protesters were seen carrying placards that said “No more abduction”, “Don’t test our patience...”, “We want peace, Stop kidnapping of TCL people”, and “We are not weak”. They shouted slogans such as “Chahiye chahiye, shanti chahiye (We want peace)” and “Jeene do jeene do, shanti se jeene do (Allow us to live peacefully)”.
The Wancho Council, in its memorandum, said that the root cause of backwardness in the TCL was insurgency and urged the governor to enhance vigil along the porous India-Myanmar border to check the activities of the insurgent groups and drug trafficking. The council requested the governor to take steps for rehabilitation of the surrendered cadres in TCL to check anti-national and anti-social activities in the area.
Monday’s protest is another instance of public mood turning against the NSCN (K-YA). The group is also said to be passing through difficult times owing to the overall situation in coup-hit Myanmar and the enhanced vigil along India’s borders.
There were protests against the outfit in Tirap last week in a kidnapping case. In May 2021, four of its cadres were thrashed in Longding in connection with a kidnapping case.