Guwahati: The Assam Wesean Students’ Union (AAWSU) has expressed strong condemnation over the recent extension of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Upper Assam, covering the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, and Sivasagar. In a statement, the student body demanded a transparent explanation from the government regarding the decision.
“We stand in deep outrage over the extension of AFSPA in Upper Assam. If the unrest supposedly originates from Bangladesh, why is the act enforced in areas far from the Bangladesh border? This move defies logic and raises alarming questions about the true motives behind this decision,” the statement read.
AAWSU questioned the government’s justification for imposing AFSPA in Upper Assam while leaving Lower Assam, geographically closer to the Bangladesh border, untouched. They alleged that the extension of AFSPA in these districts could be a pretext to target indigenous communities who have long defended their land, culture, and rights.
The students’ union also invoked the tragedy of the Oting massacre in Nagaland, where innocent civilians were killed by security forces under the provisions of AFSPA. “We refuse to be the next Oting,” AAWSU warned, adding that the soldiers responsible for the massacre were allegedly given a clean chit, and that they feared similar injustices in Upper Assam.
AAWSU also criticised the silence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the issue, accusing him of failing to protest against the arbitrary imposition of AFSPA. “Why has our Chief Minister not raised a single word of protest? Is this silence his way of consenting to more violence against the indigenous people he claims to represent?” they questioned, citing the memory of past incidents such as the Kakopathar killings.
The union’s statement further condemned the long-standing military oppression faced by the people of the Northeast, claiming that the region has been treated as “second-class citizens” by the Indian government. “For decades, we have been subjected to military oppression, with our voices silenced, our identities undermined, and our lands exploited,” the AAWSU said.
In a list of demands, AAWSU called for the immediate revocation of AFSPA in Upper Assam and an end to the military oppression of indigenous communities. They also urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to answer to the people and demanded equal treatment and rights for the people of the Northeast, stating, “We will not stand by silently as our land is militarised, our people oppressed, and our voices ignored.”
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