Govt declares Nagaland 'disturbed area' for 6 more months amid demands for AFSPA withdrawal
New Delhi(PTI): Nagaland will continue to be a "disturbed area" for another six months under the AFSPA as the condition of the state remained "dangerous", a move which comes amid growing clamour for withdrawal of special powers to armed forces especially after the death of 14 civilians earlier this month in a case of mistaken identity.
In a notification issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the disturbed area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was extended for six months from December 30.
The state has been under the controversial AFSPA since 1958. The Act is an offshoot of Britishers Armed Forces Special Ordinance of 1942.
The extension comes three days after the Centre constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Registrar General and Census Commissioner Vivek Joshi with Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry Piyush Goyal as its Member-Secretary.
The Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Nagaland and the Director General of Assam Rifles are among the other members of the committee.
The committee is supposed to submit its report within 45 days.
Thursday's notification said the Centre "is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.
"Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No.28 of 1958) the Central Government hereby declares that whole of the State of Nagaland to be 'disturbed area' for a period of six months with effect from December 30, 2021, for the purpose of the said Act," the home ministry notification issued by Goyal, the member secretary in the high-level panel, said.
People in Nagaland have been demanding withdrawal of AFSPA and it gained momentum after the army killed six civilians mistaking them as insurgents on December 3 and later on bumped off eight villagers in Mon district of the state as the villagers went on rampage and had killed one soldier in anger.
The anger among the people pushed the Nagaland government to call a special one-day session on December 20 where the assembly unanimously resolved to demand the repeal of AFSPA.
It said that the House "appreciated and supported" citizens and civil society organisations over their demand for the repeal of AFSPA and delivery of justice and appealed to "all sections to follow democratic norms and non-violence in the collective endeavour towards realisation of peace and delivery of justice".
The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant besides giving immunity from arrest and prosecution to the security forces if they shoot someone dead.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
