We can forgive, but can’t forget: Nagaland villagers a year after army ops claimed 14 lives

On December 4 last year, six coal miners returning from work were killed in a botched ambush by the security forces at Oting village

They have burnt down the grass to rid the spot where fellow villagers were gunned down on this day a year ago of the stench and stains of the blood that was spilled.

However, the memories of that fateful December 4, when a botched army operation claimed 14 lives in a case of mistaken identity, still pervade as people in this tiny hamlet of Nagaland remember the horror that overtook their humdrum lives.

“We have moved on in some ways, but the pain and feeling of suffering are still there. In Nagaland, we know to forgive, but we can’t forget this tragedy,” a community leader of Oting, Kheatwang Konyak, told PTI.

The people of Oting in Mon district in the northeastern state said they will erect a monolith in memory of the 14 people on the first anniversary of the killings.

On December 4 last year, six coal miners returning from work were killed in a botched ambush by the security forces at Oting village, while seven others were gunned down when angry villagers scuffled with them after discovering the bullet-riddled bodies of the labourers on an Army truck.

One security personnel was also killed in the melee. Another civilian was killed when a mob attacked an Assam Rifles camp at Mon town the next day.

“We have cleaned up the massacre site and burnt the old grass and other plants. We are trying to construct a monolith there. We are holding a memorial at the local ground here. We will be flying black flags and banners,” Konyak said.