The NSCN IM in its latest press release discouraged Indian Media interpretation of the ongoing informal dialogue between the group and the Centre represented by IB in New Delhi.
The group remarked that the national media singling out the Ato Kilonser Th Muivah is baseless and hampering the peace process, saying, truth is vindicated, and attempt to re-calibrate the ongoing talks by RN Ravi’s mischief on the Framework Agreement compelled the “NSCN IM to unleash blistering attack against him”, it said.
The group, in relation to various media misinterpretations and misrepresentations pointed out “media market is floated with distorted and manipulated stories and articles on Naga issue, targeting NSCN and its chief negotiator Mr. Th. Muivah. The truth, however, cannot be sacrificed at the altar of misinformation campaign launched against NSCN”.
On Deepika Singh of News18.com, “malicious fabrication” report on NSCN General Secretary who is also the Chief Negotiator with the Centre, the group said, “accusing Th Muivah for playing tribal card to scuttle any peace deal following the talks that took place after the First Indo-Naga ceasefire in September 4, 1964” showed sloppy research, void of due diligence to the Naga political historical chronicle.
Mr. Shekhar Gupta who is the Editor-in-Chief of The Print was also given similar tongue-lashing for his article calling Mr. Muivah a “past master at scuttling Naga peace deals” on tribal line.
“All these baseless accusations against Mr Th Muivah is nothing but malicious falsehood to further confuse the Naga people at this critical stage. All said and done, Deepika Singh and Shekhar Gupta proved themselves as nothing more than malicious mischief mongers” said the MIP press release.
The issue of constitution and flag, the group said, has been deliberately exposed to propaganda to derail and delay the solution to the Naga political issue. NSCN IM said ”Flag and constitution are the heart and soul of the Naga political movement. Flag is the political identity of the Naga people and constitution tells of the Naga people as a nation and shows the way forward as a distinct people who would not give up their land in lieu of anything” adding that, NSCN IM and Chinese government connection is an unfounded allegations.
“The same unpleasant situation created by Ravi last year when he set October 31st as deadline to seal the deal is being propagated by the media wherein it is mentioned that the deal may have to be signed by September 2020, even without NSCN. Such an unhealthy manner of conducting talks between two entities is against the spirit of Indo-Naga political peace process that has travails 23 years where mutual respect and consent has carried the talks all along. It is the settlement of the pending issues that matters and not the deadline that need not be in tearing hurry. This is rather interpreted as testing the nerve of NSCN as prodded by vested interests when informal talks are going on day to day basis with the IB team to smoothen the competencies” the press release said.
The group said that the current coordinated media propaganda targeting NSCN IM and its Chief “in collusion with the Indian intelligence agencies and the Home ministry officials is to create confusion, division and create fear psychosis and threat perception within the Nagas”.
Saying the propagandists attempt to “create insecurity feeling, hatred and bigotry. However, the Naga people are no longer naive to this kind of manipulated media onslaught launched with venomous and divisive sting”.