DIMAPUR: After a lull, the NSCN-IM has once again attacked the Government of India, saying that there is an “apparent lack of political will and insincerity on the part of the Indian leaders”. The NSCN-IOM also said there is a constant attempt to reduce the Indo-Naga political issue, by the Indian leaders, to a mere domestic problem of India. The NSCN-IM said this factor has been posing a serious threat in “our earnest quest for an honorable and acceptable solution based on the mutually agreed Framework Agreement”.
In a statement issued today, the NSCN-IM said, “It is an undeniable fact that Indian and Naga leaders have been engaging in political dialogue as two entities for nearly the last three decades”. Against this backdrop, labeling such misnomers as insurgents, rebels, terrorists, secessionists etc. does not bring us any closer to the core issue, the Naga body also said, adding, “It only goes to indicate the immaturity and double standard nature of Indian leaders”.
The statement of the NSCN-IM then said it has been necessitated to reiterate that “ours is a case of invasion and forced occupation of Nagalim by India and Myanmar, and as such the question of secession from them does not arise when there was no consensual union”.
The NSCN-IM then said the Nagas have been fighting a war imposed on them by India. “It is a battle between the aggressor India and the aggrieved Nagas; it is an armed confrontation against the Indian expansionist forces; it is a fight between the just and the unjust. It is a resistance movement against Indian imperialism and the struggle of Naga people for liberation”, the NSCN-IM added.
The statement then said that “history tells us that the mighty British imperialist forces came to Naga country and occupied a part of our territory, but the rest remains as free as ever”. After the departure of the British, the Government of India sent its “expansionist forces to Nagalim to annex our land through brute force, but the Naga people put up tough resistance against the colossal forces of India in defence of our land, our sovereignty, our history, our identity, our politics, our culture and our faith till date”. The Indian armies killed all sections of Naga indiscriminately, but they could never extinguish the spirit of Naga nationalism, it also said. They engineered and financed defectors and traitors, created and nurtured factions, incited dissent, and discord among the Nagas, the statement further said. “They tried to win over the hearts of the Naga people with blood-tainted money and false-promises of development plans, but are still failing. They say Nagas are Indians and Nagalim is an integral part of India, but history says otherwise. The Naga people have survived thus far because they are deeply rooted on the strong foundation of their inherent right”, the NSCN-IM further added.
The statement of the NSCN-IM then quoted an Indian leader who had reportedly once told the former that, “Corrupt people are very easy to be dealt with, it is a matter of quantum of money. But revolutionary people are a hard nut to crack.”
The NSCN-IM also said, “History says emperors conquered many countries and nations, but they could not conquer the minds and hearts of the people they conquered”. It added by saying, “They subdued many people and annexed their lands, but they could not subdue the national spirit of the people. They murdered people, but they could not murder the inherent rights of the people. They plundered and destroyed towns and cities of other people, but they could not murder their history and identities. They crushed people with the might of a sword, but they could not crush their faith. It may be recalled, the United States of America destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atom bombs, but they could not destroy the spirit of Japanese nationalism”.
The NSCN-IM then said that “Nagalim” has been made a killing field by India for decades. “The Government of India still has the killing instinct to finish the Nagas, but the hard reality is that Nagalim for Christ is a living force”, the NSCN-IM also said, adding, “It is not the nuclear weapons, nor the military might, but the truth force/the faith force that matters”. It then asked, “Can the revolutionary Naga people be herded into the fold of Indian Union like animals? Don’t they know that the so-called Armed Forces Special Power Act is a scarecrow? Is the border fencing in Naga country another Berlin wall? Berlin wall was torn apart by the spirit of German nationalism. The Nagas are a covenant people of God. Could the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt stop the exodus of the Lord’s people Israel? Could the Red sea block them? Could the Wall of Jericho stop them? Could the coalition forces of the Canaanites stop them? No”.
The NSCN-IM then said the Nagas have rejected the past “bogus accords” and false peace imposed on them. It also stated that the Government of India should know that repeating the past mistakes will be too costly. It further said that Indian leaders have understood that Naga people are earnestly looking for an honourable and lasting solution. “In the negotiating table we have stated that Nagas are by nature sincere, honest, straightforward and true to their word, but they are lionhearted when insulted, provoked, betrayed or attacked”, the statement said, adding, “In fact, Nagalim has produced many brave and strong military generals and revolutionary fighters, who can fight like lions”. The NSCN-IM further claimed that “Nagalim” has also produced shrewd politicians and revolutionary leaders who can negotiate and win over the hearts and minds of both friends and foes. “We fight back the enemies when we are attacked, we are prepared to talk with them when opportunity for talk comes. We know that both confrontation and negotiation are two dimensions of war. But we prefer negotiation because solutions of all global problems are arrived at through political negotiations”, it added.
The NSCN-IM then said its chief negotiator Th. Muivah had said, “We believe in a political solution. We are for a negotiated settlement.”
After a long-drawn armed confrontation between the two forces punctuated with truce and dialogue, the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim have finally signed the “historic” Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015 “in the eyes of the whole world”, said the NSCN-IM. The Framework Agreement recognizes the unique history of Naga independence, it stated. Based on the universal principle of democracy, it was agreed that sovereignty lies with the people, the NSCN-IM also said. “And that the sovereignty of the Nagas is with the Naga people. The Government of India has recognized the sovereignty of the Nagas. There is no doubt about it. However, both the parties agreed on coexistence of the two entities (peoples/nations) sharing sovereign powers”, the NSCN-IM also said. It is also agreed that ‘Nagas are the owner of their land and anything on the surface and beneath it belongs to the Nagas. The Government of India has clearly stated that integration of all Naga areas is the legitimate right of the Nagas, it claimed. The Framework Agreement is the cornerstone of the relationship between the Nagas and the Indians, the NSCN-IM further said. “The Framework Agreement is the end result of the commitments and assurances of the former seven Indian Prime Ministers and the present incumbent Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi”, it added.