Announce Naga political solution without delay, NGBF urges Indian government

To backtrack from well-documented mutual understanding would be a betrayal to the Nagas

Dimapur, Nov. 4 (EMN): The Nagaland Gaon Bura Federation (NGBF) has urged the government of India to announce the “Naga political solution without further delay”, saying that the failure in fulfilling the promise for an “early resolution” over the past two decades and a year after the conclusion of formal peace talks, “has created void and apprehension in the mind of the Naga people”.

This is one of the resolutions, which the federation stated, was passed in the interest of the Nagas at its annual executive meeting held at Niathu Resort, Dimapur, on Wednesday.

The NGBF has appealed to the NSCN (IM) to expedite the peace process and join hands for Naga political solution. “We are fully convinced that the Nagas are fully prepared for a negotiated honourable political solution. We see no reason to further delay the signing of the Indo-Naga political solution/agreement,” read the statement issued by the federation.

The federation stated that it is deeply saddened to see the “overt threats and intimidations in the media”. It added that the “Gaonbura / village chieftains had, since the beginning of the Indo-Naga political conflict, been at the forefront of peace and diplomatic initiatives with the GOI and also among the warring Naga groups”.

‘We are however at the receiving end of every side; nevertheless we will tirelessly work to facilitate the honourable settlement of the conflict through political negotiation. It is therefore unprecedented and demeaning to brand the entire peace and early solution yearning Nagas, including 14 tribes and other civil societies as traitors and anti-Naga. This is uncalled for and the NGBF vehemently condemn the allegation. We therefore render the statement as obsolete and obliterate the same from the record,’ the press release read.

It stated that, post-solution, it will not allow any anti-peace elements to take shelter; use violence, threat and intimidation against Naga leaders, tribal leaders, or Naga citizens under any pretext within its ancestral and traditional jurisdiction. It added that the federation, along with the public, will confront any threat in the Naga soil and ensure that peace is maintained.

Stating that loopholes from any side can lead to irreparable regret in the future, the NGBF has appealed to the “Naga political negotiating parties and GOI to abide by what have been declared to the Naga people and without delay translate into reality the 31st October 2019 decision announcing that the negotiations between GOI and both Naga negotiating parties, NSCN (IM) and WC, NNPGs, had completed”.

“To backtrack from such well-documented mutual understanding would be a betrayal to the Nagas,” it added.

The NGBF stated that it doesn’t need “recognition certificate” from anybody, as ‘its significance in Nagaland has been well documented and recorded even before the British colonial rule’. It went on to say that some ignorant people have “fabricated Gaonburas as mere government agents, distorted our traditional legacy and trying to subdue the legitimate rights of the Gaonburas”.

“The NGBF appealed to the Indian security forces, keeping in view the seriousness of the situations to refrain from raids in the villages in the pretext of patrolling protocol. It has resulted in creating fear psychosis among the innocent public,” the press release added.