Forum for Naga Reconciliation completes 15 years of peace work

Nagas must know that tectonic plate of Northeast is starting to shift, says Dr. Wati Aier

DIMAPUR— “In a subtle manner, the Naga political movement is moving ahead, but it must grow far more and progress towards achieving a long-term purpose, wisdom, and imagination,” said Rev. Dr. Wati Aier, Convenor of Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR).

He was speaking during the FNR’s 15th year of reconciliation and peace work, and the 14th anniversary of the signing of the Covenent of Reconciliation (CoR), on Thursday at Oriental Theological Seminary, Bade, Chümoukedima.

Today, the global order is highly polarized, and closer home, there are major fault lines, such as the 642 km Patkai range arching Myanmar and India, he observed.

“This range is under the control of particular global powers that act through the playing of ethnic cards. Nagas must know that the tectonic plate of the Northeast India is starting to shift,” he said.

In such a geopolitical environment, he said, Nagas are remaining structurally rigid, rationalistic, argumentative, arrogant, and hopelessly boxed in with their own preferred plans of action.

He added that at this moment, “the Nagas urgently need qualities of mutual forbearance, co-operation, love, and willingness to listen- all qualities that are characterized by prudence”.

Asserting that prudence is not a weakness but a key strength of individuals and groups, he said the Nagaland state legislature, Naga political groups (NPGs), civil organisations and the church must start imagining alternate workable models.

We must understand that “stateless” does not mean “rootless”, he said, adding: “Can we create a stateless yet deeply rooted nation by transcending territories?”

Sharing about the journey of “common hope”, Aier recalled that 1990s and 2000s were, from any perspective, not pleasant decades for the Naga people. Those years were filled with tears and echoed with weeping voices but there was a time when the primordial soul of the Naga people spoke through 39 Naga organisations, inclusive of church bodies, he added.

“And on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, these organisations met at Hotel Japfü, Kohima, and called for an immediate end to the violence. The heroism of the Naga public, then, is a testament to how a people’s will is able to define history. On that historic day, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation was christened with 14 members,” he recalled.

He shared that FNR began to take the message of reconciliation to different Naga political groups, starting from Vihokhu to Hebron, Kohima, Mon, Noklak, and Sagaiang region of Burma (now Myanmar).

In 2008, there were only three distinct Naga political groups — NNC/FGN (accordist and non-accordist groups), NSCN (Isak/Muivah) and NSCN (Khaplang) — and during March 29, 2008 to April 28, 2008, after continual perseverance by the FNR, the Federal Government of Nagaland, the NSCN (IM), and the NSCN (K) agreed to meet, he recalled, adding that the first meeting was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from May 9 to the 16th in 2008, and the last one from December 8 to the 11th in 2015.

The journey of common hope was unpredictable on many occasions, he admitted, adding that the FNR and the NPGs have held 267 meetings within Nagaland and 21 outside the country. It was after the fifth Chiang Mai meeting in 2009 that the NPGs drafted and signed the “Covenant of Reconciliation” to end all forms of violence amongst the Nagas.

“In my diary dated Saturday, June 13, 2009, I have recorded, ‘What a historic day! Today, both Isak Chishi Swu and SS Khaplang signed the Covenant of Reconciliation. Mr. Isak Swu called me at 10:05 AM saying he has signed the CoR. As if it was staged, Khaplang called at 10:20 AM to inform me that he has signed the CoR. Brig (Retd) S. Singnya had already signed on June 2, 2009, and the document was handed over to me by Mr. Zhopra, Vice President,” Aier narrated.

He recalled that before CoR was signed, violence and bloodshed were rampant, and there was no nightlife anywhere in Naga areas, as parents barred their children from going out after sunset. “Naga people and Naga areas were under abnormal conditions, where most of us carried psychological scars of fear, hatred, and anger. The CoR came as a gift to the Nagas at that moment,” he said.

He shared that two significant events took place after the CoR was signed: one in 2009 wherein 46 Naga organizations met in Dimapur and called for the “highest-level meeting” of the Naga political leaders at the earliest, and the other in 2010 when 40 Naga organizations resolved to give 45 days for the “high-level meeting” to take place.

“As resolved by the Naga people, on September 18, 2010, Mr. Th Muivah, General Secretary of the NSCN (IM), Mr. N. Kitovi, General Secretary of the NSCN (K), and Brig (Retd.) S. Singnya of the FGN met in Dimapur. The event, later led to a series of high-level meetings,” he shared.

Sharing about FNR’s reflection on “Holism – The meeting place for empathy, imagination, and reconciliation”, Dr. Akum Longchari, member of FNR, opined the current Naga condition is in the stage of speculation and dissipation, and “we have been stuck here for a while, not able to generate gain”.

He also emphasised on the need for careful intervention where the interplay of empathy, imagination and reconciliation facilitates an environment where choices can be self-determining, self-defining and self-creating.

The occasion saw quakers in Britain and the NBCC extending greetings, and speeches delivered by journalist Grace Jajo and Director of Lemsachenlok Rev. Nuklu Phom.

Tree saplings were also planted after the programme to commemorate the anniversary.