Dimapur, January 14 (MExN): President of the NNC, Adinno Phizo, today issued a response to what was mentioned as an open letter of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council written last year on October 27.
Thanking the NBCC for the letter “concerning the Church’s perspective on the evil afflicting Naga nation” Adinno Phizo stated that she couldn’t agree more with the church about the imperative to address the insidious culture of hate and blame brazenly pursued “by a section of Naga people” under the pretext of defending sovereignty. Phizo stated that “there can be no justification whatsoever for sectarian violence clearly by taking advantage of the unremitting conflict between Nagaland and India.”
She explained that “Naga unity and the Naga National Council (NNC) political vision” has been enshrined in the “Yehzabo”. However, the NCC deferred on certain points: “It has to be said that while most long-suffering Naga people would welcome NBCC initiative to act as bridge-builders among self-serving factions, I am none too encouraged by the tone of the open letter because it manifestly lack clarity (sic). For instance, how can any right-minded Naga swallow NBCC project of equating an assorted factions at issue with the Naga Constitutional government, the Federal Government of Nagaland.”
Claiming that “our people know the NNC consistently uphold (sic) our long-standing tradition of tolerance” the NNC chief observed that there is a tendency among a section of the Naga society to “easily succumb to instant gratification and clearly far too clever to know the facts.”
The NNC also took a potshot at the NSCN-IM: “Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah misbegotten plot to usurp power and the duo treachery brought about the massacre of many of our dedicated people in the national service in 1979. Hitherto, Nagaland had its share of detractors but the Naga people didn’t consider one another an enemy.”
Pertinent to the NBCC’s concern with the state of affairs, Adinno stated that “I am not at all surprised at some overseas Baptist executives who were confounded with Naga Christians unsavory factional squabble and killings.” She added that “for many years our mission abroad know and have been telling our people that we are not alone. But our people as God fearing people owe it to ourselves to save Naga nation.”
