Dimapur, August 13 (MExN): The Ao Senso Telongjem, Dimapur (ASTD) on Friday issued a statement clarifying its stand on the ongoing Naga Council Dimapur (NCD) crisis.
Alleging that the ASTD was being dragged into the crisis by ‘certain local Tribal Hohos’, the ASTD in its statement appended by its President and Secretary, conveyed its firm stand that, “right from tradition, the Ao Naga societies are governed by the decision of majority view with due regard to the minority opinion in all matters of policy making and executive decision.”
It stated that the ASTD is one of the organizing founding tribe members of the NCD in 1949. The NCD, being a voluntary social organization, is guided by the principles of the Nagas’ social customs and practices as well as the wisdom of good conscience. However, with time, the fundamental principles of structures of the society have been formulated being the Constitution of the NCD, the ASTD stated.
It also observed that, during the past, at no point of time, the NCD has been dragged to judicial court by anybody in any case and any differences arose have been settled indoor as a matured cultured society, and moving to judicial courts or approaching the print media have been unknown to the history of NCD in any dispute.
“However, the beauty of the functioning of society have been badly blurred and tarnished when two member representatives nominated and deputed by ASTD to NCD, instead of taking administration of the oath of affirmation as Councilors and commence active participation, without any information to ASTD, the said two representatives along with some others filed suit in Civil Court against NCD sometime in the year 2020,” it added.
Noting that the two representatives nominated and deputed by ASTD should have approached the ASTD instead of filing the suit, the ASTD said that the representatives were ‘rightly recalled’ as “they themselves abandoned the right of active participation in the proceedings of NCD where their grievances may be discussed.”
The ASTD also strongly stated that any differences are to be settled by resorting to thorough and open deliberation, and majority view must be accepted as binding decision.
Those dissatisfied with the majority decision or dissatisfied with the fundamental principles governing the society, have the ample avenue to garner the support of majority members to the understanding of their side, and not to drag the matters to the civil court or to rush to the print media, the practice of which is unknown to our social customs and practices, it added.
It is to be mentioned that NCD comprised of representatives from 19 tribal hohos, and only a handful of representatives are attempting to drag the NCD, wherein, the ASTD is also unnecessarily dragged in by the minority group by invoking so called MOU, it said.
However, the ASTD firmly stated that it has never undertaken to shoulder any responsibility to solve the grievances of any constituent tribe of NCD or with any others, since the ASTD is only a constituent representative tribe of the NCD.
Stating that despite frequent approaches to the print media by a “certain group relying on the so called Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated 06.05.2021,” the ASTD said that the contents of the MOU have never been revealed, keeping readers in the dark.
Hence, for the sake of justness and fairness, the ASTD released a copy of the MOU which pertained to withdrawal of the civil suit against the NCD, appended by President, Joint Secretary and Vice President of the ASTD, along with NCD representatives.
In this regard, the ASTD asserted that neither the ASTD nor its President Meren Longchar has any obligation to the Dimapur Tribal Hoho Forum (DTHF) nor to the five tribal hohos or to any others.
“The ASTD feels obliged to NCD as the superior organization rather than the so claimed DTHF to which the ASTD has no obligation. The ASTD is also opposed to continuation of other organizations as the DTHF which runs counter to the NCD,” it concluded.
