Dimapur, September 29 (MExN): The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has congratulated the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) on the signing of a peace accord between three nationalist groups on September 18. The groups are NNC/FGN, the GPRN/NSCN, and the NSCN/GPRN.
Stating that for decades, the three groups had been in conflict with each other and with the Indian government over issues of autonomy and sovereignty for Nagaland state and the Naga people, the BWA in a press statement pointed out that between 1992 and 2009, more than 2,330 insurgency related fatalities have been recorded in Nagaland. “As a result of the longstanding disputes, which date back more than 50 years, exceptionally tight security has been imposed on the state by the Indian government, with multiple checkpoints scattered throughout the state. International visitors require special permits to enter and move around Nagaland”.
According to the BWA, the FNR comprises several organizations, including Baptist groups, all of which pledged to work to end the conflicts. Wati Aier, principal of the Oriental Theological Seminary in Dimapur and a past vice president of the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, was elected interim convener, the BWA noted.
“We are greatly encouraged by the recent news coming out of the September Summit in Dimapur,” read a letter sent to the FNR by BWA General Secretary Neville Callam and director of Freedom and Justice Raimundo Barreto. “We appreciate the symbolism of this covenant, and the impact it might have among the Naga people. We also understand that any process of reconciliation and healing needs to be nurtured every day. We urge those who signed the covenant to remain committed to this reconciliation as it will make a lasting impact in the lives of their people”, stated the BWA.
A release from the FNR claimed that the leaders pledged to “end all violence and bloodshed amongst the Nagas.” The meetings and the resulting covenant, the release said, were in response to “the deep yearning of the Naga people” and that September 18 “will go down as another ‘historic landmark’ in the struggle for Naga rights.”
The note also stated that the BWA and Baptists have helped to broker several peace meetings in the past, including a meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in June 2008, all of which “ended in failure or with breaches of signed agreements”.
“We express our heartfelt gratitude to the Naga people for their patience, understanding and support to Naga Reconciliation,” the release stated. “We encourage the Naga people to fearlessly speak and work for reconciliation in the spirit of forgiveness. Along with the Naga people we are deeply thankful of the Baptist World Alliance, Quakers and American Baptist Churches USA, for their prayers and for walking with the Nagas in our Journey towards Reconciliation.”
There are about 600,000 Baptists in Nagaland, representing approximately 90 percent of ethnic Nagas in the state.
