Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 13
According to General (retired) Niki Sumi, President, NSCN-K (Niki), the charge of abduction and extortion against his organisation was uncalled for. His comments came in response to demands for the arrest of NSCN-K (Niki) members who are accused of abducting two individuals on October 10. The victims are reported to be Naga entrepreneurs.
The police were given 48 hours, starting from the evening of October 10, to arrest the alleged abductors, and another notice with the same deadline was issued on October 12.
Addressing the media on Saturday, Sumi held that, contrary to what was reported, the two unnamed entrepreneurs were brought in to discuss matters related to unpaid taxes by their employer-- the proprietor of a water bottling firm.
He said that the intention was to talk to the proprietor.
"The proprietor was asked to come to our 'office' but he refused, stating that he would call the police instead," he claimed, while maintaining that the action was tantamount to challenging the legitimacy of the Naga political movement.
He added that the demand to charge and book his cadre under the provisions of Indian law was illogical and non-negotiable on grounds that the NSCN/GPRN, as a political organisation, function outside the scope of the Indian constitution.
The NSCN-K (Niki) President, however, added that his organisation was open to dialogue with the youth organisations, if they directly bring their demand to the NSCN/GPRN table.
On the public call for 'One government, One Tax,' he said that the Naga society must first unify into one entity.
"The Naga social landscape is fissured with various different blocs like the CNTC, ENPO, UNC and NTC," he said, while stating that the "overground" (Naga Civil Organisations) must first become one unified entity. "If they stand up in one voice, the demand for one government, one tax will be justified," he held.
According to Sumi, the Naga political movement is a self-sustaining movement through contributions from the people it has been struggling for. By opposing taxation, they are betraying the Nagas, he said.
He added, "When signing the Ceasefire deal, we made a conscious decision to sustain ourselves even though the Government of India offered a "package" (provision for sustenance funding)".
While his group is getting the blame today, he said that the other groups are taking the bigger chunks, even as the corruption in the state government gets ignored in general.
"They accuse the Naga national workers to selling off the Naga movement. But I will never compromise with the Naga identity and the Naga political rights. Protecting the Naga identity is my objective. It is not fair to always blame the 'underground,'" he added.
On DAYO and BAN’s demand for the review of the Ceasfire Ground Rules terming it ineffective, Sumi said that the Naga "overground" are not grasping the issue at hand.
