Urges India & Myanmar to resolve Naga case in the spirit of justice and lasting peace
KOHIMA, JULY 13 (MExN): The call to resolve the Naga case, in India and Myanmar, was presented at the 14th session of the United Nations’ Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) on July 13. The session, being held virtually, began on July 12 and will conclude on July 16.
The Global Naga Forum (GNF), representing the Naga case, called on the international community, in particular— India and Myanmar, to peacefully resolve the Naga issue, while making effort to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The GNF statement, presented by GNF Secretary, Prof Paul Pimomo, highlighted the Naga situation in context with the causes and dynamics that have brought the Naga issue to where it is today and recommendations/appeals to resolve it at the earliest.
The recommendations included calling upon the “United Nations EMRIP mandate in collaboration with UNHRC, UNSRIP and other mandate holders to put pressure on the Government of India by demanding the immediate repeal” of the “draconian anti-democratic legislation” known as the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act.
It also reiterated the Naga people’s position that peaceful resolution will “usher in an era of ‘new relationship with enduring peace with India,’ as well as Myanmar.”
As a means to the call for resolution, it urged the United Nations EMRIP mandate to call upon India and Myanmar to resolve the Naga case “in the spirit of justice and lasting peace” and allowing the Nagas, scattered in the two countries, “to live together as one people with one destiny.”
While presenting the appeals before the international community, the GNF reminded that the “expressed will of the Nagas for freedom and self-rule goes back to 1929” when the Naga Club submitted a memorandum to the Simon Commission asking the British colonial government "to leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times.”
92 years later and after multiple agreements (Akbar Hydari Accord/9-Point Agreement of 1947, 16 Point Agreement of 1960, and the Shillong Accord of 1975) in between, it said that the call of the Nagas remain unresolved.
With the problem dragging on for so long and marred by violence “causing so many lives and so much suffering,” it said, “The Naga people long for justice and lasting peace, with key stakeholders consistently advocating for a constructive approach towards India and Myanmar.”
It added, “Due in part to this hopeful spirit of the people,” a ceasefire agreement was signed on August 1, 1997 between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) based on the understanding that peace negotiations would proceed at the Prime Minister’s level.
The talks resulted in the Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015 with the Government of India recognizing “the unique history, culture, and position of the Nagas and their sentiments and aspirations.”
However, the Nagaland continues to be treated as a “Disturbed Area” allowing the continuance of the AFSPA with the latest extension notified on June 30 last, it said.
While stating that the Naga people continue to be denied the right to live as a free people, it said, “It is for the fullest realization of our human dignity – identity and rights – that we desire the reunification of our ancestral contiguous land, which is at the heart of our existence.”
