DIMAPUR, May 16 (MExN): The NSCN-K (Yung Aung) accused the Myanmar junta of forceful conscription of Nagas. According to it, the junta has intensified its conscription campaign in the Naga Self Administered Zone (NSAZ), which falls in the country’s Sagaing region. Myanmar has been in the grip of a civil war since 2021, pitting the junta against pro-democracy resistance forces.
A press release issued by the Naga Political Group’s Ministry of Information and Publicity, May 16, stated that it cannot allow the instability in Myanmar to disintegrate the Naga homeland.
It said that the NSCN-K (Yung Aung) has maintained a “non-interference stand” ever since the conflict started, inorder not to destablise the Naga territory, whose people still bear the trauma of past atrocities committed by the junta.
The promulgation of the junta’s conscription law is in blatant disregard to the collective stand of the Nagas. It said, “This brought feeling of shock and disappointment to the Nagas because no one knows better than the Nagas themselves about the consequences that will unfold from the aftermath.”
According to it, junta soldiers compiling lists and apprehending young people has caused widespread panic in the Naga inhabited areas, including Khamti and Homlin.
While stating that the Nagas stand in opposition to any law which threatens their way of life, it said, “The enforcement of mandatory conscription law on the Nagas is not justifiable— morally or legally under international laws and we take this as a direct threat on our national movement.” It termed the policy a move to use the Nagas as human shield in the ongoing internal conflict.
It further condemned what it said were “corrupt Naga groups” working hand in gloves with the junta to gain patronage. “This is a huge blunder against their own people and there is no more mask to hide their dirty deeds,” it said.
While stating that the NSCN-K (Yung Aung) has an obligation to protect its people, it held that the junta and its proxies must stop their destructive policy.
If Nagas feel unsafe or threatened in their own land, they will be compelled to stand up and defend themselves. Nagas will unite to ensure that our youths are not used as instruments of war.
