DIMAPUR, MAY 20 (MExN): The Naga Hoho today urged for the cessation of ongoing military operations in the Naga Self Administered Zone (SAZ) of Myanmar.
A press note from the Naga Hoho expressed concern at the military operations and termed it alarming “to note that the ongoing operations are being conducted in coordination with Indian security forces.”
“While attempts are going on in both Myanmar and India for an honorable settlement for the Nagas, the governments of both Myanmar and India have time and again exhibited actions not befitting their official policy and assurances,” it stated.
The Naga Hoho reminded the Myanmar Government that “the Nagas in the Naga self Administered Zone have been subjected to untold suffering due to discriminatory policies of the state.”
“The Myanmar Government, at the behest of the military has imposed unwarranted and arbitrary sanctions, fund cuts and disruption of essential supplies. In 2016, the situation snowballed to a humanitarian crisis when scores of children died due to outbreak of measles. In March 2019, ten Naga leaders were arrested by the military junta in-spite of the fact that they were on a mission to lay the groundwork for a peace process between the Nagas and the Myanmar Government. Since then, the ten Naga leaders are languishing in jail,” it informed.
It reminded both the governments of India and Myanmar that “Nagas are courageous and bold enough to stand firm even in the face of overwhelming adversity.”
“It has also been time and again proved that the Naga issue could not be tackled militarily since it is a political issue,” it pointed out, and cautioned that unbridled and indiscriminate military action has the potential to result in a “widespread Naga uprising, a conflagration which should and must be avoided.”
It affirmed that Nagas “irrespective of border or factions will not be mute spectators when their rights are being so mindlessly trampled upon and will collectively do everything in their power to protect our land and the lives of our own blood.”
It meanwhile urged the United Nations and the Democratic front of Myanmar to condemn this conflict and call for a saner voice so that peace could be brokered with sensible dialogue.
NSF says attack a 'total violation of ceasefire agreement'
The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has meanwhile called the recent Myanmar Army attacks as a “total violation and mockery to the ceasefire agreement of 2012 between the Government of Myanmar and the Nagas.”
“Such war kind of situation only renders the innocent villagers and public at the receiving end and they are made to bear the brunt of the standoff,” a press note from the NSF stated. It further questioned the role of the Indian armed forces “where, the Tatmadaw is operation right under the eye of the Indian Armed forces in the so called international boundary between India and Myanmar.”
The NSF therefore called upon the Myanmar Army and the NSCN (K) to immediately stop military confrontation and amicably solve the matter through dialogue in the interest of the people. It also appealed to the international community to condemn “such an act of war.”
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