Dimapur, July 3 (MExN): ‘The Nagas relentlessly and vigorously defended the sovereignty of Nagaland, hence the war between the two nations (India and Nagaland) dragged on a long period’ according to a statement release by Thomas, member NNC. The statement further elaborated the undeniable truth of India’s naked aggression on Nagaland in 1954 soon after her independence from Great Britain in 1947 without any reason and how with a false hope that Nagas can be contained within no time, will always remain imprinted in History. According to the statement the creation of a puppet Indian state of Nagaland in 1960 was an attempt to project the case as an internal affair by India, allegedly implementing her ‘divide and rule’ policy inducing the factions among the Naga brothers.
Besides the statement mentions how friendly foreign nations extended help to free the Nagas from the Indian Military occupation in the 1960’s and how the Rev. Michael Scott, a British, who approach to assist Nagas, through whose initiative the International cease-fire was signed between the two nations in 1964. However this attempted initiative according to the statement was rejected by the Federal Government of Nagaland in March 1965 since it was considered an attempt to reflect the Indo-Naga conflict as an internal affair of India. This ‘self-determination’ proposal according to the statement was later known as ‘Suisa’s proposal’ allegedly now utilized by the Isak-Muivah group in its 30 point competencies submission to the Government of India in 2001.
The statement also stated that foreign NGO leaders such as Frans Welman, founder of Naga International Support Center (NISC), Grace Collins group in USA, Naga Solidarity group in London, Quaker group in U.K. David P. Ward, founder of Naga Vigil in U.K. etc made voluntary intervention to support solving of the conflict. According to the press note foreigners such as Ward visited Nagaland and conducted studies on human rights violations, with particular mention on the appalling wrong committed by Isak-Muivah group on eastern Naga civilians. However, the statement also gave light to the role played by Ward in his alleged attempt to split the NNC/FGN to implement the Michael Scott proposal, which was considered as ‘not a help to the Nagas and Naga nation’.
The statement further contended how Frans Welman, Grace Collins and Naga solidarity group are wrongly propagating to the outside world that the Nagas are demanding self-determination from India in line with the proposal made by Michael Scott projecting the Naga case as an internal affair of India. It also asserted that ‘Self-determination’ was clearly defined by Grace Collin’s book “Goodwill Missions Team report” in page 11 that “Originally the principle of self-determination was applied specially to people under colonial domination fighting a liberation struggle for political independence and statehood.”
Reiterating that ‘Our history is unique and clear and that the Nagas had never become a colonial subject of other nation in the human history,’ the statement added that ‘Nagas are a nation defending their sovereignty against aggressor India’. Further the statement cautions incase that self-determination proposal for the Nagas made by anyone as a solution to the Indo-Naga conflict’ is only attempting to project the Indo-Naga war as an internal affair of India, and this will not be a help to the Nagas. The NNC member also supplemented saying ‘self-determination or an autonomous statehood will not be a solution but the unconditional withdrawal of all Indian Armed Forces from Nagaland and the subsequent international recognition of Nagaland as a sovereign and independent nation will be the only solution to the Indo-Naga conflict’. The statement concludes with an appeal to foreign NGOs leaders to help Nagas to get recognition as a nation and a people by the international community which they stated will help Nagas.
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