DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 31 (MExN): The Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) has reiterated its stand that negotiations on the Indo-Naga political issue should be held on the principle of “one agreement.”
A press release from the NPMHR said this was necessary to avoid “repetition of a bitter history of bloodshed and corruption, the symptoms of which is already evident and prevalent.”
It observed that the current negotiations are taking place under arbitrary conditions of AFSPA with a “huge presence of Indian army and military confrontation and siege occurring at regular intervals.”
“The period of ceasefire is being used and misused to advance military and intelligence web of India in the Naga territory both in India and Myanmar. Recent diplomatic and military engagement with Myanmar cannot be a co-incidence and the raids, arrests and harassment of the members of Naga Political Groups and their family cannot be seen in isolation from the larger political landscape of the negotiations,” the NPMHR stated.
It further stated that the “contradiction and confusion by employing parallel negotiation by India must be understood from its past attempts and experiments, partly achieved through the accords and creation of 371(A).”
The NPMHR urged the negotiators and stakeholders to recognize that “we owe each other as human beings.” The Nagas are a people with the right to self-determination and the right to an undivided homeland, it stressed.
“All Nagas must understand the importance of recognizing each other as rights-holders. This means that our claim to these inalienable rights must ensure that the disempowered are given equal access to these universal rights,” it added.
The NPMHR further said that “exclusion is the result of disregarding this caveat and we must be cognizant of this when various representatives claim to speak on behalf of the Naga people.” It therefore urged the representatives to bear this weight.
Asserting that human rights are universal, it said that any solution that may emerge from the ongoing negotiations should be “honorable and acceptable” for both the Nagas and India.
It meanwhile said that India emerging as a key actor in the global theatre has its own policy compunctions. “Nagas must contribute and not hinder the progress that India has achieved in this regard. The Nagas and India must foster the spirit of partnership in its genuine sense,” it stated.
The NPMHR further appealed to the Naga people to imagine what kind of future they want for themselves and for others too and “reclaim the vision our history gave us.”
