Dimapur, April 30 (MExN): The NSCN (IM) has expressed “deepest concern” over what it termed as the repeated “violation of the Agreed Ground Rules Ceasefire by the Government of India (GoI),” resulting in the death of three of its cadres on April 29.
A press release from the MIP, NSCN/GPRN informed that three Naga Army cadres belonging to the 'Eloi Hau' Battalion were killed in the "illegally occupied Naga territory" at NC Hills, Assam.
“This is a deliberate breach of the jointly established Agreed Ground Rules to maintain peace during the sensitive ongoing political negotiation period,” it added.
The NSCN (IM) further maintained that despite its commitment to de-escalation and restraint, the Indian State chose to discard the ceasefire terms of clause (a), which states: "There would be no offensive operations like ambush, raid and attack leading to death/damage or loss of property against the NSCN by the Indian Army, Paramilitary Forces and the Police.”
According to the release, it further stipulated that the “Indian Army and Paramilitary Forces would also act in a manner as not to cause harassment/damage or loss of property or injury to the civilian population,” by launching an unprovoked attack on the Naga Army base in Naga territory, which has now posed a serious threat to ongoing peace efforts.
To this end, the NSCN (IM) called upon the GoI to immediately “cease all hostile activities, respect the terms of the ceasefire, and engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation.”
It also urged the international community and relevant monitoring bodies to take note of this “serious violation and support efforts to restore and uphold the ceasefire so that a negotiated political agreement can be arrived at.”
The NSCN (IM) also cautioned that though its commitment to peace remains unshaken, it reserves the right to take all “means necessary and measures to protect our people and territory in the face of aggression.”
Premeditated attack: GHQ Naga Army
Meanwhile, a separate statement from the General Headquarters, Naga Army, called the incident a “premeditated attack” and said it has once again pushed the hard-earned Indo-Naga peace process to the “brink of collapse.”
As per the statement, the incident occurred on April 29 in the adjoining forest area of New Kubin village and Herakilua village when one of the cluster camps of the Naga Army under the Eloi Hau Battalion was attacked by the combined forces of the Indian security forces and Assam Police.
It resulted in a “heavy exchange of fire” with casualties from both sides, it said.
According to the statement, the villagers were not allowed to come near the spot where “bodies of the deceased and injured army men were loaded into their trucks.”
Citing “eyewitness accounts,” the statement also claimed that “dozens of Indian soldiers were either killed or fatally wounded during the gun battle.”
Informing that three of its members were killed in the incident, the Naga Army lauded the “valiant soldiers who went down fighting” and termed them “martyrs who laid down their precious lives in the line of duty in defence of our land and our rights.”
Meanwhile, the statement from the GHQ Naga Army further reminded that when the ceasefire was declared in 1997, the essence of “self-restraint among the combatants and showing mutual respect between the opposing camps was instilled primarily to create a conducive atmosphere for peace parleys.”
This spirit of cooperation cannot be subjected to a particular area, as it does not make sense to be “fighting in one place and talking peace in another place at the same time,” it pointed out.
Against this backdrop, a joint statement was issued on June 14, 2001, stating that the ceasefire agreement was between the GoI and the NSCN as two entities without territorial limits, it contended.
Accordingly, the statement said that Naga Army camps exist and operate in all Naga-inhabited areas in line with this agreement, maintaining the ‘ground rules of the ceasefire agreement.’
However, the Naga Army expressed dismay at what it alleged as repeated violations of this “very spirit of ceasefire on one pretext or the other” by the Indian security forces.
The Naga Army cannot afford to be victims of such ambiguities, it noted, highlighting that these “unprovoked attacks constitute a reprehensible violation and unilateral abrogation of the ceasefire agreement, a betrayal of diplomatic efforts, and a deliberate undermining of the ongoing peace initiatives.”
Thus, it called upon the GoI to spell out “loud and clear whether there is a ceasefire in Naga areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and accordingly we will deem these areas as conflict zones if so desired.”
There is no official statement yet on the incident from the GoI.
