Q Tuccu
Yaruiwo (President) of NSCN (IM)
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
My dear countrymen,
On this historic national occasion I greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are thankful to Him for the bountiful blessings and the never failing guidance and mercy upon us.
This is the day to remember the glory of our history and the national decision our people have taken to free ourselves from the yoke of oppressors and govern our country by ourselves. We are really proud of the historic Naga National Independence Day that was declared on August 14, 1947. Ironically, India responded with the most brutal unruly armed forces never seen anywhere in the civilized world. But we stayed the course upholding our rights.
The world at large is the living witness to the horrible military oppressions and the political plight in Nagalim.
Today we pay homage to our great leaders who have laid down our political foundation and shown us the national salvation line. They are the pillars of our freedom movement and the pioneers of our Naga nation. They made the Naga people understand their inherent sovereign right which is the source of their political inspiration. We will never betray them and the cause dear to the Naga people, but cherish them always in our hearts and minds.
My dear countrymen,
The 1997 ceasefire agreement between the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) and the Government of India (GOI) is but to prepare the ground for principle-based negotiations and solution. We took the pain and YARUIWO patience in explaining the unique Naga history and the truth of our national issue to the Government of India. It took us five years to make the authorities of India understand on the Naga issue and get the unique history of the Nagas recognized by the Government of India in the year 2002.
This is a milestone achievement in the Indo-Naga political talks. It took us another 13 years of gruelling negotiations which has resulted in signing the historic Framework Agreement on the 3rd August, 2015. Our political identity as a sovereign people is well recognized and protected by this agreement. But in the years that followed, the Government of India started to fiddle with what has been agreed upon. Today the fate of the Framework Agreement hangs in balance as the commitment of the Government of India fluctuates wildly every now and then.
My dear countrymen,
The world at large is keenly watching how India handles the Framework Agreement because it has something to do with the high sounding speech of the Indian Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi and how he proclaimed before the world that he had solved the longest insurgency problem in Southeast Asia.
However, the hard fact remains that the politics of "hypocrisy and flattery' is raising its ugly heads again as the Government of India is only looking for an escape route to dilute the political significance of the Framework Agreement.
My dear countrymen,
We have made our stand very loud and clear to the Government of India on the issue of the Naga flag and constitution which are indispensable and inviolable parts of the recognized sovereignty and unique history of the Nagas.
And the way to handle any situation that might arise has been well defined in no uncertain term during the 31st May, 2022 Emergency National Assembly when we took the stand before God and before the Naga people that NSCN will uphold and protect the unique Naga history and the Naga National principle at any cost. We are now simply waiting how the Government of India will pick up the threads of the Indo-Naga political talks with correct narrative and not for its own convenience.
My dear countrymen,
The absurdity of the situation regarding Indo-Naga political talks is therefore, entirely the making of the Government of India as its commitment to the Framework Agreement turned unsavoury with each passing days. All the way it is only 'all bluff and bluster'. No seriousness! This led us to the fact that the Government of India is planning clandestinely to strike the Nagas with all its state machinery. Thus, there is trust deficit on the part of the Government of India.
What is to be done in the event of failure of talks? We have to work out survival strategy. We must live and that this final show down must be a battle to decide our future. The fight is going to be tough, but it is to be noted that ours is not a contest of strength, it is a matter of right and wrong, just and unjust. Therefore, the truth shall triumph in the long run.
Notwithstanding the callous manner of handling the Naga issue by the Government of India, we have carried the talks forward with total commitment and conviction, because no sacrifice is too great when it comes to defending the historical and political rights of the Nagas. Let us therefore keep our spirits high and never allow despair to overcome us, because the deciding factor for solution is in our total faith in the sovereign God and our national issue.
Significantly, it is for the Government of India to put its acts together and get back the lost ground. The ball is, therefore, in the court of India.
Kuknalim!
