Kohima, August 16 (MExN): The Global Naga Forum (GNF) held an international commemoration of the 79th anniversary of the declaration of Naga Independence on August 14, bringing together Naga voices and Indigenous leaders from across the region and the world for a four-hour global hybrid assembly.
Held under the theme "The Unbroken Line: Territory, Transit, and Truth," the programme was moderated by Kilentola Jamir and Guangchunliu Gangmei and brought together participants from Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Myanmar, along with UN Indigenous-rights experts, the president of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), and Indigenous leaders from Canada, the Arctic, Indonesia, Colombia and New Zealand.
Dr Villo Naleo, Social Concern Secretary of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), opened the commemoration with a prayer. This was followed by a minute of silence for Naga martyrs and a song of resilience, "A Call for Solution", performed by singer-composer Thotmung Muivah.
GNF convenor Chuba Ozukum, in his welcome address, called on Nagas to remember their history honestly and work towards a peaceful and just political solution.
Kolezo Chase, spokesperson of the Naga National Council, spoke as the commemoration's ancestral witness and described the Naga political issue as a bilateral matter between India and the Naga nation.
Two members of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, speaking in their individual capacities, sent video messages.
Gam A Shimray said, "If we can't define sovereignty for ourselves, we can't expect others to honour it."
Ojot M Ojulu said the militarisation and securitisation of Naga territories further affected the exercise and enjoyment of Indigenous peoples' rights, including their ability to participate meaningfully in decisions concerning their lives, communities and political future.
Dr Poujenlung Gonmei, principal of Highland National College, Imphal, briefed the assembly on the withdrawal of the Free Movement Regime and the militarisation of Naga transit routes. He said, "Truth must be spoken to power."
The programme also featured special musical performances by Miss Kekhrowate-u Wetsah, followed by a Chakhesang folk presentation by Sevolhu, Khosato and Kreveyi. Ambrose D Kamei closed the musical segment with "The Sound of the Homeland".
Advocate Worso Zimik of Delhi offered a legal reading of the Indo-Naga political issue and the 2015 Framework Agreement. Speaking in his personal capacity, he argued, "Nagalim was never a part of India either by conquest or consent."
International solidarity messages followed from Indigenous leaders and representatives.
Kenneth Deer of the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee told the Naga people, "You are a people. You are a people with a right to self-determination."
Eirik Larsen of the Sámi Council, in a recorded message, said the border did not define where people began or ended and that "we remain one people".
Ghazali Ohorella, an Alifuru diplomat from the South Moluccas, Indonesia, said keeping a cause alive was one task, but building the power to act on it was another.
Luisa Castañeda-Quintana of Land is Life said solidarity with the Naga people was not solidarity from outside but "solidarity among Indigenous peoples".
Kym Hamilton of Kārearea – Institute for Change, New Zealand, said another homeland had existed before the international boundary that now divided the Naga people between India and Myanmar, adding that the boundary could not erase their genealogy or whakapapa.
Dr Rubina Greenwood, president of UNPO, said the direction of the Naga movement should be determined by the Naga people themselves.
Dr Rita Manchanda of the South Asia Forum for Human Rights asked, "Where is the Naga narrative in India?"
GNF co-convenor Samuel Pou read the 79th Anniversary Declaration, concluding with the words: "The land remembers. The people endure. The line remains unbroken."
The GNF said the full text of the declaration would be released separately.
Under the segment "Voices from the Fractured Lines", Naogang Ngansa of the Naga Students' Organisation, Myanmar, asked, "Where do we unite?"
Chenobu Rengma, general secretary of the Rengma Naga People's Council, Assam, said more than 10,000 square kilometres of ancestral Naga land had been alienated.
David Boyes, former vice-president of Naga Hoho, Manipur, called for justice, saying, "Let us demand justice. Not revenge."
Elu Ndang, former general secretary of Naga Hoho, Nagaland, said, "We are not five separate fractures. We are five knots of the same song."
Prof Rosemary Dzüvichü, co-convenor of the GNF, offered words of gratitude to all speakers and members of the diaspora who participated in the commemoration.
