DIMAPUR, JUNE 7 (MExN): The Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) today stated that it is time for the Nagas to end “internal conflicts” and to “find answers to our disputes.”
A press note from the NTC called upon the Naga people to prepare ground for sustainable settlement to the protracted political issue and towards this end, it stated that “one of the principal methods for mitigating the acrimonies amongst ourselves is to talk honestly, to be honest to oneself and to one another.”
While acknowledging that the NSCN (IM) is “one of the influential groups,” it however lamented that “unfortunately, the golden opportunity was missed when this group opted for isolation with superiority colour.” “As desired, the group has distanced itself from the rest of others and in all probability the dividing line will remain,” it claimed.
It further viewed that “at that opportune time, had NSCN (IM) taken all the Nagas into confidence without the modus operandi of pick and choose, all the consequences of conflicts, paper duels and acrimonies would have been avoided.”
The “hide and seek game,” it noted, “has compelled the general public and other NNPGs to continue contesting those points raised by NSCN (IM) from time to time which are found immature and unconvincing.” Such reactions are not for mere debates, but for the cause of political aspiration and therefore the reactions are natural, the NTC stated.
It meanwhile stated that the 16-points agreement of NPC in 1960 and the Shillong Accord of 1975 were under the constitution of India and “any further debate is futile.” “A part from the contents, the August 3, 2015 ‘Framework’ was also in the same category as it is natural and obvious that the presence of the Prime Minister of India with his Home Minister in the signing ceremony would ever allow the leaders of the country to be witnesses to an agreement that supersedes the supremacy of Indian constitution,” the NTC claimed.
It therefore termed the claim that the ‘Framework’ has restored the sovereignty of the Nagas as “definitely incoherent, immature and deceptive.” “Also, the natural and international tradition goes that two sovereign nations do not co-own a single constitution or can co-habit an exclusive demarcated territory,” it said.
It further stated that in contemporary Naga politics, realistic perception and practical approaches can better bridge the gaps amongst our people rather than illusive rhetoric. “What NTC appreciates is the admission of NSCN (IM) that the Nagas are economically poor and unsustainable without the generosity of India. That is the hard fact and such humility can fetch dividends,” it said.
Observing that “certain sections of Nagas are fond of wasting time on non-issues which are irrelevant and anti-thesis to common interests,” the NTC questioned: “what substance those people can contribute to common good when they refused to uphold the quintessence of truth but preferred to subscribe to pseudoism and skirmish politics.”
