Dimapur, December 8 (MExN): The United Naga Council (UNC) expresses “disappointment” at the statement of the Prime Minister of India in committing to maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur, December 3 in Manipur’s Imphal. In response, the UNC has decided to “impose a ban” on all construction works on the Jiribam-Tupul Trans Asian Railway line for a period of two months with effect from 7 days of this press statement.
A press release from the UNC stated today – “In protest against the lack of political will on the GoI to address the above issues, we are compelled to impose a ban on all construction works on the Jiribam-Tupul Trans Asian Railway line for a period of two months w.e.f. 7 days of this press statement i.e. 16th December, 2011. We seek the cooperation of all the private companies /public sector undertakings engaged in the above project and request them to desist from any construction works during the specified period.”
Further, the UNC has clamped a ‘ban’ on the exploration for petroleum and oil being undertaken by public sectors undertakings/private companies in Tamenglong district. The ‘ban’ will be in fore till further notice with effect from December 16, the UNC said.
When the “Indo-Naga dialogue” is underway and also concurrently a democratic process of tripartite talk among the Government of India, Government of Manipur and the UNC on the demand for an alternative arrangement, the statement of the PM at this juncture has “created confusion,” the UNC said in a press release today.
The UNC said – “We are not quite able to discern sincerity in the statement under question and are prompted to question whether the Indo-Naga issue has been subjected to the electoral politics of a mere state under the Union of India, even when the unique history and situation of the Nagas has been recognized by the GoI in the course of the 14 long years of the peace process and also when the honorable Prime Minister had committed to an out of the box solution.”
According to the UNC, the organization met with the Union Home Minister at Senapati on the November 2 and with the Prime Minister of India at Raj Bhavan, Imphal on December 3. During the meetings both “expressed that the tripartite talk process should be continued.”
These assurances, the UNC said, were given “when the Nagas in Manipur have already gone into protest from the 19th of October, 2011 against subjecting the tripartite process to the convenience and interest of the GoM.” However, the organization lamented, “not to speak of any initiative to bring the process back on rail, the hon’ble Prime Minister’s statement has come as a damper.”
The issue is about the sharp social divide in Manipur on communal lines on which the Prime Minister “had expressed his concern in public” and it is “about the rights of the Nagas and tribals over their land, about our dignity and honor and respect for our time honored traditional institutions, cultural practices and way of life that are being taken away through legitimately established sanctions engineered by the communal GoM.”
The public is also urged to extend their cooperation in the observation of 1-hour public curfew from 12 pm to 1 am on all days except Sundays “to constantly register that the demand for alternative arrangement is not being addressed.”
