Dimapur, February 2 (MExN): The Convener of the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs) is “neither hereditary nor pre-eminent, but a nominal head unanimously elected/selected” to lead the NNPGs by maintaining unanimity, cohesion, and transparency, the WC, NNPGs stated today.
The WC, NNPGs, with Gen (Retd) MB Neokpao Konyak as Convenor, further emphasised in a press statement that the ‘Agreed Position’ of November 17, 2017, is not “something patented for exclusive individual ownership but an official political document outlining the roadmap for an inclusive Naga political solution.”
“Every Naga has an equal stake in the agreement, and no individual leader or group should assume individual monopoly over the Agreed Position based on being a signatory,” the statement issued by the Media Cell of the WC, NNPGs, added.
The statement appears to be a rejoinder to another issued by N Kitovi Zhimomi, asserting his continued Convenorship of the WC, NNPGs, and alleging that a "vested group" was attempting to confuse the public with the formation of a new Working Committee of the NNPGs.
Meanwhile, the latest statement reiterated that the NNPGs was established through a mutual agreement between various Naga political groups to collectively and politically engage with the Government of India with the clear objective of securing an “honorable and enduring political solution to the Indo-Naga political conflict.”
To observe protocols and decorum within the conglomerate, a Working Committee was constituted from among the representatives nominated to the NNPGs by the respective Naga political groups, the statement highlighted.
“As such, N Kitovi Zhimomi, former Ato Kilonser of GPRN/NSCN(U), nominated by his President Gen. (Retd.) MB Neokpao to the NNPGs, was inducted into the Working Committee as the Convener,” it added.
However, following Zhimomi’s impeachment on April 21, 2024, by ‘their group’ as Ato Kilonser, he was subsequently recalled from the WC, NNPGs, it maintained.
The WC, NNPGs, on April 28 and May 28, 2024, “unanimously resolved to keep the position of Convener in moratorium while efforts towards rapprochement were initiated and until such time as a new Convener is elected/selected,” it stated.
The statement further noted that Co-Conveners Toshi Walling, Shitoho Chophy, and Kiumukam had appended their “signatures on all WC resolutions endorsing the removal of Zhimomi from the position of Convener.”
However, the reasons for their self-contradictory stance in signing the press statement alongside Zhimomi were “best known to them,” it added.
The WC, NNPGs, reiterated that the position of Convener is neither hereditary nor pre-eminent but chosen by consensus. All affiliates of the NNPGs share equal responsibilities, and none is lesser or greater than the other, it asserted. Moreover, the Agreed Position is not something patented for exclusive individual ownership, the statement added.
While sincerely acknowledging Zhimomi’s sacrifices in steering the platform thus far, the WC, NNPGs, urged him to “demonstrate maturity and prioritize the common interests of the Nagas over personal differences or ambitions.”
