This statement was long overdue. The timing though a bit delayed is never too late and hence can be called correct. And the content is near perfect as it calls spade a spade.
A statement from the Working Committee of the NNPG states that "the AGREED POSITION encapsulates the sowing and germination of the first seed of Naga nationhood and the possible political future of the Nagas". The umbrella organisation of the Naga militant outfits - NNPG - has made quite a candid outburst.
"The WC, NNPGs calls upon the Govt of India to announce early political solution and nothing else," it made its stance crustal clear.
The NNPG also stated that - "The AGREED POSITION is neither a vague signed paper nor a shallow gentlemen's agreement. It is a fully conscious, irrevocable and unprecedented historic political document based on which the Govt of India and WC, NNPGs, with complete endorsement of Naga Tribes, Village headmen and civil societies, agreed to sit on the negotiating table from 17th November 2017.
The talks officially concluded on 31st October 2019. Therefore, the political leadership of India cannot shrug it off or consigned it to political cold storage."
As stated above the timing of this assertive statement is also the more crucial as the centre may restart or resume its parleys with the NSCN-IM early October in Delhi.
All these also coincide with the Sept 12 Peace Consultative meeting in which even controversial resolution seeking appointment of a new interlocutor with a cabinet rank in the Union Council of Ministers was sought. The resolution of course irked New Delhi and the mandarins also understand the combo factors of 'delay and derail' in the entire game.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio credited for Sept 12 meeting and resolution is now reportedly overseas possibly on a private visit.
The Centre might have already sought detailed reports from various agencies including a few independent channels on the 'brains and motives' behind Sepr 12 meet. However, there are also hints that New Delhi may simply ignore on what transpired on Sept 12.
The NNPG statement also raked up the issue of border fencing along India-Myanmar border and stated that,
"In recent days the GoI has flouted the proposal of fencing entire Indo-Myammar border. Out of the total length of 1643 km, bordering the NE states, the present Nagaland state shares 215 Km international boundary with Mynmar.
The contents of the status paper cannot be edited unilaterally either by GoI or WC, NNPGs. There is a clear agreed point in the STATUS PAPER that with the amendment of Indian Passport Act, Naga identity would be clearly reflected."
"The FMR for indigenous Nagas on both sides of the international border shall be extended up to 35 miles. This is a clear agreed point," it claimed and also pointed out that the Angh (Chief) of Longwa village in Mon district of Nagaland has his house half in India and other half in Myanmar yet he rules over the entire village.
"This is an explicit example of historical injustice done to the Naga people. Naga ancestral land, the people, clans and families have been arbitrarily divided into India and Myanmar without their consent.
The houses are in Indian side of the border however the paddy and jhum fields are on the Myanmar side. Fencing the border will mean forcing indigenous Nagas off their ancestral lands and depriving them of their right to livelihood."
The NNPG stated that the Nagas cannot part with their inherited lands.
"If GoI forcibly erect border fencing, it would contravene the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples adopted by the General Assembly on 13th September 2007. GoI should not, for trouble in other border areas, punish Indigenous Nagas spread across India and Myanmar. Extending the distance for operating Free Movement Regime (FMR) for Nagas is the fundamental demand and right," it stated.
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| Angh and blogger : Feb 2004, Longwa village |
It stated that the FMR is the lifeline for thousands of Nagas. In the past arbitrary political decisions on the Naga people's future by New Delhi had angered the Nagas.
"Erecting boundary wall in the middle of our ancestral land will have serious ramifications".
Officials in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs under PM Narendra Modi's powerful aide Amit Shah, said the FMR was scrapped to ensure “the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure” in the northeastern states.
India and Myanmar agreed in 1950 to allow “natives to move freely” into each other's territories without passports or visas along the 1,643-kilometer land border covering four Indian states — Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.
The 1950 pact underwent several changes over the years, and in 2004, India decided to limit free movement to just 16 kilometers.
In 2018, the two countries signed an Agreement on Land Border Crossing to “facilitate regulation and harmonization of already existing free movement rights for people ordinarily residing in the border areas of both countries.”
The move for border fencing was announced by Shah himself especially in the context of 2023 violence in Myanmar.
A view of Myanmar's side of the border from a bridge built over River Tiau, a natural border between India and Myanmar along Mizoram. 2021 snap by AFP/UCAN
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