Golden silence and Secrecy
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 12 2013 -
An ancient Swiss inscription says, 'Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden'.
When translated in English, this would roughly means, 'Speech is silver, Silence is golden'. Yes, discretion can sometime be worth more than eloquent words.
But just like gold, this 'golden silence' is becoming costlier on the lives of the common people on either side of the Lim divide.
Relegating the whole gamut of issues gripping the State and its people vice-like, the only topic that everyone is apparently talking about today, whether they be on the streets or at home or at any public forum, is the 'impending' settlement of the protracted peace negotiation between the Government of India and NSCN (IM).
There may be no two arguments that people on either side of the Lim divide, whether they be living within Manipur or in the neighbouring Nagaland want settlement of the issue for lasting peace in the strife-torn region.
Yet so much apprehensions and misgivings have been generated over the possible outcome of the peace process that one really wonders whether there is going to any lasting peace in the region.
Why this is happening?
The answer may not be far to seek if we understand the postures of 'golden silence and secrecy' that the two parties have been maintaining with occasional outburst of blame games and play of words to take the people on an emotional rollercoaster ride for more than 15 years now.
After Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), which was jointly floated on January 31, 1980 by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S.S. Khaplang in oppose to the Shillong Accord signed by Naga National Council (NNC) with the Government of India split into two factions in 1988 , the faction led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah entered into peace negotiations with the Government of India rather too early in 1995.
Since then confusion spawned from secrecy has been the order of the day but leading the people on either side of the Lim Divide to nowhere.
After a seemingly endless round of peace talks punctuated with blame games over alleged lack of sincerity and violation of the agreed ceasefire ground rules, the two sides came up with the declaration that the peace talk has reached a crucial stage and a final settlement is imminent before the election to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
However, with both the parties keeping the possible outcome of their over more than 15 years long peace negotiation closely guarded and shying away from spell out anything specific on what the 'final settlement' is going to be like, apart from snippets like 'last stage', 'supra-state body', 'Christmas gift', etc to make the news hungry media happy, the heat of the tension has been needlessly generated among the common people whose daily struggle for life would hardly make any difference as long as there is no sincerity on the part of the so-called peacemakers.
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