Delay in finalising peace pact peeves Hoho, UNC
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network s
Senapati, August 23 2018:
The "joint review meeting on the Indo-Naga peace process" organized by the United Naga Council (UNC) expressed unhappiness over the delay in "finalizing" the Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM.
The meeting urged the negotiating parties to settle the issue in a time bound manner.
The meeting was held today at TNK Community Hall, Senapati.
Naga Hoho president, Chuba Ozukum spoke on the occasion where a large number of delegates from the UNC, All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM), Naga Peoples' Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Naga Women Union (NWU), leaders of tribe hohos under the UNC jurisdiction, former executives of Naga organizations and leaders participated.
Prior to the discussion, a "one-minute silence" was observed as a mark of respect to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The UNC leaders said they were doing this because "it was during Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister that the uniqueness of the Naga history and situation was recognized by the Government of India".
At the end of the meeting, a 7-point declaration was adopted.
One of the points said, "This joint review meeting reviewed the entire situation in a very serious manner and expressed discontentment over the inordinate delay in finalizing the historic Indo-Naga Framework Agreement".
The review meeting "strongly urged the negotiating parties to bring an acceptable and honorable political settlement in a time bound manner".
Earlier, Gaidon Kamei, president of the UNC, read out the keynote address while Chuba Ozukum, president, Naga Hoho spoke on the "review on indo-Naga peace process".
A short open interaction among the participants was held during the program.
Later, the "house unanimously" adopted certain points and said that the "Naga people have been living in a village republic free from external forces since time immemorial".
The meeting also said every Naga village was governed by a set of traditional and customary laws and justice was delivered accordingly.
According to the declaration, after many decades of ceaseless arms struggle for self determination, the second Indo-Naga ceasefire pact was signed between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) on July 25, 1997 which came into effect on August 1, 1997, and that, the "historic Indo-Naga Framework Agreement" was signed between the two on August 3, 2015 in New Delhi to settle the "long drawn Indo-Naga political issue for taking to a logical conclusion based on unique history and its situation".
The review meeting reaffirmed and called upon the Naga people to remain united and support the "historic hard earned peaceful Indo-Naga political issue till we achieve our cherished political aspiration, and also that, the Naga people will not compromise our inherent rights under any circumstance".
The review meeting cautioned "any Naga elected representative, political leader, political party, unmandated or unauthorized Naga individual or group shall not attend or participate in any assembly or meeting that will sabotage the Indo-Naga peace process".
The meeting also declared that anyone "defying the Naga political principle and its position shall be treated as anti-National and their entry shall be banned in Naga territory" .