UNC to intensify counter-blockade Reiterates stand on land
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Dimapur, October 05 2011:
Close on the heels of the Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) announcing that ongoing economic blockade would be intensified, the United Naga Council (UNC) today said it too would intensify its agitation.
The UNC said this decision was taken during during its 'presidential council' meeting to register its protest against and objection to the nefarious design of the Government of Manipur to legitimize the carving out of Nagas' traditional land for upgrading or creating new revenue districts.
In a statement, the UNC said the wishes of the Naga people on the issue of Sadar Hills have been expressed in the 4 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Naga people and the Government of Manipur and the same had been brought to the public domain through press statements and public demonstrations.
"The response of the Government of Manipur has been to constitute a Committee on Re-Organisation of Administrative and Police District boundaries which is conducting public hearings in Imphal away from the real stakeholders, and in the heartland of the State Government which is bent on weakening the unity of the tribals by throwing in the spanner of upgradation of Sadar Hills with a view to snatch away our lands.
"The highly irresponsible manner in which the Government of Manipur is handling a very sensitive issue is designed to create further disharmony among the communities in the state," the UNC alleged.
It said every Naga village and tribe have their own distinct territorial boundary and jurisdiction.
"There has never been any confusion on the ancestral land of the Nagas be it among the Nagas, the neighbouring communities or the State Government," asserted the statement.
"The Nagas have all along been fighting against the arbitrary bifurcation and division of our land without our knowledge and consent," the UNC further alleged.