Chiefs petition PM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 17 2013 : Sustaining pressure on the Government of Manipur to maintain status quo on the indo-Myanmar border till the boundary dispute has been settled amicably, chiefs of Tangkhul villages in Ukhrul district under the banner of Tangkhul Naga Wungnao Long (TNWL) has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to protect traditional Naga boun-daries in their respective areas.

In the aftermath of boundary fencing work along the Moreh sector in Chandel district, several organisations of Manipur, including chiefs of villages along the international boundary have raised objections against the fencing work and are demanding cessation of the same work until a final settlement the boundary issue could be reached.

On the same issue, memorandum has been submitted to the PM, Union ministers of home and external affairs, Manipur Governor and ambassador of Myanmar to India through the Deputy Commissioner (Ukhrul) today with the TNWL highlighting that "every nation big or small has a territorial boundary and likewise, all Naga villages share traditional boundary with others and Naga villages govern themselves and deliver justice by a set of traditional and customary laws since time immemorial" .

"Every village is a republic and border dispute is of rare occurrence because we do not intent to grasp land which does not belong to us and also respect others' ownership of land and their land law," mentioned the TNWL representation signed by it president AS Vaomi and secretary DS Zimik.

"Decades ago, aliens in civilian and military uniforms appeared in our land and erected border pillars with brute force against strong protests along the existing lines of pillars erected without our prior or informed knowledge and consent of the real land owners which cannot be honoured," the TNWL memorandum pointed out.

contending that the 'considered pillars' that stand at present between India and Myanmar is not erected based on traditional and historical boundaries of the Nagas' forefathers, the memo added "As the rightful land owner, we cannot accept those border pillars erected either before or after India's Independent under any circumstances" .

Stating that one of the Nagas' main agenda is to live together under one administrative roof, the memo said that under the aegis of the United Naga Council (UNC), they demanded an Alternative Arrangement (AA) outside the state government pending the Indo-Naga final settlement.

"While appreciating the ongoing construction of fencing along Indo-Myanmar International border, we urge you to kindly accommodate our sentiments by erecting new international pillars respecting traditional boundaries.

We request you not to compel us to take up any form of agitations on this issue," maintained the body of Tangkhul chiefs.

Manipur shares 398-km border with Myanmar and the ongoing 10-km border fencing works currently taken up in Chandel district has kicked up a storm as many civil society organisations and opposition political parties contending that large chunk of land will fall into Myanmar once the border fencing project has been completed.

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