Booming guns of rival groups : Exorcise the devil
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 05, 2012 -

Ironic it is, but peace can be a conundrum.

And perhaps no one knows this better than the very set of people on whose behalf peace deals or pacts have been signed.

A civilian killed in a cross fire between factions or rival armed groups, incensed villagers constrained to give marching orders to all armed cadres living in the vicinity and even launching a manhunt for the cadres and it is clear that Tamenglong today fits the description of a place where peace is a conundrum.

A turf war with two of the three players-the NSCN (IM) and the NSCN (K)-being party to peace pacts with the Government of India and so many questions remain to be answered.

What however is amply clear is the point that the essence and spirit of the ceasefire ground rules or the basic tenets on which the peace deals have been inked has been reduced to something of a farce.

This leads us to the question of how sincere the Government of India is in enforcing something as basic as the ground rules.

In all probability, to Delhi, the ceasefire is okay and holds ground as long as its agencies, namely the security forces, are not targeted.

It does not matter if the armed groups train their guns on each other or against the public. Any attempt to deny this would be akin to calling the chalk a cheese.

The cease fire inked with the NSCN (IM) and the NSCN (K) is not enforced in Manipur, but this should not mean that they are free to roam and move around with arms and indulge in violence and mayhem here.

And this is what has been happening in Tamenglong in the last few days and earlier.

The devil within, this is what the great Naga family should try to exorcise.

The role of the civil society organisations, the Church and voluntary organisations cannot be overemphasised in addressing this issue.

And in addressing an issue as sensitive and complex as the rift within the Naga society, it is important that the civil society organisations and others are seen to be absolutely neutral in its approach.

Maybe a tough call to follow but then again it should not be if the larger interest of the community is accorded the top priority.

For isn't it true that all the Naga armed factions took up the gun for the cause of their people in the first place ?

Lest the smokescreen created by the booming guns mislead others, let it be also clear that silence of the guns alone cannot be synonymous with peace.

It is here that the people need to wake up. Peace has been a much abused term for too long.

Guns going silent, yet people being brow beaten into quiet submission through threats, subtly or otherwise, has been the norm rather than the exception.

A sincere search within one's heart and soul will tell the correct story.

Tamenglong has had to pay a heavy price for the confrontations between the ZUF-NSCN (K) combined force and the NSCN (IM) and no we are not talking only about the recent series of clashes but about what has been happening in the last few years.

The big question is whether the people who took up arms on behalf of the people do care about their people or not.

Equally important too is the question of whether the numerous civil society organisations are ready to broach the issue sincerely without taking sides.