The Kohima Declaration from NEPA
PR from (NEPA) North East Peoples Alliance

Press Release: 3 July 2009

The Northeast Peoples Alliance (NEPA) comprising of Seven Research based grassroots organizations based in the different states of the Northeast had a two days Conclave in Kohima at The Heritage. The following statement emerged out of the two days Kohima Conclave.

The policies concerning the developmental dynamics of the NE region have most often been conceived and framed by people who have never stayed or visited the Northeastern region. Famous documents like the NE vision 2020 and the over-referenced India's Look East Policy have all been behind the development discourse dominating the official perspectives of the various state Governments in the Northeast.

While recognizing the fallacies of neo-liberal policies and learning from the lessons of the global economic meltdown that has mired the hitherto indomitable global giants in the vortex of recessions, the duplication and replication of the same policies in the NE by the various agencies of the Government of India severely threatens the people of the northeastern region on the questions of livelihood, land rights and the ever depleting natural resources.

The implications of the various loans and grants from Financial Institutions, both International and national, for projects prepared and identified by policy makers sitting in the cool confines of Delhi, Manila and Washington, further negates the ability of the people from the region in determining for themselves the development models and paradigms that would best suit the people of this region.

Situating the NE as a pivotal centre in the internationally critical and contentious issues on water, territory, natural resources, climate change, the Northeast Peoples Alliance would like to urge the state Governments in the Northeast to urge the Centre to review India's relations with neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Bhutan. The various bilateral and regional agreements that exist or are being proposed between India and the abovementioned countries on the issue of trade, finance and development are critical to the survival and progress of the people of the Northeast.

The Northeast Peoples Alliance (NEPA) is seriously concerned about the exclusion of peoples' participation in all the major developmental projects in the Northeast and the lack of transparency in the formulation of the important policies in the Northeast. The NEPA is committed towards mobilizing the various human resource pool of the northeast to find ways and means to address all the concerns through various forums in the region.

Sd/-
Malsawmdawngliani Pachuau , Center for Peace and Development, Mizoram
Anthony Debbarma, Borok Peoples Human Rights Org, Tripura
Ravindranath, River Basin Friends, Assam
Ramananda Wangkheirakpam , Forum for Indigenous Perspectives & Action,Manipur
M Kikon, Dialogue on Indigenous Culture and Environment Foundation,Nagaland.
Bamang Tago, Arunachal Citizens Rights, Arunachal Pradesh
Tseten Lepcha, Action Committee on Teesta, Sikkim