Demanding date for next round of tripartite talks; UNC calls 48 hours bandh from Aug 11
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 06 2013: Denoun-cing the Government of India's failure to give a positive reply to their appeal to indicate a date for the next round of tripartite talk, the United Naga Council (UNC) has called a 48 hour bandh in all Naga areas with effect from the midnight of August 11 till August 13 midnight.

It also decided to stay away from the forthcoming Independence Day celebration on August 15 .

The Council meeting which was also attended by all the Regional and Naga frontal organisations took strong exception to the lack of respect to the democratic process of dialogue by the GoI and the GoM which had been put in place at the instance of the GoI.

File pic of a rally staged to demand alternative arrangements for the Nagas of Manipur

While it has been placed on record by the UNC team in the tripartite talks that the GoI and the GoM must be respectful of the democratic process of dialogue and avoid delays in taking it forward, the delay in convening the 6th round of talk even after a lapse of more than 5 months since the last talk, which concluded with assurance for convening the next round at an early date and the non receipt of any communication from the GoI to the request for indicating the date for the next round of talk even after a lapse of 20 days reflect insincerity and lack of seriousness of the GoI in taking forward the dialogue process that it has initiated, to its logical conclusion, the UNC asserted in a statement.

The dialogue process initiated by the GoI because of the divide on communal lines created by years of alleged suppression, exploitation and discrimination on the Nagas has not resulted in toning down on the communal policies and activities of the GoM and the communal forces which inform its decision.

"These relentless onslaught have been continuously highlighted in our public statements.

The GoI of India refuses to intervene even in the face of such situation", it decried.

Apart from the 48 hours bandh, the council meeting decided that Naga people would abstain from participation in the 66th Indian Independence Day celebration.

However, medical services, fire-brigade, media, power and telecommunication departments and observation of Bolbum ritual would be exempted from the purview of the total bandh.

A ban on all construction works of central projects such as the Trans-Asian Railway line and Power Grid line would be observed indefinitely till otherwise decided.

All concerned tribe should be vigilant and disallow the arbitrary boundary fencing being taken up on the Indo-Burma borders which seeks to disintegrate or barter away Naga areas, it directed.

Tne UNC also pledged support to NPO on the issue of census/delimitation and denial of representation.

All tribes/organisations should refrain from diluting the political position of the people with regard to severance of ties with the GoM and to uphold the people's decision in letter and spirit, it asserted.

The council further decided that the peoples' movement for their democratic rights would be intensified in consonance with the intervention of the GoI.