Govt offices picketed in Ukhrul
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang

Ukhrul, June 25 2025: The district mini-secretariat and all government offices in Ukhrul town were closed on Wednesday as the Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) enforced a five-day picketing of government offices called by ANSAM, demanding an immediate halt to the ongoing border fencing and the reinstatement of the Free Movement Regime (FMR).

TKS vice president Omry Ningshen led the protest, referred to as the People's Movement.

"We, TKS, stand in solidarity with ANSAM in the fight against the scrapping of the FMR and the construction of border fencing in Naga homeland, as well as for the rights of the Nagas," he stated, assuring that TKS would advocate for the people until justice is served.

Protesters displayed a banner reading "120 Hours Picketing of Government Offices Against the Scrapping of FMR & Imposed Border Fencing in Naga Homeland.

" They also affixed banners to the main gate of the mini-secretariat, with messages such as "Reinstate FMR" .

"No Fence Between Families", "Respect UNDRIP", "Stop Sinister Policy of GoI to Further Divide Naga Homeland", "Respect Our Rights and History", "Stop Imposed Border Fencing Across Naga Homeland", and "Respect the Framework Agreement of GoI and Nagas" .

On Wednesday, the agitation in Ukhrul was overseen by an ANSAM team led by its president, Angteshang Maring.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the protest, the ANSAM president strongly condemned the Government of India's policy of scrapping the FMR and imposing border fencing, which he claimed suppresses the voice and rights of the Nagas.

"The GoI has failed to respect the voice and rights of the Nagas and has not even allowed for reconsideration," he lamented, questioning the sincerity of the Indian government and its so-called democratic system.

"We challenge the intention of the Indian government in dishonouring the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 36) and in failing to respect the Framework Agreement signed between the GoI and the Nagas," he added.

Regarding the ongoing five-day office picketing protest that has paralysed the administration in the Naga hill district headquarters, Angteshang asserted that the Naga public have taken action to express their strong resentment against the government's policies and decisions concerning the scrapping of the FMR and the imposition of border fencing in Naga homeland.

Meanwhile, in a statement released later in the evening, ANSAM president Angteshang reiterated the Naga people's longstanding claim to their homeland, asserting their inherent rights as free and sovereign people in their own way having traditional system and customs much before the birth of India as a nation in 1947 and Myanmar erstwhile Burma in 1948 respectively without any external dominance.

Angteshang criticised the imposition of the Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB), describing it as a historical injustice perpetrated by past leaders, which has disrupted the natural interdependence of families living on either side of the border.

He noted that many residents face difficulties accessing their ancestral lands due to the abrupt abrogation of the FMR and the construction of border fencing.

"At the backdrop of offensive actions employed by the government of India upon the rights and security of our land and people, this Peoples' Movement is launched by the ANSAM as the voice and conscience of people backed by Naga apex bodies, United Naga Council (UNC), Naga Women Union (NWU) and its constituent and subordinate Units to register our sentiment and our collective stance over the issue of existential thread to the Nagas," he stressed.

The ANSAM president called for the Government of India to reconsider its policies, arguing that the scrapping of the FMR contradicts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to which India is a signatory, and stressed the need for a respectful dialogue to resolve the ongoing Indo-Naga political conflict based on historical boundaries and the Framework Agreement.

Comment