DIMAPUR:
The Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), on July 12, said the Naga people want an immediate political solution that “fulfils Naga aspiration in Nagaland state, for Nagas in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, through practical structure and approach”.
The working committee of the NNPGs, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said that it has negotiated with the government of India precisely as per the Naga people’s desire and with the full backing and confidence of the Naga tribes and relevant apex civil society organisations.
The committee said the Agreed Position signed on November 17, 2017, set the parameters for negotiations and the “status paper” is now in public domain.
“This would mean an immediate end to the extortion industry. The drama of NSCN (IM) leaders, therefore, must end because the patience of the Naga people has reached its limit,” it said.
The committee claimed that the “Framework Agreement”, signed between the NSCN (IM) and the government of India, has no reference to “sovereignty, greater Nagalim, out-of-the-box solution, supra state, integration, pan Naga hoho, flag and constitution”.
It sought to point out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the evening of the signing of the Framework Agreement, had “welcomed the NSCN (IM) leaders into the national mainstream”.
“Whether taken in its entirety of negotiated period or isolated usage for the evening, welcoming ‘IM’ members into ‘national mainstream’ by Indian Prime Minister on live television is, by no stretch of imagination, a declaration of Naga sovereignty, integration or granting a separate flag or Naga constitution,” the committee said.
It also said the Framework Agreement was signed “without the knowledge of the Nagaland state government, Naga tribes, the apex civil societies or the church”.
“The group in question joined the national mainstream on their own wisdom on live television. A handful of men do not own the soul and spirit of Nagaland. This is where the government of India was forced to sign the Agreed Position with genuine stakeholders,” the committee claimed.
The release said the working committee of the NNPGs and its affiliates have pledged to the principle of “Nagaland for Christ” and to be “transparent, inclusive, partnering the Naga apex tribal bodies, hereditary institutions and other civil societies to uphold this very slogan in words and deeds, now and in future”.