Dimapur, May 19 (MExN): The GPRN/NSCN (Unification) has condemned remarks made by Nagaland Minister for Roads and Bridges Inno G. Kaito Aye during the general conference of the Sumi Kukami Hoho at Zunheboto.
In a press release issued through its MIP, the group stated that the Minister had “reportedly urged hereditary village chiefs and traditional leaders to dissociate themselves from the Naga underground.”
The GPRN/NSCN (U), under the leadership of President Gen. (retd.) MB Neokpao Konyak and Ato Kilonser Inno Alezo Venuh, said it “unequivocally denounces and strongly censures” the statement.
Describing the remarks as “wholly irrational, unjustified and bereft of any historical or moral foundation,” the organisation asserted that such actions “strike directly against the spirit and ethos of Naga Nationalism.”
“It must not be forgotten that the flame of the Naga Nationalism Movement was ignited and steadfastly sustained by the village heads,” the statement said.
The group further referred to “the bloodshed of Hoshepu of Sumi country, the Phor Village of Pochury country and the Huker Village of Yimkhiung country,” stating that it “has yet to dry in the collective memory of the people.”
The statement maintained that “Nagaland politicians must therefore desist from projecting distorted narratives of Naga Nationalism before the outside world.”
It also defended the institution of village chieftainship, stating that “Village Chieftainship is not an extension of any underground organisation,” but that “village chiefs remain the custodians of Naga political aspirations and the guardians of the democratic traditions embedded within the Naga customary institutions.”
The GPRN/NSCN (U) further alleged that the Minister’s remarks demonstrated that “certain ministers in Nagaland have reduced themselves to functioning as ‘segregated stovepipes’, intend upon sowing discord and creating unnecessary distraction within the collective cohesion of the Naga National Movement.”
“The Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers would do well to revisit the officially declared policy positions of their own government,” it added.
Referring to the Naga peace process, it recalled that during the inaugural sitting of the seventh session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in February 2021, then Interlocutor and Governor R. N. Ravi had stated that the “‘early resolution’ of the protracted Naga political issue remained the central focus of the Government” and that “with the negotiation having concluded, there is now a need to consolidate the substantive gains achieved thus far and to move expeditiously towards the final settlement.”
It also criticised recent remarks made by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio during an interview with a private television channel.
According to the statement, the Chief Minister’s “repeated insistence on designating a Union Minister of State for Home Affairs as an interlocutor stands in direct contradiction to the officially declared position of his own government” and “constitutes a gross violation of the commitment earlier made to the people.”
“Following the conclusion of negotiation, there remains no necessity for any interlocutor, as all matters within the Preamble have already been mutually agreed upon,” it stated.
The GPRN/NSCN (U) further claimed that after the conclusion of negotiations, “every aspect of the Naga Peace Talks and the details of the understanding reached were duly briefed before the Council of Ministers and the Legislators of Nagaland.”
It stated that elected leaders “cannot feign ignorance on such sensitive matters,” particularly “at a time when all Naga Nationalist Groups are endeavouring collectively towards a consensual and honourable political solution in the agreement with the Government of India.”
The statement cautioned that “any attempt to create confusion or contradictory narratives would only undermine the larger aspiration for unity and an enduring settlement.”
“If elected leaders are unable to discharge its committed responsibility as impartial facilitators, they must, at the very least, refrain from becoming impediments that may jeopardise the prospects of an early political settlement,” it added.
It further alleged that Minister Kaito Aye’s remarks had “exposed the weakness and helplessness of the state political structure,” and claimed that the statements issued by the Minister and “echoed by the Chief Minister further reveal a deliberate attempt to destabilise the Naga National Movement and to unnecessarily delay the political resolution process.”
It also objected to the use of the term “underground,” stating that it “constitutes a derogatory mischaracterisation of Naga dignity” and should instead be replaced with “Naga Nationalists” or “Naga Nationalist Political Groups,” “particularly now that formal political processes are firmly in place.”
