Senapati, July 17 (NNN): The All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM) has asked Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh to “leave the matter of the Indo-Naga peace talks to those leaders who are engaging in the talks for years.”
The Naga student body advised the Manipur Chief Minister that, instead of interfering on the Indo-Naga peace process he should address the basic problems crippling the State. “It will be unbecoming of him to contradict the effort for a peaceful settlement by the political party he belongs to,” ANSAM pointed out.
In a statement made available to Newmai News Network this evening here, the ANSAM said that this statement is in respond to the Chief Minister of Manipur with regard to the interview that appeared in national dailies recently.
ANSAM said that Biren Singh is “not the first nor will be the last Chief Minister or politician who will try to get political mileage out of the aspirations of the Naga people.” The Naga student body also said that the “opposition to the aspirations of the Naga peoples’ right to self-determination time and again points out the fundamental difference within the people of Manipur in understanding land, people and identity.”
ANSAM also placed on record that land for the Nagas, belongs to the people and not the state. “We derive our identity and culture from the land and not the state. We honour our land by protecting it and thus, have been doggedly defending it with our lives for generations,” ANSAM added.
According to the ANSAM, the Indo-Naga peace process was built on clear understanding of these rights and aspirations and in pursuit of peace to a bloody conflict. It also stated that after years of negotiations, the Framework Agreement that seeks to restore some sense of justice through an agreed settlement was signed. The Naga student body added that, these are ways to end armed conflict and it is right for all to support it.
The ANSAM further asserted that “as a collective who are most affected by armed conflict, we remain commit to peaceful co-existence.”
