Dimapur, August 4 (MExN): In his first address as Chairman of the NSCN/GPRN Eastern Flank, Provisional Government, Ikato K Chishi Swu has issued an appeal for national unity while criticising the Hebron-based NSCN (IM) leadership for submitting “competencies” to the Government of India (GOI) that he said compromise the sovereign existence of the Naga nation.
The address, delivered on Friday at Mt Horeb Camp on the occasion of the 80th Naga Independence Day celebration, comes days after an extraordinary joint meeting of Civil National Workers and Naga Army Officers at the Camp on July 21, which resolved to establish a Provisional Government until a full-fledged administration is formed. The meeting had condemned the competencies submitted by the Hebron leadership to the GOI, terming them a surrender of Naga sovereign rights within the Indian Constitution.
In his speech, the Chairman invoked the historical 1947 Naga Independence declaration and the 1951 Naga Plebiscite, asserting that the people remain the ultimate source of political authority. He accused the current Hebron leadership of being preoccupied with “celebrations and ceremonial occasions” while neglecting political duties, and of undermining the spirit of the 2015 Framework Agreement, signed between the GOI and the NSCN (IM).
“Principles are meaningful only when they are upheld with conviction, responsibility and steadfast action. They must not become mere words remembered on occasions while the responsibilities they represent are set aside,” the Chairman said.
He reiterated that the 2019 three-month ultimatum imposed by the GOI, insisting that further negotiations would cease if the Nagas continued to demand a separate flag and constitution had violated the Framework Agreement’s core principles. He called on all Nagas across the 120,000 sq. km homeland and the global Naga diaspora to join in “formation of a unified national government that upholds the principle of the founding fathers and spearhead the movement till Naga sovereignty is restored.”
“We must resist the peril of permanent fragmentation. Our differences must never overshadow our common identity. Our political disagreements must never dismantle our unity,” he said, adding that any further breach of the Naga political cause must be met with “strong, united and organised response through political as well as armed resistance.”
The Chairman also acknowledged the people of Eastern Nagalim, saluting their “courage, conviction and commitment” to the Naga common cause.
He emphasised that sovereignty resides with the people, and no government or organisation can assume constituent authority merely through negotiation or representation. “The constitutional question is vital,” he said, adding that the 1951 plebiscite remains a testament to the people’s expressed will.
The address also made an appeal for accountability, transparency and national interest over personal ambition or tribal affinities. “Freedom is preserved not by sacrifices alone but by each generation’s willingness to protect what has been entrusted to it,” he said.
