Nagas are a sovereign independent people

 82 Senior NSCN (I-M) leaders– steering executive members and kilonsers, in their “statement on the Framework Agreement” have stated that “Nagas are a sovereign independent people from time immemorial.” In the joint statement signed by  the functionaries said the principle of “free Nagas” was the foundation of Naga politics and the unique history.

The leaders said the framework agreement had turned the politics of confrontation and opposition into the politics of dialogue and cooperation. “It has turned our enemies into our friends; it has turned repressing of our right into respect of our right; it has turned suppression of our right into recognition of our right; it has turned the threat of our future into protection of our future,” they said. 

NSCN (I-M) was optimistic that the agreement would certainly heal the chronic scars of war and the wounds of oppression and persecution imprinted in the body and mind of the Nagas. The leaders cautioned that “rejection of this historic agreement will amount to murder of the precious second chance the good Lord has given to the Nagas.”

However, the leaders also took note saying “there are some people from some quarters who are out there talking of other option”. 

“On the other side of the coin, our people are witnessing the communal and factional cards being played by the agencies of GoI, which cannot be justified at all when both the parties are looking for the genuine solution at the highest level,” they said. Entertaining the ill-opinions of the anti-peace process elements is another sign of insincerity or double-standard, the leaders stated. 

Pointing out that there were other people who were trying to interpret the issue in terms of number and not truth, the leaders said it was a dangerous political hypothesis if the claimed number does not represent the issue. However, convinced that the Framework Agreement would open the era of peace and progress in the land, the NSCN leaders said “Naga people hope and trust that Government of India and NSCN would overcome all these hurdles and come to a smooth landing.” 

“The Nagas are for a harmonious interdependent relationship with them but on equal footing…,” the leaders maintained.