Mature statement of Kho John: Need to maintain sanity

    08-Nov-2019
Meiteis and Nagas are not enemies. The final agreement would not be any ‘Great Wall of China’ between the Meiteis and the Nagas. Whatever is good and beneficial to the Nagas would also benefit the Meiteis. This was Kho John, president of the United Naga Council in an exclusive chat with The Sangai Express, the report which was published prominently in the November 8 issue of this newspaper. Given  the charged atmosphere in the State, it is words like these which should give some respite to the emotionally drained people of the two communities. However it is tough to say how the final pact would be drawn up but it is significant to note that the NSCN (IM) had earlier noted the prayers and efforts of the Naga people after the October 31 supposedly final round of talk and had also declared on November 7, that the decks have been cleared to ink the final pact and at the same time had categorically stated “We have forgiven the past mistakes of our brothers and sisters in different camps.” What is left now is to give a “final touch to the agreed competencies for conclusion.” Final deal yet to be inked and with no one really knowing what the Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015 is all about, there are bound to be speculations and this is not doing anything good to the people.  Adding to the charged atmosphere is the presence of a number of mischief mongers, who do nothing except incite the others with their acerbic and insulting uploads on the social media and this is where the Government will need to be extra vigilant.
If Kho John issued a sane statement and stand, the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has also been walking the extra mile to ensure that the series of protest meetings and meira rallies staged all over the place are not seen to be targeted against any community. This is what is encouraging, for ultimately the people will have to live together. Demonstrate one’s stand over the issue but at the same time do not target any community. This is the way to go about it. As noted earlier here, it is tough to say how the final pact will emerge and this is where the Government of India will need to respect the stand of everyone. The stand of the Government at Imphal should also be firm. It is to up the pressure on the State Government that COCOMI has decided to boycott this year’s edition of the Sangai Festival and intrinsic in such a stand is the firm resolve that anything that affects the interests of Manipur will be strongly opposed. How things pan out in the next couple of days or even months will certainly decide how the people on either side respond and this is where everyone will need to keep their sanity and not unnecessarily whip up passion. Let everyone be in their senses for ultimately what is at stake here are the common people.