Naga Hoho lauds Deve Gowda

Newmai News Network
DIMAPUR, Aug 18 : The Naga Hoho has expressed its appreciation to former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda for "his wisdom and understanding" of the Naga political issue.
The Naga Hoho in a statement on Tuesday said that it appreciated the former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda for his recent appeal to all parties concerned to put aside distrusts and reach a settlement of the Naga political issue at the earliest. "It was in fact the magnanimity of HD Deve Gowda in reaching out to the Naga leaders in Zurich in February 1997 which changed the course of the Naga struggle from war to the path of peace," stated the Naga Hoho.
The Naga Hoho said that Deve Gowda's recent statement and "perseverance" towards solving the Indo-Naga political problem has assured once again that “our problem is political and not law and order” which has given a reason of hope for the Nagas and a reason to believe that those years of struggle will not end in vain. The Naga Hoho asserted that it "fully affirms" the commitment of the former Prime Minister to ensure that a peace accord is reached at the earliest".
According to the Naga Hoho, for decades the Naga people have been fighting for a "rightful place", and in the process, many precious lives have been "sacrificed". It added that the first Prime Minister of India and his successors over the years of the Naga struggle failed to really understand and find a conclusion to the decades old Naga issue.