NSF urges PM Modi to be 'sincere'

    15-Jun-2022
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Newmai News Network
DIMAPUR, Jun 14 : The Naga Students' Federation (NSF) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be "sincere in matters relating to the Indo-Naga political issue".
In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister today, the apex Naga students body urged the Prime Minister to bring the "South-East Asia’s longest running conflict to a logical conclusion".
The memorandum recalled the background of the issue saying that during the last 75 years, after India became independent, all of "Naga homeland was militarized".
It also stated, "We know of two ceasefire agreements and peace negotiations between the Government of India and the leaders of the Naga National movement".
The NSF added, "We have heard only stories of the first ceasefire, while in the second ceasefire, we the present Naga generation are now living through it".
The Naga student body further added, "We have also heard and read about earlier agreements and accords which were imposed and superimposed to bring in so-called ‘peaceful solutions’ which only created more problems and conflicts, rather than solving the problems."
The NSF also stated that after the British left the "Naga country", the Government of India unleashed its military forces equipped with the most draconian laws, including the Armed Forces Special Powers' Act 1958 (AFSPA).
The NSF further stated that the AFSPA was and is continuing to be destructive to the rights of life and added that this Act was used and is still being used against innocent Naga civilians, "the latest incidents being the Oting massacre on December 4 and Mon killing on December 5, 2021".
The NSF also claimed that it was the "insincerity on the  part  of the Government of India that has brought about this grim situation".
As today’s Nagas, the NSF said the Nagas are looking forward to inheriting the inclusive, honourable and acceptable solution based on the unique history and situation of the Naga people as assured by the Indian Government.
"However, the various developments wherein the policy of the Government of India to undo everything achieved through hard earned political negotiations have created great distrust in our minds as we strive to uphold our God given identity," it said and maintained that the Naga peoples’ assertion for self-determination was never a secessionist movement."
The NSF then said that, in the present scenario, there is an apprehension that the worst will happen if the Government of India fails to honour its commitment and exhibit its utmost sincerity by ensuring that the rights and dignity of the Naga people is upheld.
The NSF said it believes that lack of commitment to solve the problem in hand will definitely prove counterproductive.
Therefore, the NSF reiterated its earlier stand that the Naga youth and students will never accept an economic package based piecemeal solution. The NSF further said that such an exercise will eventually deepen the protracted Indo-Naga problem. The Naga student body added that the "failed agreements and accords of the past bear testimony to this assertion of ours".
The NSF also said that the younger generation of the "Nagas' trust in "your statesmanship as the tallest leader of the world’s largest democracy to ensure that lasting peace and justice is brought about in our Naga homeland through your strong political will of solving the protracted Indo-Naga political issue".
The NSF memorandum also urged the Prime Minister to stop the alleged divisive role being played by the various agencies of the Government of India.