UNC, others serve 20-day ultimatum

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 22: The United Naga Council (UNC), All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM), Naga Women’s Union (NWU) and the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights-South (NPMHR-S) have served a 20-day ultimatum to stop border fencing works and re-introduction of FMR.  
The four Naga organisations today submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and expressed deep concern and anguish against abrogation of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the ‘imaginary Indo-Myanmar border’ and the accelerated ongoing border fencing construction across the ancestral Naga homeland without due consultation with the affected indigenous communities and violating the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) particularly Articles 8, 26, and 36 thereof, endorsed by India.    
It said considerable numbers of press statement have been issued, picketing of Government offices in Naga inhabited areas have been undertaken, public demonstration of protest and rallies were held in Naga hill districts and memoranda submitted to register stiff opposition to the abrogation of FMR and construction of the border fencing across the Naga ancestral homeland.
The memorandum set a 20-day ultimatum for addressal of three demands/issues:
a. The Government of India must revoke the notification/order related to the abrogation of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) immediately.
b. Immediate stoppage of all ongoing border fencing construction and demarcation works in Naga ancestral lands.
c. The Government of India must initiate a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the Naga civil societies and affected stakeholders.
The four Naga organisations warned that they will be compelled to resume protest movement in stronger measure across all the Naga hill districts if their demands remain unaddressed from the date of this ultimatum.