NSCN (IM): Flag and constitution core of Framework Agreement

Kohima: Ahead of the 9th anniversary of the Framework Agreement (FA) signing on August 3, the NSCN stated today that the FA is a testament to the Government of India’s (GoI) recognition of “Nagalim as a Sovereign State.”

Accordingly, the Nagalim national flag and constitution are integral parts of the Framework Agreement, and this is “duly recognised and acknowledged in the letter and spirit” of the Agreement, it asserted.

“The Nagas should treasure and hold on to the FA unsparingly lest we miss the sure promise of God,” added the NSCN (IM) in a press release from its MIP.

To this end, it called for not allowing doubt and confusion to determine Nagas’ fate but for marching forward, holding on to the “national flag and constitution to the last man standing.”

“Our course is set: we are very sure and certain of what is ours and what we must be,” it added.

According to the release, following a long and earnest negotiation, among other factors, the ‘historic’ FA of August 3, 2015, was signed between the GoI and NSCN in the presence of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, along with the General Secretary and Ato Kilonser (the Chief Negotiator) of NSCN/GPRN and high dignitaries from both parties.

In doing so, the GoI has “duly recognised and acknowledged the unique history and sovereignty of Nagalim,” it added.

The NSCN (IM) also lauded the “political statesmanship” of its late Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and General Secretary Th Muivah for achieving the milestone. The FA “undone out rightly” all past agreements, including the 16-Point Memorandum of July 26, 1960, and the Shillong Accord of November 11, 1975, it maintained.

Providing background on the Naga political issue, the NSCN (IM) asserted that Naga nationhood is a conscious decision and the Nagas have “never ever consented to be a part of any other nation and resisted every invasion.”

“When the turn of the world brought about the finest opportunity, Nagas took a firm stand and jealously guarded what is theirs,” it added, recounting the submission of a memorandum by the Naga Club to the Simon Commission on January 10, 1929, “to be left alone to determine for themselves.”

It also noted that the Naga National Council (NNC) “declared Naga Independence on August 14, 1947, one day ahead of India” and that the Nagas were not signatories to the Panglong Agreement of February 12, 1947, which paved the way for the formation of Myanmar (formerly Burma) on January 4, 1948. In the Plebiscite of May 16, 1951, 99.9% of the Nagas voted for independence, it added.

The NSCN (IM) also underscored that “occupational military forces made use of every means available…to crush the Nagas” citing the imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, as well as the deployment of heavily armed troops by both the India and the military junta of Myanmar.

However, it asserted that the Nagas do not “accept the forcible occupation of their territory, including the arbitrary bifurcation” of Naga territory between India and Myanmar.

“The Nagas have stood firm in their belief that we are neither Indian nor Burmese, and though it has cost us heavily, we cling to our heritage no matter what,” it added, terming it “our legacy!”

Accordingly, as per the NSCN (IM), the GoI officially admitted for the first time that a military solution was not possible and required a political resolution, acknowledging it as not an internal problem of India.

Hence, the GoI officially invited the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) for political talks, leading to a ceasefire declaration on August 1, 1997 based on the principles that the talks should be without preconditions at the highest Prime Ministerial level, with the venue in a third country outside India, it maintained. Furthermore, the involvement of a third party was kept open-ended, it informed.

A lengthy and earnest negotiation subsequently led to the signing of the Framework Agreement, the NSCN (IM) added.