Kohima: NSCN-IM general secretary T
Muivah on Monday his patience is running thin and he will not wait
indefinitely to visit his ancestral village in Manipur's Ukrul
district.
"Our patience is running thin...We decided to defer
(the visit) at the request of the PMO, but we will not wait
indefinitely. Anyway, I will go to my birthplace, no one can
stop me," Muivah told reporters in Viswema village, where he
has been camping since May 5.
He said that at the request of the PMO and others, he
had decided to defer his visit till the situation stabilised
on the other side of the border, but it would be a mistake on
the Centre's part to think that he and the NSCN-IM would wait
indefinitely.
"The government of India should not construe the Naga
people's patience (of waiting) as a weakness. If they feel so,
it will be great blunder on the part of New Delhi," he said.
The Manipur government has opposed Muivah's visit
saying it would disturb communal amity since the NSCN-IM has
demanded a 'greater Nagaland' comprising Naga-inhabited areas
in neighbouring states. The idea has been turned down by the
Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments.
Manipur had clamped prohibitory orders and deployed
the police in strength at the Mao checkgate on the inter-state
border to prevent Muivah from entering the state.
"The government of India should immediately solve the
present situation in Manipur and make open the best way (visit
by road) to my village town instead of other options like
providing a helicopter for my visit," he said.
He warned that if the present crisis in Manipur was
not solved "then the Centre can see what the Naga people and
NSCN can do. Still we have hope and we do not believe in
force?"
Asked whether he was ready to fly by a helicopter to
Ukhrul, Muivah indicated that the best way was by road.
Apparently referring to the Centre having earlier
given the nod to his visit, Muivah termed it as "a total
betrayal on the part of government on its own commitment to
the Naga people".
He said the Nagas are still hopeful that the Centre
would resolve the crisis and pave the way for his visit "which
is solely for peace and not for any other agenda".
He claimed that the "mishandling of the whole issue"
by the government had only "driven away Nagas from the hard-
earned trust" build between the two sides over the years on
the Naga political problem.
Protest rally decries assault
A protest rally organized by Naga
Students? Federation (NSF) today decried the assault on three
leaders of Naga civil society organizations.
Condemning the assault on them, speakers at a rally
called upon the people to stand up against acts inimical to
peace, unity and justice.
When the civil societies were fully backing the
on-going Naga peace process towards finding a permanent peace
in the region, some divisive forces were trying to destabilize
it, the speakers said.
Two unidentified youths wielding small arms yesterday
assaulted Naga Hoho General Secretary Chuba Ozukum, its Joint
Secretary G Vashum and Forum for Naga Re-conciliation (FNR)
member Nepuni Piku in their hotel room injuring them.
They were rushed to Naga Hospital where they were
stated to be out of danger.
PTI
First Published: Monday, May 10, 2010, 20:25