Pro-talk Naga outfit opposes India-Myanmar border fencing

Dimapur: Voicing its opposition to fencing along the India-Myanmar border, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) on Friday said the Nagas will not accept further division of the community through fencing.

The militant outfit said in a statement that the territory inhabited by the Nagas has existed since times immemorial and even before the formation of the Unions of India and Burma (Myanmar).

The pro-talks outfit questioned the motive behind the Centre`s move to fence the border, particularly at a time when parleys between it and the government of India had reached the final stage.

NSCN (Khaplang), the anti-talk faction of the rebel outfit, earlier this week strongly resented the ongoing fencing.

India and Myanmar share a little over 1,600 km-long border spread over four northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.

While the fencing aims to stop cross-border terrorism and peddling of firearms and drugs, it is expected to create a physical divide between 20,000 Nagas living on both sides who till now enjoy free movement between the two countries.