Chumou Ao bodies back Dr SC Jamir

DIMAPUR, SEP 21 (NPN): The Ao Senso Telongjem Chümoukedima and Ao Youth Organisation Chümoukedima have expressed support for veteran Naga political leader and former Nagaland chief minister and governor Dr. S.C. Jamir, rejecting attempts to question his Naga identity, credibility and right to speak on the Naga political issue.
In a joint statement, the two organisations said they had taken serious note of recent remarks questioning Dr. Jamir’s identity and right to speak on matters concerning his people.
The organisations said Dr. Jamir was a son of the Naga soil who had served the people of Nagaland and the nation for decades in various public and constitutional capacities. They said his long public service and political experience gave him every legitimate right to express his views on the Naga political issue and the future of his people.
They maintained that no organisation, political group or individual had exclusive authority to decide who among the Nagas had the right to speak.
The two organisations said political disagreement with Dr. Jamir’s views was legitimate and that his historical interpretations or political positions could be debated, challenged or rejected through facts, evidence and reasoned arguments.
However, they said disagreement could not justify questioning his Naga identity or declaring that he had no right to speak. They maintained that the Naga political issue belonged to the Naga people as a whole and was not the exclusive property of any one organisation, group, leader or generation.
Every Naga, they said, had the democratic right and responsibility to participate in discussions concerning the political future of the people.
The organisations urged all concerned to maintain respect, restraint and dignity in public discourse. They said differences of opinion should lead to dialogue and constructive debate rather than personal attacks or attempts to silence fellow Nagas.
At the present juncture, they said the focus should remain on finding a peaceful, honourable and lasting political solution while safeguarding the rights, identity and future of the Naga people.
The two organisations reiterated their support and solidarity with Dr. Jamir and affirmed that his voice, like that of every Naga, could not be silenced or invalidated merely because his political position differed from that of others.