Reacting to the statements issued by Zeliang Officers Association Nagaland (ZOAN) and Zeliang Baudi Kohima (ZBK), the Ao Senso Telongjem Dimapur (ASTD) said the union was utterly shocked for misunderstanding the statement by its president, Supu Jamir.
In a rejoinder, ASTD vice president, K. Meren and general secretary, C. Onen Walling urged upon the two unions to understand and respect the historic Naga movement (referring to the mass movements against holding of ULB polls with 33% women reservation) which had erupted in the state during the early part of 2017.
ASTD reminded ZOAN/ZBK that the state government, despite signing the historic tripartite agreement on January 30, 2017, totally undermined the said agreement which resulted in the death of two Naga patriots– Avizo and Bendangnungsang in the police firing on January 31 in front of the residence of T.R. Zelaing at 3rd Mile Dimapur, while also injuring several innocent Nagas.
Since the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC), constituted to probe into the incident, was yet to complete its investigation, and under the given circumstances, ASTD said it had issued the statement that “T.R. Zeliang should not hold the CM’s chair at this juncture so as to let the JIC conduct an impartial inquiry without any bias.
Therefore, ASTD has appealed “to the highly respectable ZOAN/ZBK not to be confused and jump to the conclusion without knowing the head and tail of the historic Naga movement.”
It further made known that the statement made on July 20, 2017 by Supu Jamir was not his personal comment but the statement of the ASTD.
ASTD made its stand clear that the union was not opposed to T.R. Zeliang because he was from the Zeliang community. The fact is that the ASTD “highly honor and respect the CM’s chair and the same should not be occupied by a person whose hands were smeared with blood”, the union stated.
It also reminded ZOAN & ZBK that since time immemorial there has been no conflict and misunderstanding between Zeliang and Ao community. Therefore, ASTD has asked ZOAN/ZBK “not to pollute the congenial relationship by invoking tribalism.”