8 apex tribal hohos to meet on January 17
Just on the eve of the January 14 six-hour statewide bandh (from 6 a.m. to 12 noon) in support of solution before election, Nagaland People’s Action Committee (NPAC) Friday deferred the bandh at the request of Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC).
Paying heed to CNTC’s request and more so in view of the meeting of eight tribal bodies to be held on January 17, to deliberate on the same issue– demand for Naga political solution, NPAC said it decided to defer the bandh.
Giving this information through a statement on Friday, NPAC said it needed to give credence to the advice which had “confidently shifted the given challenges to tribal bodies including members of CNTC.”
NPAC said it did not doubt “the sincerity and commitment of our tribal leaders toward solution for election” and thus considered its mission successful as it has been able to “awaken the primary stakeholders satisfactorily to take their mandated responsibility”.
For this reason, the proposed 6-hour bandh on January 14 was deferred and expressed the hope that tribal bodies would not fail the public of Nagaland. NPAC also assured Nagas of its continued and unreserved cooperation to anyone and whoever was for “political solution first before election.”
As several organisations mainly from the Tenyimi group expressed opposition to the bandh, NPAC lamented that absence of a regular common platform for the communities and tribes in Nagaland, continue to remain a setback when common interests were to be pursued collectively. It said the same predicament was faced when the people of Nagaland had to actively pursue and facilitate the political negotiation between Government of India and the Nagas.
NPAC pointed out that in view of the inordinate delay of political solution, tribal bodies and 72 civil society organizations (CSOs) under the initiative of Nagaland GB Federation converged on June 21, 2022 at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur after which it was resolved to form Nagaland People’s Action Committee (NPAC).
NPAC said its formation comprised of limited members headed by Theja Therieh as convener under who, NPAC was empowered to carry out the collective decision to urge the negotiating parties to expedite Naga talks its logical conclusion. NPAC said its tenure was co-terminus with the closer of political negotiations, whether it was a success or failure.
NPAC also reminded that the during the last 25 years of continuous negotiation between the two entities, the NGOs, CSOs and the tribal bodies had submitted several representations and memorandums particularly to the Prime Minister of India urging upon him to resolve the Naga political issue without further delay.
NPAC also noted that in Nagaland, the public had also observed bandhs and public rallies against delay of the decision but political solution remains as elusive even in its 26 years of political talks. In the light of the above, NPAC at the meeting with various CSOs on January 12, 2023 at Dimapur, decided to hold a statewide bandh on January 14 just for 6 hours (6a.m. to 12:00 noon).
NPAC also said that the press statement of the 14 tribes published on January 11, 2023 reiterating and reaffirming the resolution of urging Government of India to settle the Naga political issue without delay, confirmed the public opinion enough for the negotiators to understand the sentiment of Naga public to not further resort to any other alternative. In the same pulse, NPAC said the committee, standing for the common cause, announced the proposed statewide bandh on January 14.
NMDA: Coming out in support of the bandh, the Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association had asked all its members to observe the bandh in order to support NPAC vis-à-vis solution to the Naga political issue before Assembly polls.