The Song Song Village Authority (SSVA) has condemned and rejected the Tenyimi People’s Organisation (TPO) Presidential Council judgement and order of July 12, 2024, declaring it null and void.
SSVA chairman Salew Pfokrelo Pfoze in a press release recalled that the organisation had in all its representations to the general assembly and written communications to the Mao Council (MC) consistently insisted on the resolution of Dziiko-Koziirii issue through common customary law. He objected and rejected outright the judgement for not entertaining the customary law, claiming that this was communicated to the MC on five occasions.
It may be recalled that the Mao Council in September this year, formally accepted the July 12, 2024 Judgement and Order of the Tenyimi Peoples’ Organisation (TPO) Presidential Council regarding the long-standing land dispute over the Kezoltsa/Kozürü/Kazing forest area.
As the MC ignored the verbal and written requests, and went ahead with the acceptance letter, Pfoze said SSVA had no other option but to personally approach the TPO president with a letter of dissent over the acceptance given by the MC. However, he said it was unsympathetically turned down. Hence, as a last resort, he said he was making the organisation’s position clear to one and all on the Dziiko-Koziirii issue.
The dispute on Dziiko began in 1985 when hikers from the Forest Department of Manipur along with Mao guides were detained by Southern Angami volunteers while visiting Dziiko.
He said the issue of Koziirii (Koziie in original language) began between Pfonemai Development Association (PDA) represented by Song Song village and Viswema over the construction of a rest house at ChitekayiIngho by Viswema village in 2000 to mark the village boundary, which was strongly objected by Song Song village.
He claimed the Koziie issue took a serious turn when Daniel, then chairman of Viswema village, for the fourth time in less than a month changed his statement to extend his claim of the Viswema land boundary into the whole of Koziie till Hudziimotu ridge.
The issue was finally taken up by the erstwhile Tenyimi Central Union, now known as TPO, which came as a huge relief, as the basis for resolving the issue would be premised within the common customary law.
He said the SSVA hailed the decision of the TPO to look into the issue based on the merit of the case, putting its complete trust on the august body for resolving the issue in a just and amicable manner.
Pfoze cited the Tenyimi customary law to point out that any verdict over a dispute must necessarily give due cognition of the antecedents on how the forefathers bequeathed land to their children, and oath was administered based on those claims to ascertain the truth.
He said the solemn rite of taking oath invited moral obligations that could involve tragic misfortune and even loss of life on the part of oath-taker if he willfully lied under oath.
The SSVA chairman pointed out that the basis for outright rejection of the December 19, 2022 TPO/BOA verdict was non-inclusion of the customary law that entailed solemn oath taking, for which a review was made and a just and amicable solution from the august body was anticipated.
Ironically, he said the July 12 pronouncement by the TPO Presidential Council took a step further away from traditional norms by overlooking the bona fide ownership of Mount Isii, Dziiko and Koziirii, thereby rendering it into a mere judgement with no moral or ethical obligations.
Noting that the TPO deemed it fit to award the custodial right to someone else and not to its rightful owner, and terming the judgement mysterious in application of rationality, he said history stood witness to the fact that altering the narrative of Mount Isii would in effect result in the erasure of Tenyimi history and identity.