Naga Hoho (NH) has strongly criticised advisor (IPR, Soil Conservation) Imkong L Imchen for his statement, in which he supported the Central government’s decision to end the Free Movement Regime (FMR) at the India-Myanmar border.
In a press release, the NH assembly secretariat disclosed that it had thoroughly discussed Imchen’s statement at its 2nd Federal Assembly on January 23, 2024.
NH said against the backdrop of decades of sweat, blood, and sacrifices, with generations lost in the fight to safeguard Naga ancestral domain, all these were now “callously trampled under the dirty feet of the very person who should champion our cause.”
NH maintained that poignant sacrifices by Naga ancestors, seemed to hold “no sway over the MLA and those who endorse such a despicable betrayal.” According to NH Imchen’s collaboration with the Union Home Minister to back a smart fence along the Indo-Myanmar boundary and endorse the ban on the FMR was “a grievous betrayal to the Naga people and “a sinister assault on our intrinsic right to self-determination.
It also hit out at Imchen’s “reckless remarks” in supporting the move to terminate FMR which it said, was against the very principle of Naga Integration. NH reminded that Imchen was one of the MLAs who voted for Naga integration while passing the resolution in Nagaland Legislative Assembly. “Naga people are well aware of Imchen’s political flip-flopping since his Congress days exposes a disconcerting pattern of opportunism and political expediency, leaving the Naga populace disillusioned,” NH stated.
NH said Naga resistance against the annulment of FMR was “not merely a cry for geographical unity but an assertion of our shared identity and vision for a united future.”
NH has urged upon Imchen, as a legislator, to propose viable solutions without drawing inspiration from an unpardonable flaw – the arbitrary drawing of the international boundary right through the Chief’s house at Longwa village, Mon, by India and Burma.
NH also censured the “blatant betrayal by a Naga Legislator”, and deemed his actions as “a stab in the back”, for which history would remember him as “a turncoat to his own people.”
The Naga Hoho affirmed its unwavering commitment to Naga self-determination and sovereignty while stating that its “resounding condemnation” of Imchen’s actions was a clarion call for justice and a cry against the betrayal of collective vision for momentary political gains.