NSCN (I-M) has expressed deep pain to learn the demise of Rajya Sabha member and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes.
NSCN (I-M) recalled that in 2005 the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh appointed Fernandes as a leader of a Group of Ministers to talk with the NSCN leadership under former chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Th. Muivah.
NSCN (I-M) also recalled Fernandes coming to Amsterdam and Bangkok in 2006 to discuss the Naga issue. “We appreciate his sincerity to solve the Naga issue. We respect him for what he was,” NSCN (I-M) said, adding that he was not an ordinary politician but a seasoned one and as the most liberal politician in India.
In his death, NSCN (I-M) said Nagas have lost an important personality and a friend who understood the Naga political issue. NSCN (I-M) conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members and prayed that God grant the soul of Oscar Fernandes a peaceful rest.