The Naga Hoho and the Naga Students Federation (NSF) on Tuesday called for immediate cessation of military action against the Nagas in Myanmar.
The Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) launched flush out operation against the NSCN (Khaplang) in Myanmar on May 16.
In a release issued by its communication cell, the Naga Hoho said it was highly perturbed and shocked by the news of indiscriminate and unprovoked military operations being carried out in the Naga areas of Myanmar by the “military junta”.
It is further alarming to note that the ongoing operations are being conducted in coordination with Indian security forces, the Naga Hoho said.
Condemning the attack on NSCN (K) in the Konyak region of the eastern Naga area in Myanmar, the Naga Hoho urged the joint military forces of both India and Myanmar for immediate cessation of the ongoing military action against the Nagas.
It said while attempts are on in both Myanmar and India for an honourable settlement of the Indo-Naga political problem for the Nagas, the governments of the two countries have time and again exhibited actions not befitting their official policy and assurances.
The Naga Hoho sought to remind the Myanmar government that the Nagas in the Naga self-administered zone have been allegedly subjected to untold suffering due to the discriminatory policies of the state recently.
“The Myanmar government, at the behest of the military, has imposed unwarranted and arbitrary sanctions, fund cuts and disruption of essential supplies,” it alleged.
It said the situation snowballed into a humanitarian crisis in 2016 when scores of children died due to outbreak of measles. In March 2019, 10 Naga leaders were arrested by the military junta inspite of the fact that they were on a mission to lay the groundwork for a peace process between the Nagas and the Myanmar government, it allaged.
The Naga Hoho said the 10 Naga leaders are languishing in jail since then. It condemned such “arbitrary” and “treacherous act” of the Myanmar government against the Nagas.
It also cautioned that such “unbridled” and “indiscriminate military action” has the potential to result in a widespread Naga uprising, “a conflagration which should and must be avoided”.
It further urged the United Nations and the Democratic Front of Myanmar to join hands in condemning this “inhumane arm conflicts” and also called for a saner voice so that peace could be brokered with sensible dialogue and love for humanity.
The NSF said this kind of military offensive by the Tatmadaw was in total violation and a mockery to the 2012 ceasefire agreement between the Myanmar government and the Nagas.
“Such war kind of situation only renders the innocent villagers and public at the receiving end and they are made to bear the brunt of the standoff,” the NSF in a release issued by its president Kesosul Christopher Ltu and general secretary Imtiyapang Imsong said.
The federation also questioned the role of the Indian armed forces in the Tatmadaw’s operation in the so-called international boundary between India and Myanmar.
It called upon the Tatmadaw and the NSCN (K) to immediately stop military confrontation and solve the matter amicably through dialogue in the interest of the people.
The federation also appealed to the international community to condemn such “act of war”.