NSCN (K) issues clarification on military ops in Naga SAZ
The NSCN (K) today issued a statement to “clarify the confusions and doubts created by the on-going joint-political and military operation perpetrated” in the Naga Self Administered Zone (SAZ), which it said was being conducted “by India and Myanmar against the NSCN/GPRN and innocent Naga public.”
A press release from Major Joseph Lamkang, MIP In-Charge of the NSCN (K) said that the Myanmar Army Northern Command comprising of some eight battalions “forced their way” into the Council Headquarters at Taka on January 29, 2019. It claimed that the NSCN (K) “maintained extreme restraint and vacated the headquarters” adding that “in the midst of the commotions, some senior party members (Ceasefire delegation Team) and Naga Army cadres were arrested by the Myanmar Military under false implication for which they are confined in Khamti prison till today.”
The NSCN (K) said that the “massive military forces and heavy artillery” has caused “havoc and uneasiness among the Naga public.”
It said that a few days back the Myanmar Army “indiscriminately fired artilleries and heavy guns into the jungles and near populated areas in the Konyak Region trying to ignite fear and panic in the minds of the revolutionaries and innocent public alike.”
The NSCN (K) reminded that they had signed the 2012 ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government on the latter’s invitation. The agreement had resolved to stop fighting and cease all hostilities; set up a Ceasefire Office to be designated at Khamti town; to provide information on troop’s movement within each other’s jurisdiction; free passage for NSCN/GPRN members within Myanmar (without arms & uniform); and cooperation between the two sides to promote peace and development in the Naga areas.
It pointed out that the ceasefire “is not secretive but crystal clear with no hidden strings attached.” The NSCN (K) said that the “complexities” with the ceasefire began “when the Myanmar Government started applying hostile attitudes towards the Nagas.” It claimed that the government “accused the NSCN/GPRN with baseless allegations and enforced her Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) on the Nagas.”
“Yet in spite of heavy threats and intimidations the NSCN/GPRN refuse to sign the NCA as it is completely alien to the Nagas and has nothing to do with the Naga struggle for independence,” the NSCN (K) argued.
It meanwhile also accused the Government of India of “taking advantage of the situation” and “masterminding the current joint operation, extending all possible logistics and material support to the Tatmadaw.”
The NSCN (K) condemned the two countries for adopting a policy to “confuse and divide the Nagas based on the artificial boundary lines and completely assimilate and submerge the Nagas politically, economically and culturally into their so-called mainstreams forever.”