Stating that it took 13 years of negotiations to sign the Framework Agreement (FA) in 2015, the chairman of the NSCN-IM, Q Tuccu said that ‘our political identity as sovereign people is recognised and protected by this agreement’.

Speaking during the 44th Republic Day celebrations at Council Headquarters in Hebron, Chümoukedima on 21 March, the chairman said that ‘the world is a witness to the military oppressions and political plight in Nagalim’.

Stating that the fate of the FA hangs in the balance as the commitment of the Government of India fluctuates now and then, he said that the world is watching as Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed to have solved the longest insurgency problem in Southeast Asia.

Naga flag and constitution ‘indispensable and inviolable’

Reiterating the issue of the Naga flag and constitution as ‘indispensable and inviolable’, Tuccu said that ‘any situation that might arise has been defined in no uncertain term’ during the emergency national assembly on 31 May 2022.

Pointing out the current ‘absurd’ situation of the Indo-Naga talks as the making of the Government of India, he said, “There is trust deficit on the part of the Government of India”.

In the event of the failure of talks, the chairman called to work out a survival strategy stating that ‘it is not a contest of strength but a matter of right and wrong, just and unjust’.

No sacrifice is too great when it comes to defending the historical and political rights of the Nagas. Let us, therefore, keep our spirits high and never allow despair to overcome us, he concluded and called the Government of India to put its act together.

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