The Naga Hoho has condemned Advisor Imkong L Imchen’s recent statement on the Indo-Myanmar border and termed it as “Backstabbing of Decades of Struggle and Sacrifice”.
Imchen, Nagaland’s Advisor for IPR and Soil & Water Conservation, had on 22nd January 2024 called for the immediate removal of the Free Movement Regime in the international border, stating that a clear demarcation of boundary is important for the nation.
In a press release titled “SHAMEFUL BETRAYAL: A LEGACY TRAMPLED”, the Naga Hoho Assembly Secretariat informed that the Advisor’s statement was “discussed thoroughly in its 2nd Federal Assembly of Naga Hoho held on 23th January 2024”, and criticized him for having such views when he should be championing the cause of the Naga people.
“Decades of sweat, blood, and sacrifices, with generations lost in the fight to safeguard our ancestral domain, are now callously trampled under the dirty feet of the very person who should champion our cause. The past, with its profound meaning and poignant sacrifices by our ancestors, seems to hold no sway over the MLA and those who endorse such a despicable betrayal”, the Naga Hoho said.
The apex tribal body denounced the “treacherous actions” of the MLA who supported the fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border and the abrogation of the FMR. It said that the Imchen backing the Union Home Minister’s decision was a “grievous betrayal to the Naga people and a sinister assault on our intrinsic right to self-determination.”
Union Home minister Amit Shah had on 20th January 2024 announced that the Indian Government has decided to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and end the FMR.
Further, the Naga Hoho Assembly Secretariat said that “Imchen’s reckless remarks supporting the Centre’s move to terminate FMR is against the very principle of Naga Integration of which he is one of the MLAs who voted for Naga integration while passing the resolution in Nagaland Legislative Assembly.”
“The Naga resistance against the annulment of FMR isn’t merely a cry for geographical unity but an assertion of our shared identity and vision for a united future”, the Naga Hoho stated.
Furthermore, it said that before committing such “blatant betrayal”, the Advisor should have learned about the arbitrariness of the international boundary from how it goes though the house of the Chief of Longwa Village in Mon district.
“Imchen’s actions are a stab in the back”, the Naga Hoho slammed the Advisor for IPR and Soil & Water Conservation and said that “history will remember him as a turncoat to his own people.”
Moreover, through its press release, the Naga Hoho asserted its unwavering commitment to Naga self-determination and sovereignty and condemned Imkong L Imchen’s actions as a “betrayal of our collective vision for momentary political gains.”
