Kohima, Feb. 25: People from various communities residing in Diphupar village in Dimapur on Saturday paid floral tributes to the victims of January 31 violence, Khriesavizo Metha and Bendangnungsang Longkumer, at the site in Kohima town where they are buried.
Chairman of the Diphupar Village Council Lanutoshi said in a brief address that the leaders of the state had failed to understand the ‘will of God’ and as a result “two sons” were sacrificed. He said that the people are grief-stricken by the loss of the two youths.
The only comfort they have now is that through their sacrifice, the Naga people have come together, the council elder remarked. “We are happy, not because the old chief minister had stepped down and not because there is a new chief minister now, but because our youth could stand together for their rights,” he stated.Also addressing the gathering was the convener of the Nagaland Tribes’ Action Committee, Kohima (NTAC), KT Vilie. He is also the vice president of the Angami Public Organisation (APO). He said that Khriesavizo Metha and Bendangnungsang Longkumer have made the “supreme sacrifice” for the people in their fight to ‘preserve their rights provided under Article 371A, which some elements were trying to remove.’ They have brought the Naga people together, he said. Through their sacrifice, the Naga people can move forward, he said.
Vilie also mentioned that the NTAC and the Joint Action Committee had ‘worked hard’ during the protests against the government. In the end, (former Chief Minister) TR Zeliang stepped down as chief minister, he said. “We were able to achieve something in history,” he said.
[caption id="attachment_100091" align="alignleft" width="550"]
Representatives of Ao community women laying wreaths at the grave site of late Khriesavizo and late Bendangnungsang in Kohima.[/caption]
Member of the NTAC, Dr. P Ngully also asserted that the burial ground of the two youths was now “a sanctified place for the Nagas and for all generations to come” as it symbolized a defining moment of ‘democracy, of people irrespective of any affiliations coming together.’
Dr. P Ngully said that at a juncture at which the people of the state were ‘almost lost, fighting petty and personal / tribal feuds,’ the deaths of Khriesavizo and Bendang have awakened the Naga people as a society that values lives: it brought all the people together, cutting across tribal lines, he said. The NTAC member shared in the grief of the bereaved families.
Also, the president of the Diphupar Naga Youth Organisation Vekre acknowledged the JCC, NTAC, the APO and the Angami Youth Organisation. In behalf of the Diphuphar youth, he expressed hope that they would continue to work together for the welfare of the people.
