The Global Naga Forum held a global hybrid assembly to mark the 79th Anniversary of Naga Independence on August 14.
DIMAPUR — The Global Naga Forum (GNF) organised an international commemoration to mark the 79th anniversary of the declaration of Naga independence on August 14.
The four-hour global hybrid assembly, held on the theme "The unbroken line: Territory, transit, and truth", brought together Naga voices from Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and Myanmar with United Nations indigenous rights experts, the president of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), and indigenous leaders from Canada, the Arctic, Indonesia, Colombia, and New Zealand.
According to an update, Global Naga Forum Convenor Chuba Ozukum delivered the welcome address, calling on Nagas to remember their history honestly and work toward a peaceful and just political solution.
Spokesperson of the Naga National Council Kolezo Chase spoke as the commemoration's ancestral witness, describing the Naga political issue as a bilateral matter between India and the Naga nation.
Two members of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, speaking in their individual capacities, sent video messages. Gam A Shimray warned, "If we can't define sovereignty for ourselves, we can't expect others to honour it."
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Ojot M Ojulu said the militarisation and securitisation of Naga territories "further affect the exercise and enjoyment of Indigenous peoples’ rights, including their ability to participate meaningfully in decisions concerning their lives, communities and political future."
Principal of Highland National College in Imphal, Dr. Poujenlung Gonmei, briefed the assembly on the withdrawal of the Free Movement Regime and the militarisation of Naga transit routes, arguing that "truth must be spoken to power”.
Worso Zimik, an advocate from Delhi, offered a legal reading of the Indo-Naga political issue and the 2015 Framework Agreement in his personal capacity, arguing that "Nagalim was never a part of India either by conquest or consent".
International representatives included Kenneth Deer of the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee; Eirik Larsen of the Sámi Council; Ghazali Ohorella, an Alifuru diplomat from South Moluccas, Indonesia; Luisa Castañeda-Quintana of Land is Life; Kym Hamilton of Kārearea – Institute for Change, New Zealand; Dr. Rubina Greenwood, President of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO); and Dr. Rita Manchanda of the South Asia Forum for Human Rights.
Global Naga Forum Co-Convenor Samuel Pou then read the 79th Anniversary Declaration.
Under the segment "Voices from the fractured lines", Naogang Ngansa of the Naga Students' Organisation, Myanmar, asked, "Where do we unite?" General Secretary of the Rengma Naga People's Council, Assam, Chenobu Rengma stated that more than 10,000 square kilometres of ancestral Naga land has been alienated.
Former Vice President of Naga Hoho, Manipur, David Boyes said, "Let us demand justice. Not revenge." Former General Secretary of Naga Hoho, Nagaland, Elu Ndang said, "We are not five separate fractures. We are five knots of the same song."