Myanmar should stop military offensive on Nagas — Niki Sumi

Dimapur, Aug. 10 (EMN): A top functionary of the NSCN (K) group led by Yung Aung has accused the current Myanmar government of employing military offensives against the Naga community settled there “to garner political benefits.”

Niki Sumi, a ‘lieutenant general’ in the group’s hierarchy, issued a statement on Saturday saying that the Nagas had “enjoyed peace and development” when the previous military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was in power.

However, the current National League for Democracy (NLD) government is trying to suppress the Naga struggle, he stated. The NLD government had launched military operations on January 29 and May 15 against the NSCN (K) which, according to Sumi, were violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed between the group and the USDP government.

Condemning the acts of ‘insincerity and betrayal’ by the NLD government, he said that the authorities were continuing to provoke and launch military offensives against the Nagas as well as others.

This has led to some organisations who had signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to withdraw their assent, according to Sumi.

Stating that the NSCN (K) was ‘maintaining utmost restraint and sincerity’, he appealed to the NLD government in Myanmar to ‘come to sense and follow the policies of USDP, and the stop military operations.’

He also alleged that, like the Myanmar government, the government of India was also trying to ‘annihilate’ the freedom movement of the Nagas. “We would like to remind GOI and its military to respect the historical reality of the Nagas,” read the statement.

Sumi reminded that Nagas are not against India. “But the Nagas and the Indians have different histories and culture. So the vast number of Indian military presence in Nagaland is unreasonable and unacceptable for political reasons of Nagas. So if any untoward incident happens in the Naga inhabited area, the Indian army will solely be held responsible,” he stated.