Members of Phokhungri Area Public Organisation along with
the officials of Naga People’s Front are seen during a peaceful public rally at
ITC in Avakhung on Tuesday.
KOHIMA — The
Phokhungri Area Public Organisation (PAPO) and the Naga People's Front (NPF)
have jointly organised a public rally against scrapping of the Free Movement
Regime (FMR) and border fencing at Avakhung International Trade Centre on
Tuesday.
The NPF, in collaboration with the residents of the
Indo-Myanmar, has been organising a series of public rallies starting early
this month covering the international trade centres in Longwa, Pangsha and
Avakhung.
Addressing the rally, member of Nagaland Legislative
Assembly (MLA) and secretary general of NPF, Achumbemo Kikon, has sought united
effort to oppose border fencing and scrapping of FMR. Besides, Kikon has sought
respecting and recognising others culture.
He alleged that India, Burma and British have dissected and
divided Naga homeland and its people without their consent. He, therefore,
stated that it is time for the people to rise and said no to the division.
“We are one people, once family so we will stand against the
border fencing,” Kikon asserted.
The MLA added that "long before India and Burma became
an independent nation, our forefathers have thought that we cannot live under
the domination of any forces on earth including the British. And, today we are
here today again to reassert that right."
The president of PAPO, Paratsü Thüvüri, in his solidarity
message, informed that there are 34 villages in the Naga Burma area that are
extensions of the Pochury villages and that the people residing there are their
own brothers and sisters.
He emphasised that at no point of time did the people in the
area required a passport to visit their kin in the neighboring villages across
the border nor did they need to provide fingerprints to visit family and
friends.
He, however, stated that the public in the present time are
suffering immensely due to the Indian government’s policy, which is dividing
their people. He added that PAPO is firmly opposed to the scrapping of the FMR
and the implementation of border fencing.
Representative of Pochury Student’s Union (PSU), Rongley
Leyri, and former minister and former minister of Nagaland and Pochury Kajipa
Organisation for Cultural Co-Operation (India-Myanmar), Yitachu, spoke at the
rally.
The organisation has appealed to the GOI to listen to the
voice of the indigenous people, reinstate the FMR and stop the border fencing
plan to avoid further cultural and social harm.
Also speaking on the occasion, the president of Pochury
Mothers’ Association President, Tvüsesü, strongly opposed India’s decision to
scrap the FMR and militarising the Indo-Myanmar border, which she said severed
centuries-old kinship, cultural and economic ties among Pochury Naga
communities.
“For indigenous Nagas, the FMR was not just a policy but a
lifeline—enabling access to ancestral lands, shared traditions, and family
connections. Its removal, alongside border fencing, threatens the identity and
unity,” she added.
NPF condemns terrorist attack
Meanwhile, MLA Kikon has condemned the terrorist attack at
Pahalgam in Kashmir. He said the NPF believes in peaceful resolution through
dialogue and not through arms.
Any kind of terrorist and terrorism, he said, the party do
not subscribe to such activities.
He added that while propagating political ideology or
religious activities, one should not victimized innocent people. The party has
affirmed its stand with the Government of India against terrorist attack.
