NSCN-K terms ban a ‘declaration of war’

DIMAPUR — The NSCN-K has strongly opposed the government of India’s decision to declare the outfit an “unlawful organisation” and extend the ban for five years, calling it a “declaration of war.”

In a press statement issued by its Ministry of Information and Publicity (MIP) on Thursday, the faction led by Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ang Mai, Nyeiton Konyak and Kughalu Mulatonu asserted that the Nagas “were never part of India or British India, are never part of India and will never be.” It described sovereignty as a “birthright, an inheritance from God and our fathers.”

The group maintained that the NSCN-K has “never ever transgressed, occupied, or violated an inch of Indian soil to launch a war” and insisted its armed wing only uses light weapons for “self-defence within the Naga Country.” It rejected allegations of external support as “cheap propaganda … of the weakest and stupidest mindset.”

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The statement said Indian laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (1957), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (1967), the Disturbed Areas Act and others were “repressive and anti-human,” imposed to suppress Naga sovereignty.

“The declaration of NSCN-K as an unlawful organisation and banning it for 5 years is a declaration of war. The govt. of India must clearly understand that forcefully and illegally occupying the Naga country with more than millions of Indian armed forces is to exert greatest military crime of this generation,” the release stated.

The NSCN-K urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to reverse its order and instead “sit and speak with the NSCN-K to end the political deadlock.” It also said forming alliances with other “Northeast revolution” groups was a “bounden duty, a legacy passed onto us for more than 5 decades.”

It further stated that “the Indian security forces and its agents should be declared ‘unlawful and terrorist organisations’ and not the NSCN-K,” while adding that the government of India is the “sole aggressor, occupier and criminal in the Naga country.”