August 3 marks the signing of the historic Framework Agreement between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) in 2015.
My dear Countrymen and Revolutionary Comrades,
I greet you all in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Today, I stand here on this national podium to commemorate the Red Letter Day in the history of the Nagas – the signing of the historic Framework Agreement of 3rd August 2015 between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN).
We give our revolutionary salute to our past leaders: Isak Chishi Swu, Khodao Yanthan, Gen. (Retd) Kholi, Brig. Thungbo and all martyrs of the cause, who had paid the price of our freedom. We also give our revolutionary salute to those proven revolutionary patriots and people who are loyal to the cause. Above all, we pay our homage to late Isak Chishi Swu and give our utmost respect to the General Secretary, NSCN, Th. Muivah, through whose strong leadership, statesmanship and unwavering commitment to the cause brought the Naga political issue to the negotiating table at the Prime Ministerial level, leading to the signing of the historic Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015.
Ten years have passed since the Framework Agreement was officially signed in Delhi, recognising the unique history of Naga independence and the sovereignty of the Nagas. It was mutually agreed to build a new relationship based on the foundation of the Framework Agreement.
My dear countrymen,
The declaration of Naga national independence on 14th August 1947, and the subsequent plebiscite conducted on 16th May 1951 on the issue of Naga sovereignty were made recognised as political and legal entities by the Framework Agreement.
To dispel the confusion, doubts and suspicions caused by distortions, disinformation, seeds of dissension and distrust among the people, which has been deliberately propagated by some people from some quarters in the matter of the Framework Agreement, I will speak on those mutually agreed points for public consumption:
As a matter of fact, ours is a bilateral talk for a bilateral agreement. No one denies the fact that the Nagas are a sovereign independent people. Nagalim belongs to the Nagas. Naga nation is our national entity. But so far, the Naga nation is called by others as a non-state entity. Our unilaterally declared sovereign independent Nagalim, our government and our national identity needs to be recognised by the aggressor-states and the international community. Therefore, a bilateral agreement with the aggressor states is called for.
As invited by the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narasimha Rao, for political talks, NSCN leadership embarked upon political talks with the Government of India at the Prime Minister level for a bilateral agreement.
The Framework Agreement clearly states that the Nagas have the unique history of independence.
Based on the universal principle of democracy, it is mutually agreed that sovereignty lies with the people, and that the sovereignty of the Nagas lies with the Naga people.
It recognises the Naga national entity.
It also says that the Nagas and the Indians will coexist as two entities sharing sovereign power.
In the competencies, it is also mutually agreed that Nagas are the owner of their land, and that anything on the surface of the land and beneath it belongs to the Nagas.
About integration, it says integration of all Naga areas under one political roof is the legitimate right of the Nagas.
The government of India has recognised NSCN as the only authentic political organisation of the Naga people.
The government of the Nagas and the Naga army, which were branded as unlawful and labelled as banned organisation, are now recognised entities.
In recognition of the Naga cultural identity, the Government of India has proposed to institute ‘PAN NAGA HOHO,’ which will deal with the Naga culture, customs, literatures, languages and so forth.
As the issue of integration is to be settled through political processes, apart from the present Nagaland state, alternative political institutions/arrangements called NRTC (Naga Regional Territory Council) will be instituted in Naga areas in Manipur, Arunachal and Assam for some time till the integration issue is settled. NRTC is transitional. The competency draft is a proposal yet to be finalised. Our honourable Chief Negotiator, Mr Th. Muivah stated in a public meeting that ‘we will come back to you before finalisation of the agreement.’
The recognition of the above-stated principal issues of the Nagas has set right the long-standing historical mistakes and wrongs of the Government of India, which treats the Naga issue as a case of secession from the Union of India and a mere law and order issue of India.
The agreement envisages an enduring, inclusive new relationship of peaceful co-existence of two entities – the Indian people and the Naga people as partners as defined in the competencies.
The Framework Agreement embraces all Nagas wherever they are, including all Naga political groups. It is an issue-based agreement of the two entities, rejection of which would pull the two peoples back to armed confrontations, political upheavals and economic stagnation.
However, ten years down the line, the waiting game continues. The Framework Agreement has faced deliberate delay in finalisation. There are growing concerns that the stand of the Government of India is becoming unsteady, and that there are attempts to interpret the Framework Agreement according to their interest and convenience. There are paid writers and propagandist of the adversaries polluting the minds of the people. There are also some demagogues who incite conflicts so that they can fish in troubled waters. We should not fall prey to such schemes.
Members of NSCN in their Tatar Hoho had unanimously resolved a number of times to uphold the Framework Agreement in all circumstances and at all costs. Anything that is deceitfully planned to go against the spirit and letter of the Framework Agreement is simply an act of betrayal of the mutual agreement. We reiterate our stand that ‘The Framework Agreement’ must remain the basis of solution. Any attempt to seek a solution apart from the Framework Agreement will be a futile exercise.
Dear countrymen,
Let there be not a shred of doubt in the stand of NSCN. It has never ever betrayed the issue of Naga sovereignty at any point of time. It remains unwaveringly committed to the issues of sovereignty and independence of the Nagas; the territories of the Nagas; the Naga national identity and the integration issue of the Nagas, which have been recognised by the Government of India. We shall value and defend what has been mutually agreed upon and signed. We shall never allow anyone, any organisation or government to distort or destroy the hard-earned Framework Agreement.
We shall be failing our historical responsibility as torchbearers of the Naga national resistance movement if we cannot defend our hard-earned achievements. We must stand united in the face of the adversaries within and without. We have seen enough military coup d’état, enough factions and enough infighting among ourselves on account of political issues. Of course, division comes when loyalty to the cause is questioned and the mandated leadership is betrayed. Revolution is not an undertaking for the unruly mobs, mercenaries or any group of individuals. It is the movement for issue-oriented and principle-based people and they alone. For NSCN, a large numbered member is meaningless, military might is meaningless, and the echelon of intellectuals is meaningless if the mandate of the people and the name of the Lord are not with them.
Our adversaries have penetrated into the very fabric of our organisation and our societies. But the reality is that if we are determined to cling on to the truth, no force can defeat us. Truth cannot be erased by lies, even if a hundred lies. Fire cannot consume it; bombs cannot destroy it; money cannot buy it, and power cannot crush it. We must ‘buy the truth, and sell it not’, keep the truth, defend the truth and live the truth, for it is the foundation of the State and the Church.
The Representative of the Government of India raised the question on the Naga national Flag and Constitution; but it makes little sense to argue for or against the national flag and constitution of a people when their sovereignty is duly recognised by the aggressor state. Flag and Constitution are constituent parts of sovereignty. There is no ambiguity about it. Politics is the art of solving problems. We are hopeful and positive that the issue of our flag and constitution, and other pending issues will be settled through bilateral agreements.
My dear Naga people,
The world is watching the situation in Nagalim. The international community is well informed about the Naga issue. However, colonial-based policies of some Indian leaders are still at play. They desperately seek for an escape route to overturn the Framework Agreement. They are consistently working to sabotage the peace process through the policy of delayed solution or managing the peace process but not going for a solution. Lately, they have resorted to inciting its surrogate Kuki mercenary forces to fight against the Nagas.
Therefore, we call upon all NSCN cadres, Naga Political Groups and the entire revolutionary Naga people to stand with one voice and one decision to resist the colonial policy of India and those divisive forces that seek to derail this principle-based solution.
Too many times, the Government of India have imposed bogus accords on the Nagas, but all were rejected by the Naga people. It has taken us more than fifty years to reach this historic Framework Agreement. It is earned with the blood, tears and sweats of the Naga people and must be valued by all.
We call upon every member of NSCN and the Naga people to stay the course even if traitors, opportunists and gold diggers desert our cause, and even when diabolic forces rock the boat.
Above all, we praise the Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth. It is He who has been with the Nagas from the very beginning of this historic movement. He has been our strength, our source, and our captain.
I am not a preacher, but as the first person of the nation, I tell you, let us put God first in every step we take and in every move we make throughout the revolutionary journey to our destination.
God bless us all.
KUKNALIM
Q. Tuccu
Chairman, National Socialist Council of Nagalim