ACAUT has expressed regrets over Naga Hoho’s inability to accept ACAUT’s invitation to attend the proposed ‘Common Platform” deemed as inappropriate at the present juncture on a “highly sensitive Naga political issue and Naga Hoho also requesting all its constituent units/hohos to follow its stand.
ACAUT, through its media cell said it respected the concerns of the Naga Hoho but assured that the September 12 ‘Common Platform’ at DDSC stadium Dimapur was only a discourse on the current state of affairs in Nagaland and therefore, NH’s “fears are misplaced and unfounded.”
ACUT reiterated that, such a ‘Common Platform’ was only meant to solicit views of prominent citizens/intellectuals etc after it sensed the importance for Nagas in having frank and open dialogue at the present juncture of Naga history.
ACAUT said it was “disconcerting that most Nagas have not reconciled to the idea of sharing opinions and free exchange of ideas” and which was essentially what the common platform was about.
One of the aims of the common platform was to “encourage honest discussion on democratization of the whole nation building process” and for which serious introspection was called for, said ACAUT.
ACAUT said it was important that any citizen’s right to make informed decisions, which existed in an independent, democratic and republican Naga village system was not impinged. Further, ACAUT said an individual should not lose democratic space to “selective decisions of a few, at the cost of the vast but crucial uninformed majority”.
The proposed common platform sought to bring the saner opinions of intellectuals and prominent citizens to the fore as their voices were often” pushed to the periphery and seldom heard”, it added.
ACAUT said it was crucial that the voices of all these stakeholders was heard and understood by all stake holders.
While applauding and respecting Naga Hoho for its initiative to hold an ‘international conference’ on Naga political issue in October; ACAUT reiterated that it was also equally important to hold a ‘grass root conference’ as all Nagas were also stakeholders of the Naga issue that was in public domain. ACAUT therefore, requested all citizens conscious of their rights, to attend the common platform on September 12, 2015.