Working Committee (WC) of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPG) has expressed profound concern over the escalating crisis in the Naga territories of Myanmar where the political unrest was evolving into a dire threat to the Naga community’s existence.
In this regard, NNPG media cell termed it as a “distressing development” the involuntary conscription of Naga youth by the Junta. NNPG said this signalled a potential plot to transform Naga lands into the ultimate battleground between the Myanmar Military and the People’s Democratic Force (PDF), along with its allies.
NNPG noted that the Burmese Army’s significant losses, including territory, personnel, and equipment to the PDF, underscored the gravity of the situation which had compelled the Burmese army into forcing young Nagas into military service. This was akin to sending them to their doom and an act of barbarism that compelled the Naga conscripts to fight against their kin that was “utterly reprehensible”.
NNPG accused certain Nagas, “driven by self-interest” of collaborating with the Junta and turning the Naga Self-Administered Area into a stronghold for launching attacks against pro-democracy ethnic groups. It said key Naga townships are being exploited by the Myanmar junta as staging grounds for regrouping and resupplying its forces. NNPG said this was a monumental error that will be judged harshly by history.
NNPG reiterated that it stood with the global community in advocating for Myanmar’s peaceful transition to democracy and aligning with the aspirations of the Myanmarese people. It said the Nagas in Myanmar, and the broader population, reject the tyranny that infringes upon their rights and freedoms.
Further, NNPG expressed vehement opposition to the forced conscription in Naga areas and the use of Naga land for military offensives against democratic defenders.
On the suspension of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar border, it said the Government of India must acknowledge the Nagas’ intrinsic need to preserve and cherish their shared heritage. The Nagas’ spirit cannot be confined by artificial borders, nor can their millennia-old history, identity, and cultural evolution be diminished by the GoI’s induced communal tensions it said.
NNPGs maintained that the Naga narrative transcends physical barriers and resonated deeply with the people, a truth that stands above the divisive narratives and physical demarcations imposed by the government of India.
Asserting that the Naga people’s history will not forget those who align with the Junta, the NNPGs strongly condemned any actions that compromise the principles of truth, justice, and federal democracy.