Zhimomi cast doubts on FNR’s role in Naga peace process

DIMAPUR— Convenor of Working Committee, Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPG), N Kitovi Zhimomi, has cast doubts on the role of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) in the Naga peace process and its effort to bring reconciliation among various Naga political groups.

Alluding to the Framework Agreement (FA) between the Government of India and NSCN (IM) signed on August 3, 2015, Zhimomi, who is also the ‘Ato Kilonser’ of GPRN/NSCN, in a press release, stated that the FA took the Nagas by surprise, but wondered if the FNR too was “kept in the dark.”

“At that point of time, the immediate question which struck the stakeholders was, did FNR orchestrate the entire Naga reconciliation process to facilitate GoI and one Naga negotiating group to exclusively seal the deal, without consulting the genuine stakeholders back home?” he asked.

He also wondered if the Covenant of Reconciliation, Journey of Common Hope, Lanten Agreement etc., initiated by the FNR, were all part of politics to convince the GoI into believing that Nagas have reconciled in letter and spirit. “Was the GoI misled and the Naga people fooled?” he asked.

“Were all the top leaderships’ prayer programmes, signed declarations for forgiveness and proposals for shared future simply to spin an inclusive narrative but inwardly preparing ground to sign exclusive FA in 2015? We live in a cruel world and that is a reality. The non-transparent protocol of FA enforced till today is what the Naga people cannot fathom,” Zhimomi added.

Maintaining that a political document cannot be kept away from the Naga people, he said the non-disclosure of FA has raised multiple questions but nobody answered, and that it has hurt the Naga sentiments.

“If Rev. Dr. Wati Aier, as FNR Convener, has a comprehensive post-solution political and administrative blueprint of FA, he may declare it to the Naga people for deliberation and general acceptance. Political documents, in the Naga context, must first pass the scrutiny of the people,” he said. “I hope FNR will remain a moral and spiritual force, a keeper of Naga conscience, stand eyeball to eyeball to all creatures, big or small, in the Naga Ark. For the sake of future generations, there should not be any spell of silence,” he added.