
Mokokchung, August 29 (MExN): The Ao Lanur Telongjem (ALT) today conveyed its firm endorsement of what it termed the “historic Ungma Statement” made on August 23 during the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR)-led meeting under the banner of the Council of Naga Cooperation and Relationship (CNCR).
The coming together of 34 Tribal Hohos along with 16 Naga Political Groups, hosted by Ao Senden, marks a new beginning towards reconciliation with a pledge to “pursue a shared common political vision,” it stated.
In a statement, the ALT pointed out that the “fragmentation and division” of Naga society by the powers that be and leaders with a myopic outlook have divided the Nagas on all fronts.
The watchful eyes of the youth and the upcoming generation will hold leaders of NPGs and Tribal Hohos accountable for failing to rise to the challenges when it is within their power to bring about the necessary change at this critical crossroad of transition for Naga society, it added.
Accordingly, the Telongjem noted that the Ungma Statement should be remembered as the day of the Naga people choosing “convergence over fragmentation, vision over rhetoric, and future over fear.”
“What we now need are Naga leaders with moral integrity and wisdom, coupled with courage and statesmanship,” it added.
Among others, the August 23 meeting reiterated an “earnest and unified call” that all NPGs, with the clear-cut support of the Tribe Hohos, will “converge at a Common Ground to articulate and pursue a shared political vision on the basis of the Naga peoples’ historical and political rights.”
The representatives of the NPGs, Tribal Hohos, and the FNR also declared the ‘Ungma Statement’ as a binding “affirmation of our shared commitment to the dignified wholeness of the Naga people.”