Mokokchung DC issues travel advisory
Written records will speak for itself, says UNTABA
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 16
The proposed indefinite economic blockade called by the Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) will kick off at 8:00 am on November 17.
Alleging unabated illegal encroachment of land in Karbi Anglong district by ‘Naga miscreants’ and the failure of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and the Assam government to protect their land, the KSA initiated the economic blockade to Nagaland.
Speaking to The Morung Express on Monday, KSA President Simeon Rongphar reiterated that the blockade is not against the Nagas but a call for the Assam and Nagaland Governments to hold proper talks on the border issue. So far, the association has not received any feelers from either governments, he said.
The association is ready to call off the blockade if there is a positive overture from the government, he added.
Meanwhile, Mokokchung Deputy Commissioner Limawabang Jamir has advised all commuters travelling from Mokokchung to different parts of the state to avoid travelling via Assam.
In a travel advisory on Monday, the DC cited ‘the evolving volatile situation along the Assam Nagaland border at Mariani,’ and advised commuters to take the Wokha-Tseminyu road till the situation improves.
The United Naga Tribes Association on Border Areas (UNTABA) on Monday said that “until and unless a complete restoration of Naga lands is fulfilled, there can be no final Indo-Naga political solution.”
The statement gains significance against the backdrop of the Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) calling for an ‘Economic blockade of Nagaland’ starting November 17, alleging unabated illegal encroachment of land in Karbi Anglong district by ‘Naga miscreants.’
In a press release received here today, the UNTABA Chairman and General Secretary stated that “The KSA should not allow itself to be misguided by nefarious elements but as a student body should act responsibly and be a bridge during these troubled times.”
There are written records which will speak for itself, it maintained, stating its position on the border issue.
On the purported move of launching an economic blockade by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) against the alleged encroachment at Desoi Valley by the Naga people, the UNTABA stated that “the historical and traditional Assam-Naga boundary lies at Dhodar Ali/Naga Bund (now Dhodar Ali Road) near Golaghat stretching upwards to the tri-junction of the boundary of Assam-Nagaland-Arunachal Pradesh. History can never be altered.”
“On these issues, the UNTABA had submitted a representation to the Prime Minister of India on March 2, 2016 and the copies have been made available to all the negotiating parties including the NSCN/GPRN, WC/NNPG and the Interlocutor RN Ravi on various occasions. RN Ravi assured UNTABA that an ‘Independent and empowered Boundary Commission’ shall be constituted based on the Political settlement. It is hoped that the negotiating parties shall keep this perspective in mind while settling the Naga issue,” it said while reiterating that no final Indo-Naga political solution can be made until a complete restoration of Naga lands is fulfilled.
