Dimapur, September 12 (MExN): On a day when Naga people rallied together to pray for Naga reconciliation and in particular the much needed meeting of the highest level, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) today informed that this meeting is scheduled to take place sometime between September 18-25, 2010. The FNR however did not disclose the probable location for the summit.
Despite the recent tensions on the reconciliation front, the FNR appeared confident and upbeat by the tone of the press statement that it put out today to the media. “The realization for genuine reconciliation in the Naga context is of absolute necessity. The journey towards Reconciliation is in progress and there is no turning back!” the FNR stated.
The FNR pointed out that in the course of the last 31 months of Naga Reconciliation: A Journey of Common Hope, the need for a reconciliation meeting of the highest level of leadership of the Naga Political Groups has been repeatedly expressed by the Naga people. The FNR stated that based on this mandate given by the Naga people and with the affirmation of the three signatories of the Covenant of Reconciliation, it was informing the Naga people that the a meeting of the highest level of the NNC/FGN, GPRN/NSCN and NSCN/GPRN is scheduled to take place sometime between September 18-25, 2010.
“Heeding to the Covenant of Reconciliation and the expressed desire of the people, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation is resolute in our stand that the highest level of leadership currently based in the Naga areas must at all cost attend and consummate this Summit of Naga Reconciliation”. The FNR urged the Naga leaders to stand firm in their pledge to Naga Reconciliation and to demonstrate their personal commitment by participating in this Summit. “We ask you not to let go of this opportunity to change the tide of Naga history. The time has come for the Naga leaders to listen to the voice of the people; and the people alone will judge any Naga political group(s) that fails to attend this Summit”.
The FNR also clarified and that it understood that not all Naga political groups are signatories to the Covenant of Reconciliation. “And so we wish to make our position clear that eventually all Naga political groups should become part of the reconciliation”, it stated and assured that the reconciliation process will never exclude any political group. “Reconciliation is a process and therefore we make this appeal to the Naga political groups that are not part of the Covenant of Reconciliation, to give the Forum for Naga Reconciliation some more time for the reconciliation process to become truly inclusive of all Naga political groups, which has been our purpose”.
The FNR also called on the Naga people not to remain silent spectators at this crucial stage of the reconciliation process. It pointed out that for too long, the silence of the people has only aggravated divisions. “As it has been since its inception the Forum for Naga Reconciliation turns to the Naga people for their courage and prudence”. The FNR stated that the Naga people must “unitedly and truthfully persuade the highest level of leaderships of the Naga political groups to shed their differences, forgive one other and to reconcile on the basis of the historical and political rights of the Nagas”. The FNR urged the Naga people to seize this opportunity to insist that our Naga leaders bury the past filled with hate, bitterness and bloodshed; and to embrace a future of hope. “The time has come for the Naga people to say, there is no turning back.”
