‘Peace is not possible without truth and justice’

9th North East Youth Peace and Cultural Festival begins

Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 10  

Unless “our” generation stares into the face of the conflict, “we” will not be able to bring solution that will create potentialities for sustainable development in the region, Member of Legislative Assembly, Mmhonlumo Kikon said today. 

“We have not talked about it seriously,” he added, speaking as chief guest at the 9th North East Youth Peace and Cultural Festival, organized by Peace Channel and People's Forum for Peace (PFP) under the theme, ‘Building Blocks for Peace’ here today at DBDL Hall, Don Bosco Higher Secondary School campus. It was also a celebration of 9th year of Peace Channel.  

Calling upon the youth to commit themselves as the warrior of peace, he said, “We should be courageous enough to take control of our destiny and we should not allow the culture of violence and conflict to prevail in this region in our times.”  

Once committed, Kikon maintained, “We will be used or using our own geneses, our own thinking to address in our own level the various aspects to bring about changes in our region”  

Recalling the tumultuous early 1990s, he said most of young generation at that time grew up psychologically scarred during the period.  

“I must say that the culture of violence in which my generation grew up was something which has disturbed us a lot, challenged us a lot and spoke to us,” he maintained, adding his work to change the environment of violence was related to such events.  

It is in this context, he recalled a conversation with then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004 while submitting a representation on Indo-Naga peace process.  

As a young man, what was his expectation (from the peace process)? Vajpayee asked him. Kikon recalled answering that though he wants to become a poet-politician like him, but given the circumstances that he grew up and the daily harassment from the culture of violence, it was difficult and unless peace comes, he would not have the opportunity.   He further asserted that peace is not only absence of war and said the definition is changing due to his understanding of why there is conflict in the region for a long time and why we have not been able to address it so far.  

“Peace is not possible without truth and justice. That is where politics and commitment should lie towards the issue of peace,” he stated.  

Thus, whenever Kikon encounters “political player and decision maker”, he asks them about their definition of self-determination and what were the values that drive their leadership in order for him to follow them.  

“If we aspire for meaningful peace then we must live by it. We must have values which would be in harmony with that aspiration.” Else it would be aimless and a game of power struggle, which has disrupted life and people history across the world.  

He however maintained that taking the role of a peace making is not so easy, citing the instances of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi – two foremost messenger and practitioner of peace and non-violence who were assassinated.

Kikon also urged the Peace Channel to make it bigger and spread across the region saying it should not be confine to a district and state.  

“Sensitize about different culture, bring people across the region together and foster relationship interaction between various communities.” This way we can challenge the ethnocentric extremism exercised with self-perceived supremacy, he said.  

A systematic approach is needed to bring peace and a peace makers must have values which will be in harmony with the aspiration for peace, he added.    

Building blocks of peace

Reflecting on the theme, the special guest, Prof. Dr. Suresh Phathare, Director of CSRD, Ahmednagar said that blocks can be used for creating barriers as well as filling the gaps and building bridges. Negative blocks like caste, religion, discrimination, sexism, hatred and so on should be replaced with positive blocks like harmony, peace and love, he added. He encouraged the young participants who are the ambassadors of peace to be passionate and contagious in spreading peace.  

Phyobemo Lotha, UNV-DYC, NYK Dimapur said peace begins with a smile and smile lights up a room. Stating that we face an environment full of violence and tension, he said young people should play the role of agents of peace. “There is a greater need to create a culture of peace and stop conflict.”  

Earlier, Dr. Fr. C.P. Anto, Director, Peace Channel said the main objectives of the festival is to promote inter religious harmony through inter faith meet and also to preserve the cultural art forms through performance during the cultural festival.



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