Nagaland IRB jawans reportedly stopped the Assam police personnel from setting up camp near Vikuto village under Tzürangkong Range of Mokokchung district bordering Mariani, Assam on June 29.
Mokokchung, July 1 (MExN): The United Naga Tribes Association on Border Association (UNTABA) on July 1 strongly condemned the unilateral intrusion of the Assam government inside the Naga lands and establishing camps for its armed Police and Forest personnel.
Reacting to the recent imbroglio at Vikuto village under Tsurangkong range, it accused the Assam government of making a ‘deliberate attempt’ to encroach and allow more settlements in the disputed area belts. It also alleged that that this is “nothing new but a systematic approach adopted by the Government of Assam over the years to occupy large tracts of Naga lands in the border areas.”
UNTABA recounted the ‘Interim Agreement of 1972’ , according to which Tsurangkong range or Dissoi, Dissoi Valley and Tiru Reserve Forests fall under the demarcated ‘Sector F’ under the ‘Disputed Area Belt’ (DAB) and added that this was reaffirmed in the ‘Interim Agreement of 1979’.
“In spite of the various Interim Agreements and periodic meetings between the two states, the Government of Assam has been unilaterally engaging itself in establishing new settlements all along the border lines which propelled the Merapani War in 1984 among other incidents,” the Association stated.
The Association asserted that the government of Nagaland must initiate conduct of Chief Ministerial level talks and review all the Interim Agreements immediately.
It further reminded that as long as the ‘Civil Suit No. 2 of 1988’ lies in the Supreme Court for litigation for boundary issues between the two States, the border issue is sub-judiced and therefore neither the states have the authority to alter the present status quo in any manner.
In this regard, the UNTABA urged the Nagaland government as a ‘defendant’ to immediately adopt necessary steps against its counterpart in Assam in the court of law.
The Chairperson and General Secretary UNTABA in a press statement reminded that the historical boundary between Assam and Nagaland is ‘Dhodhar Ali’ that runs along from Golaghat to Tizit sector, on which the Government of Assam has presently constructed roads named Dhodhar Ali Road.
“Until and unless this historical fact is considered as an Inter-state boundary line, the Naga people will go on pursuing the matter persistently,” the Association stated.
TNYF appeals for appointment of VGs
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the Tzürangkong Naga Youth Front (TNYF) said that it is disheartened with the Nagaland government for its lackadaisical attitude towards handling border issues.
It accused the Assam government of turning a blind eye towards the encroachment on ancestral and traditional lands and other developmental activities by ‘public from the Assam side’ ever since the establishment of the DAB along the Assam-Nagaland border.
The TNYF acknowledged the establishment of Tsutapela check-post; however, it said that the Nagaland government has failed the public in all the recent border issues.
Reminding the government of its earlier appeals to establish border outposts and appointment of Village Guard (VG) in all volatile areas within the DAB areas, TNYF said that the recent incident at Vikuto village on May 27 and June 29, 2021 is the result of the Nagaland government’s inaction.
Nonetheless, the Forum urged the State government to establish border outposts and appoint Village Guards (VGs) at the earliest in order to avoid encroachment and future border skirmishes.
