The opposition to the ongoing fencing of Indo-Myanmar border seems to be growing stronger as the United Naga Council (UNC), the Manipur based apex body of several Naga social organizations also voiced concern over the fencing and appealed all the Nagas to oppose the Central government’s move.
last week, the two Naga militant faction NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) and several other organisations in Nagaland slammed the Centre’s decision to fence the border and decided to oppose the same. Following the two outfits, Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO) and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), which is working for uniting different Naga rebel factions and splinter group of the Naga National Council (NNC), has also called upon the Naga people to “fight tooth and nail” against the attempt by the government of India and Myanmar to pursue border fencing along the international border.
“The United Naga Council (UNC) has strongly opposed the construction of border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border at Pangsha village in Tuensang district of Nagaland,” said UNC convener M Shimrey on Saturday.
“It is a great injustice committed on the Naga people. Such border fencing is bound to deprive the inherent rights of the ‘Naga family’ from communicating with each other since time immemorial,” he said adding that the move to fence would further create rift among the ‘Naga family’. He appealed everyone to thwarted the attempt by the Central Government.
He appealed to all the Naga organisations to join hands against ‘the sinister design to separate them physically, emotionally and culturally’
“Our land is contiguous and it shares traditional boundaries with other nation(s), community(s) or village(s). The Naga people will not tolerate further division of our land and people under any circumstances by any kinds of artificial barriers,” he added.
It may be mentioned here that four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km)—share a 1,643-km unfenced border with Myanmar. Besides forcing to live as citizens in different countries, the fencing would also affect over 20,000 people living in 43 villages of the Naga, Mizo, Manipuri and Arunachali tribes living on both sides of the Indo-Myanmar border.