UNLF appeals to Nagas not to ''blindly follow NSCN(IM)''

Imphal, Jun 25 (UNI) The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), a proscribed outfit in Manipur, has lashed out at another militant organisation in Nagaland - the NSCN(IM).

UNLF publicity secretary Ksh Yoiheiba said, ''The NSCN(IM) has inherent contradictions between its policy and goal, wide gap between theory and practice, wrong priorities provoking opposition all around instead of fighting the common enemy together, and refuses to recognise the basic unity of the region.'' He also said the NSCN(IM) was acting as the ''self-appointed torch-bearer of the Naga struggle.'' ''The ten year old peace talks with the Government of India, which have yielded no results so far, testify that the NSCN(IM) is devoid of consistent policy to lead the Naga people to its goal,'' he said.

He claimed that the NSCN(IM) was now disintegrating and the ''illusions with which it tried to pull the Naga people along its line have evaporated, primarily because of its ethno-exclusive ideology.'' The UNLF said the Naga people will once again display their traditional wisdom and judgment in rejecting the illusions of the NSCN(IM) and bring back the Naga struggle on the right track in the spirit of fraternal co-existence among all the people of the region.

UNI NS DPM SS0955