Angami Nagas call for boycott against those indulging in factional killings

Kohima, Sept 5 : Coming out strongly against factional killings, the Angami Naga have called upon to boycott and expel any member who is found indulging in violence or supporting or sheltering Naga militant factions.

The decision taken during the conference of Gaon Bora (GB) or of the elders of Naga tribes here recently was unanimously accepted by all. It was a landmark decision that came to be widely reported all across Nagaland.

The meeting of the Angami elders was similar to their earlier conferences, but its outcome was unusual, something for which everybody in the state had been praying for decades.

"Peace should envelop not just in Kohima, but the whole of Nagaland. We GBs and DBs are working flat out for the cause of peace till today. Ministers should also work assisted by the GBs and DBs. So our GBs should bring peace and stop bloodshed at all costs," said Visakuolie, Head, GB, Kohima.

The decision is supported by the people in the state who consider violence a major hindrance in the path of progress and establishment of permanent peace in Nagaland. "We the Gaon Boras are working for peace in our state. We are not involved with any faction. Since bloodshed is continuing in our state, our federation is doing its best for peace to prevail," said Dolhoupra, DB, member, Dimapur.

Over the years, many lives have been lost in factional killings. Now, these are taking place between different factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in an effort to maintain their hold on the commercial markets of Dimapur and in other parts of the state.

The factions who claim to represent different Naga groups are indulging in mindless violence not for any cause or ideology but to get their hands on money collected illegally from businessmen and government servants in the state. "Now in Nagaland, killing and bloodshed needs to be condemned. For peace to prevail, leaders, GBs, Village Councils should cooperate and through this, bloodshed can stop," said Neitho Miasalhou, President, Angami GBs Association, Nagaland.

The conference of GBs reflects the views and aspiration of not one particular tribe, but of all sections of the Naga society, which is looking for permanent peace and normalcy in the state. By Vibou Ganguly

ANI