SENAPATI, July 14: The Rongmei Naga Council Manipur (RNCM) has submitted a memorandum to the NSCN (IM), seeking urgent intervention to immediately cease the construction work of the proposed German Road and Tiger Road, which traverse the Naga-inhabited areas of the Rongmei, Liangmei, and Inpui tribes in the foothills region to the west of Imphal, Manipur.
“With much obligation and most serious concern, as legitimate representatives of the Rongmei tribes in Manipur, the undersigned earnestly seek your kind attention and necessary action to the subject as cited above,” the RNCM stated in the memorandum.
The proposed German Road and Tiger Road projects, allegedly initiated by the Kuki-Zo militant group, are said to connect Churachandpur and Kangpokpi District Headquarters via Jaojangtek, Natok Kabui, Ichum Kabui, Kotlen, Waphong, and Ireng. According to the RNCM, the opening of a Suspension of Operations (SoO) camp in the region to accommodate approximately 1,000 armed cadres, along with the unacknowledged settlement of about 10 non-Manipuri households of Myanmarese nationals, has occurred with “absolute discretion” and falls well within the ancestral lands of the Rongmei, Liangmei, and Inpui Nagas.
“The strategic positioning of these historically hostile armed militants in the Eastern Corridor of the Tamengiong and Noney Districts with all the basic required supporting infrastructures, seemingly assisted by the National Security agencies through the directives of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, India, has raised a serious doubt in the role of the Indian Govt. in securing the areas to the advantages of the Kuki-Zo against the safety and security of the Nagas in the region,” the momorandum reads.
“These continued acts of dominance, intimidation, and aggression within our ancestral land is an ultimate infringement upon the right and dignity of the Nagas. The war-like formation, systematically arranged along these most strategic locations, has significantly undermined the future of the Nagas in the region,”it further reads.
RNCM categorically states that this is “an act of defiance against the legitimate authority of the Nagas and an insult to the integrity of the people as a community, which is highly provocative in nature.”
The memorandum further emphasizes: “Therefore, it is a humble representation of the people as a legitimate Nagas by birth and right, that the matter (be) considered a Nagas National Territorial Issue, requiring immediate attention, to secure the future of the Nagas as a Nation. We shall be most pleased to have your kind office prevail upon the concerned Ministry, Govt. of India, to immediately cease all construction activities as cited above to avoid a yet another death row/eventualities among communities who have otherwise lived in peace and harmony.”
