Dimapur, September 25: The Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPGs) has appealed to the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and the Sumi Hoho to ensure that all stakeholders are included in the ongoing efforts for a decisive and historic discourse on the Naga political issue.
In a statement released by its media cell, the WC recalled the reconciliation journey, from the signing of the Covenant of Reconciliation (CoR) on March 18, 2009 to the Lenten Agreement on March 28, 2014, praising the FNR led by its Convener Rev. Dr. Wati Aier and colleagues for igniting genuine hope of Naga unity and reconciliation in the hearts of the people.
However, the WC strongly criticized NSCN (IM) leaders for turning reconciliatory documents into “political propaganda.” Referring to the Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015, the WC said that its live telecast “betrayed CoR signatory partners and the Naga people in general,” as apex tribal bodies, village chiefs, custodians of Naga customary laws, FNR, and civil society organizations “were all taken for a ride.”
The WC further alleged that for the next seven years, the FNR “fell eerily silent, remained dormant and incognito,” a situation it attributed to “insincerity and betrayal to our common journey by a major stakeholder.”
During this period, other civil society groups such as the Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC), Nagaland GB Federation (NGBF), Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC), mothers’ organizations, Nagaland Joint Christian Forum, Senior Citizens Forum, Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNCCI), ex-parliamentarians’ forum, and intellectual groups took the initiative to analyze and distinguish “illusion from practical reality on the Naga issue.” The WC noted that delegations from NTC and NGBF even met the Prime Minister in early 2017, marking what it described as “significant progress.”
Welcoming the revival of FNR’s initiatives, the WC said: “WC is grateful that FNR has returned after a long hiatus, continuing the journey of common hope with renewed vigor, and this is duly appreciated.”
It cited the September Joint Accordant of September 14, 2022, in which parties agreed to form the Council of Naga Relationships and Cooperation to explore realistic ways forward based on Naga historical and political rights. The WC also recalled the January 14, 2023 declaration, “Nagas are moving ahead,” in which leaders committed to unconditional collaboration for resolving the Naga political issue with the Government of India. However, the WC pointed out that the NSCN (IM) later disowned the statement, and on August 3, 2025, NSCN (IM) Chairman Q. Tuccu declared that working with NNPGs was a “dangerous proposition,” insisting that the “Framework Agreement and Agreed Position are poles apart with no meeting point.” The WC said FNR neither applauded nor rebuked these developments.
Commenting on the current political situation, the WC said: “Nagaland is heavily burdened by more than twenty Naga political organizations. Reality is, there are only two Naga political groups: those who want an honorable and acceptable Indo-Naga political solution, and those who wish to prolong the conflict for their own interest and benefit.”
The WC has now appealed to the FNR and Sumi Hoho to defer their upcoming Zunheboto meeting by a week or two and to invite every major Naga civil society body for a “fruitful discourse in the spirit of acceptance and oneness.” It cautioned that entrusting responsibility to “a single individual or a few members risks stagnation and indecisiveness at this crucial hour.”
Concluding its statement, the WC reiterated that the principles of the Covenant of Reconciliation and the Journey of Common Hope “can and should be extended to all apex civil societies, not limited to Naga political groups.”
