Imphal: The United Naga Council (UNC), a Naga apex body has announced to imposed Trade Embargo in Naga areas starting midnight of Monday, marking as first step of non-cooperation movement against India Government protesting the fencing at the Indio-Myanmar border and the scrapping of the free movement regime (FMR).
The decision follows the breakdown of talks between Naga organisations led by UNC and central government representatives in New Delhi onAugust 26 over the contentious Free Movement Regime (FMR) and ongoing borderfencing along the Indo-Myanmar frontier.
“The trade embargo is the beginning of the Naga peoples’non-cooperation movement that will be relentlessly followed by many suchactions until our grievances are addressed satisfactorily,” UNC said in astatement on Monday.
The Naga body said on February 6 last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs took a decision to fence the 1,643 kmlong imaginary boundary between India-Myanmar. Following the decision a cabinetcommittee on security also approved a proposal worth Rs 31,000 crores in March, 2024.
“If and when this project is materialised, more than 1,000 km of Nagahomeland align the so called three northeastern states of India namely Manipur,Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh will be physically bifurcated, cutting all tieswithout their own people in the east, Nagas of Myanmar”, said the Naga apex body.
The FMR was introduced in 1950 and further restructured in1968 allowing cross-border movement without visas with a territorial limit to40 km which was reduced to 16 km in 2004 and then further reduced to 10 km ofthe unfenced international border. However, in February 2024 FMR was entirelysuspended, said the statement.
During the August 26 talks between UNC and Centre at the national capital, authorities said to control the illegal immigration, smuggling o drugsand proliferation of fire arms across international border abrogation of FMR and border fencing was necessitated.
UNC accused New Delhi ofdisregarding the traditional land rights of the Nagas, with fencing work already underway in Tengnoupal district of Manipur.
The Naga apex body rejected the central government’s decision calling it as arbitrarily demarcated without the consent of Nagas.
“There is no land boundary line between India and Myanmar within the Nagahomeland. Nagas will not accept any land alienation policy whatsoever.”
The organisation described the government’s actions as inhuman and a declaration of war on the Naga people, arguing that fencing and movement restrictions undermine cultural, ancestral, and community ties.
The Naga body put five demands including free, prior andinformed consent of the Naga people must be obtained for any project affectingthe Nagas and their land.
No imposition of movement restrictions along the socalled international Indo-Myanmar border; stop detention, harassment andsurveillance activities along the imaginary border areas within the Nagahomeland; abrogate the border fencing project across the Naga homeland; and pursue the INDO- NAGA peace process and focus on early settlement.
The UNC said “Trade Embargo imposed by the Nagas this time will impact everyone and may create inconveniences where verit is implemented. However, this democratic and non-violent form of agitationis the expressed desire of the aggrieved Naga people and that we hope willeventually yield the desired result in good time. It is the beginning of theNaga peoples Non Cooperation Movement that will be relentlessly followed by manysuch actions until our grievances are addressed satisfactorily.”
Various Naga bodies including Naga People’s Organisation, Senapati District Women Association, Senapati Disttrict Students’Association, Chandel Naga People’s Organisation, Joint tribes council, Manipur (apex body of Inpui, Liangmei, Rongmei and Zeme), Tangkhul Naga Long endorsed the agitation of UNC.
