Kohima, February 22 (MExN): A humble journey undertaken by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation a year ago appealed for reconciliation amongst various warring Naga “political” groups. It no longer seems a cry in the wilderness as thousands of the Naga public today raised their hands and endorsed ‘reconciliation’ as the key to the ‘Journey of common hope.’
Naga public representing more than 40 Naga tribes from various Naga-inhabited areas converged here at Kohima local ground Sunday on the concluding day of the Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace. At the event, they gave their commitment to the “daunting but liberating journey towards reconciliation.”
Representatives from the Naga Hoho, Nagaland Baptist Church Council, Quakers Group from Britain, United Naga Council, Naga Council Dimapur and the Naga “national” groups – NNC/FGN (Singya group), NNC (Senka group), “GPRN/NSCN” and “Naga National Workers People Support Group”, delivered solidarity messages. Solidarity messages were also received from the American Baptist Convention, Baptist World Alliance, Baptist International Ministry and former US President Jimmy Carter.
At the Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace in Kohima, Convener of Forum for Naga Reconciliation Rev. Dr. Wati Aier and others intercede as participants raise hands in agreement that the Naga groups reconcile.
The convener of Forum for Naga Reconciliation Rev. Dr. Wati Aier who read out the ‘Statement of Commitment’ in his keynote address declared that the “Naga spirit is alive and kicking”. Recent trends in Naga history have shown signs of hope, he said.
Informing that all the Naga “national” groups have given their commitment to reconciliation, Rev. Wati said “the campaign for a common voice and movement towards Naga reconciliation has set its pace; we are traveling on this road. Nagas are no longer at the crossroads, as we were a year ago.”
He however admitted that the path to reconciliation is strewn with difficulties and to overcome misgivings, apprehensions and uneasiness among the Nagas, the church leader said Nagas need to trust each other and grow together.
“Our faith in God becomes real only as we recognize and respect one another as man and woman after God’s image” Rev. Aier said. On ‘reconciliation,’ Dr. Wati said the word has been misused and misunderstood and, most often, appeasement was substituted for reconciliation.
“We long for reconciliation with our ‘enemies,’ but we avoid the confession of our guilt and wrongs. So, who will believe those who talk of reconciliation with others yet do not themselves practice it? For this reason, the common Naga questions ‘reconciliation,’ for they see everywhere the un-truthful practice of ‘appeasement’ and ‘propaganda,” he reminded.
In the social, cultural and political context of the Nagas, Rev. Wati said, reconciliation means a new Naga destiny with God and one another. It also means that Naga nationalism was founded on the “historical and political rights of the Nagas” by the founding Naga fathers and mothers.
“To demonstrate, to practice and to preserve Naga freedom through reconciliation, therefore, at this time in our history, means to preserve the long breath of hope in solidarity, between hate and anger, and between reaction and revolution,” he said.
Giving a clarion call that the Naga peoples can be made free through reconciliation, Rev. Wati said “this secret is our hope for a divided Naga house. We must make the cry of freedom out of the depths of the oppressed Nagahood, and answer the call of reconciliation with a resolute will.”
He cautioned that Nagas must guard their rights jealously and with vigilance from all forms of external and internal divisive and disruptive acts.
“We must return to the vision of the ‘historical and political rights of the Nagas’ or our children and generations that will follow will continue to suffer because of the commitments we have not kept,” he said.
A free will offering was also held in today’s convention, the proceeds of which would go towards the cost of organizing the convention. The convention was initiated by forum along with support from mass-based Naga organizations.
Other highlights of today’s convention included songs performed by choirs of Ministers’ Hill Baptist Church, Kohima, Sumi Baptist Church, Kohima, Tizu Area and special songs on reconciliation by Oriental Theological Seminary, Bade.
Well-Known Naga folk singer Reuben Mashangva also entertained the gathering with a song on reconciliation written by Rev. Wati Aier.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by member of the forum Rev Pughoto Aye. The event commenced with scripture recitation and prayer by Rev. Hokey Kaikho, executive secretary, Mao Baptist Church Council.
A statement of commitment
The Naga people have begun the daunting but liberating journey towards reconciliation. The desire of the Nagas to enable A Common Hope in which all people walk hand in hand together to create a shared future is paramount. If Nagas are to build a future of hope for coming generations the time for callous talk is over; and the time for active and decisive steps towards reconciliation is now.
As Nagas that yearn to see our people reconciled and free from all internal and external conditions that suppress our dignity, we hereby make this Statement of Commitment that;
1. Reconciliation is a praxis of the being and doing. Therefore all Naga people and Naga organizations are urged to genuinely and honestly implement the values of reconciliation;
2. Reconciliation is about renewal and to enable healing at all levels of society, which must take place at the highest level of all Naga political groups on the basis of the historical and political rights of the Nagas;
3. The human search for solution and the human need for reconciliation are simultaneous processes; and therefore any political process that seeks to realize and exercise Naga rights must be inclusive in nature and
4. The realization of Naga reconciliation will hasten the will of the people. Therefore it is the responsibility of every Naga to sensibly respond and demonstrate their active solidarity and participation for Naga reconciliation.
Voice of the people is supreme: Khaplang
Dimapur, February 22 (MExN): In the backdrop of the Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace, chairman of “GPRN/NSCN” SS Khaplang today said the voice of the people is supreme. Practically, this means solution without the consensus of the people is a mere wish, he said in a message today. Expressing optimism in the backdrop of the convention that the next few days would be some of the most defining periods towards the goal of reconciliation, Khaplang today made a clarion against disregarding the cry of the people.
“I believe Revolution begins from the mind of the people and not from the barrel of guns. Fear becomes a mere tool to delay the inevitable. The will of the people is supreme. A leader who fails to heed the voice of the people becomes a people’s tyrant. Such politics become impractical” Khaplang stated in his message. He also reminded leaders opposing the cry of the people, that they will only become “recluses in their own rigid world”. “Let us not become victims of impractical philosophy or principles” he advised.
Pointing to the decades of blood, tears and strife, Khaplang said physical and emotional wounds shall remain. But, he said, living in that bitterness only prolongs the bitterness against fellowmen and brethren. “No nation can survive by killing its youth. It is time to stitch the severed state of our nation. I have emotional scars, I have physical scars, I have hurt and I have been hurt beyond tolerance but to dwell on the bitter past only prolongs my bitterness against my fellow brothers” he said. Asserting “to do away with” it, Khaplang appealed to all “my Naga comrades everywhere to work as servants of the Naga nation and not as soldiers ready to kill”.
Pointing to the supreme sanction in the voice of the people, Khaplang said “a solution without consensus of all Nagas is a mere wish”. What the Nagas are witnessing today is further fragmentation of their society owing to inflexibility and rigidity “of our earthly wisdom”, Khaplang said. Khaplang also hopes for healing that God will work his miracles on the Nagas.
“I have fought and struggled with enemies of the Nagas for a major part of my life. Regretfully, killing among the Naga brothers is most painful” he said.
“Amidst the tall claims of my fellow Naga brothers on the Indo-Naga political issue, evidently, the Government of India has not raised its eyebrows in the last ten years. This is self explanatory and therefore I remind all Nagas once again that any political settlement with the Government of India is subject to which path we Nagas decide to walk today” he said.
“My dear Nagas, there is no freedom in an intolerant and divided society” he reminded while reminding that future Naga generations await “our pragmatic choice today”.
Khaplang has expressed appreciation to the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the Naga Hoho and its constituent units, Quakers Eastern Naga People’s Organization and its constituent units, Naga Christian Forum, DB & GBs’ forum, Naga Students Federation, Naga People’s Movements for Human Rights and the Naga Mother’s Association and others who stand in solidarity with the Nagas.
Source: The Morung Express
.::. All my articles can be view here: MELTED HEARTS .::.
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Naga public representing more than 40 Naga tribes from various Naga-inhabited areas converged here at Kohima local ground Sunday on the concluding day of the Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace. At the event, they gave their commitment to the “daunting but liberating journey towards reconciliation.”
Representatives from the Naga Hoho, Nagaland Baptist Church Council, Quakers Group from Britain, United Naga Council, Naga Council Dimapur and the Naga “national” groups – NNC/FGN (Singya group), NNC (Senka group), “GPRN/NSCN” and “Naga National Workers People Support Group”, delivered solidarity messages. Solidarity messages were also received from the American Baptist Convention, Baptist World Alliance, Baptist International Ministry and former US President Jimmy Carter.
At the Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace in Kohima, Convener of Forum for Naga Reconciliation Rev. Dr. Wati Aier and others intercede as participants raise hands in agreement that the Naga groups reconcile. The convener of Forum for Naga Reconciliation Rev. Dr. Wati Aier who read out the ‘Statement of Commitment’ in his keynote address declared that the “Naga spirit is alive and kicking”. Recent trends in Naga history have shown signs of hope, he said.
Informing that all the Naga “national” groups have given their commitment to reconciliation, Rev. Wati said “the campaign for a common voice and movement towards Naga reconciliation has set its pace; we are traveling on this road. Nagas are no longer at the crossroads, as we were a year ago.”
He however admitted that the path to reconciliation is strewn with difficulties and to overcome misgivings, apprehensions and uneasiness among the Nagas, the church leader said Nagas need to trust each other and grow together.
“Our faith in God becomes real only as we recognize and respect one another as man and woman after God’s image” Rev. Aier said. On ‘reconciliation,’ Dr. Wati said the word has been misused and misunderstood and, most often, appeasement was substituted for reconciliation.
“We long for reconciliation with our ‘enemies,’ but we avoid the confession of our guilt and wrongs. So, who will believe those who talk of reconciliation with others yet do not themselves practice it? For this reason, the common Naga questions ‘reconciliation,’ for they see everywhere the un-truthful practice of ‘appeasement’ and ‘propaganda,” he reminded.
In the social, cultural and political context of the Nagas, Rev. Wati said, reconciliation means a new Naga destiny with God and one another. It also means that Naga nationalism was founded on the “historical and political rights of the Nagas” by the founding Naga fathers and mothers.
“To demonstrate, to practice and to preserve Naga freedom through reconciliation, therefore, at this time in our history, means to preserve the long breath of hope in solidarity, between hate and anger, and between reaction and revolution,” he said.
Giving a clarion call that the Naga peoples can be made free through reconciliation, Rev. Wati said “this secret is our hope for a divided Naga house. We must make the cry of freedom out of the depths of the oppressed Nagahood, and answer the call of reconciliation with a resolute will.”
He cautioned that Nagas must guard their rights jealously and with vigilance from all forms of external and internal divisive and disruptive acts.
“We must return to the vision of the ‘historical and political rights of the Nagas’ or our children and generations that will follow will continue to suffer because of the commitments we have not kept,” he said.
A free will offering was also held in today’s convention, the proceeds of which would go towards the cost of organizing the convention. The convention was initiated by forum along with support from mass-based Naga organizations.
Other highlights of today’s convention included songs performed by choirs of Ministers’ Hill Baptist Church, Kohima, Sumi Baptist Church, Kohima, Tizu Area and special songs on reconciliation by Oriental Theological Seminary, Bade.
Well-Known Naga folk singer Reuben Mashangva also entertained the gathering with a song on reconciliation written by Rev. Wati Aier.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by member of the forum Rev Pughoto Aye. The event commenced with scripture recitation and prayer by Rev. Hokey Kaikho, executive secretary, Mao Baptist Church Council.
A statement of commitment
The Naga people have begun the daunting but liberating journey towards reconciliation. The desire of the Nagas to enable A Common Hope in which all people walk hand in hand together to create a shared future is paramount. If Nagas are to build a future of hope for coming generations the time for callous talk is over; and the time for active and decisive steps towards reconciliation is now.
As Nagas that yearn to see our people reconciled and free from all internal and external conditions that suppress our dignity, we hereby make this Statement of Commitment that;
1. Reconciliation is a praxis of the being and doing. Therefore all Naga people and Naga organizations are urged to genuinely and honestly implement the values of reconciliation;
2. Reconciliation is about renewal and to enable healing at all levels of society, which must take place at the highest level of all Naga political groups on the basis of the historical and political rights of the Nagas;
3. The human search for solution and the human need for reconciliation are simultaneous processes; and therefore any political process that seeks to realize and exercise Naga rights must be inclusive in nature and
4. The realization of Naga reconciliation will hasten the will of the people. Therefore it is the responsibility of every Naga to sensibly respond and demonstrate their active solidarity and participation for Naga reconciliation.
Voice of the people is supreme: Khaplang
Dimapur, February 22 (MExN): In the backdrop of the Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace, chairman of “GPRN/NSCN” SS Khaplang today said the voice of the people is supreme. Practically, this means solution without the consensus of the people is a mere wish, he said in a message today. Expressing optimism in the backdrop of the convention that the next few days would be some of the most defining periods towards the goal of reconciliation, Khaplang today made a clarion against disregarding the cry of the people.
“I believe Revolution begins from the mind of the people and not from the barrel of guns. Fear becomes a mere tool to delay the inevitable. The will of the people is supreme. A leader who fails to heed the voice of the people becomes a people’s tyrant. Such politics become impractical” Khaplang stated in his message. He also reminded leaders opposing the cry of the people, that they will only become “recluses in their own rigid world”. “Let us not become victims of impractical philosophy or principles” he advised.
Pointing to the decades of blood, tears and strife, Khaplang said physical and emotional wounds shall remain. But, he said, living in that bitterness only prolongs the bitterness against fellowmen and brethren. “No nation can survive by killing its youth. It is time to stitch the severed state of our nation. I have emotional scars, I have physical scars, I have hurt and I have been hurt beyond tolerance but to dwell on the bitter past only prolongs my bitterness against my fellow brothers” he said. Asserting “to do away with” it, Khaplang appealed to all “my Naga comrades everywhere to work as servants of the Naga nation and not as soldiers ready to kill”.
Pointing to the supreme sanction in the voice of the people, Khaplang said “a solution without consensus of all Nagas is a mere wish”. What the Nagas are witnessing today is further fragmentation of their society owing to inflexibility and rigidity “of our earthly wisdom”, Khaplang said. Khaplang also hopes for healing that God will work his miracles on the Nagas.
“I have fought and struggled with enemies of the Nagas for a major part of my life. Regretfully, killing among the Naga brothers is most painful” he said.
“Amidst the tall claims of my fellow Naga brothers on the Indo-Naga political issue, evidently, the Government of India has not raised its eyebrows in the last ten years. This is self explanatory and therefore I remind all Nagas once again that any political settlement with the Government of India is subject to which path we Nagas decide to walk today” he said.
“My dear Nagas, there is no freedom in an intolerant and divided society” he reminded while reminding that future Naga generations await “our pragmatic choice today”.
Khaplang has expressed appreciation to the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the Naga Hoho and its constituent units, Quakers Eastern Naga People’s Organization and its constituent units, Naga Christian Forum, DB & GBs’ forum, Naga Students Federation, Naga People’s Movements for Human Rights and the Naga Mother’s Association and others who stand in solidarity with the Nagas.
Source: The Morung Express
.::. All my articles can be view here: MELTED HEARTS .::.
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