NSCN-IM Muivah returns home in Manipur’s Ukhrul for a week, a first in 5 decades

IMPHAL: subject Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) superior general secretarial assistant Thuingaleng Muivah reached Manipur’s Ukhrul territory central office on Wednesday, his first visit to his hometown and village in five decades, to a rousing welcome.Hundreds of people including children turned up at Ukhrul’s Bakshi ground to welcome Muivah, who leads the top insurgent group NSCN (IM), which entered into a ceasefire with the Union government in 1997. Muivah, who picked up arms to join an armed struggle in 1964, thanked the people and the governments in New Delhi and Kohima, apart from civil society and church bodies, for the warm welcome.Muivah, the principal negotiator in the Naga peace talks with the Centre, is likely to stay in Somdal village for a week before departing for Dimapur on October 29.“It feels incredible to be here with you today… I started my revolutionary journey sixty years ago, right here in Tangkhul country. I’m grateful to God for watching over me and bringing me back home to Somdal,” he said, listing the key moments: the 1997 ceasefire, the Amsterdam Joint Communiqué in 2002, and the Framework Agreement in 2015.These, he said, were proof that Nagalim’s history and sovereignty were real, and must be respected. He reiterated that the demand for the Naga national flag and its Constitution weren’t up for negotiations in the continuing dialogue with the Centre.“The Naga people have defended our sovereignty for seventy-nine years,” he said. “It’s our duty to protect our birthright. Turning away from it is a curse,” he said, reiterating that they would “keep pushing for final settlement, ground in framework agreement, no matter what”.Various Manipur groups including the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), Meitei Leepun (ML), National People’s Party (NPP) welcomed Muivah’s visit.In a statement, Meitei Leepun said, “we welcome Muivah’s visit to his birth place, his visit is not only an inspiration to the Naga people but a visionary figure to the communities.”NPP Manipur unit vice president, Y Joukumar earlier told reporters that “Muivah’s visit to Manipur should be welcomed” unlike the past “as he was visiting his birthplace after decades in peace.”To be sure, the warm reception that Muivah received on Wednesday was a sharp contrast to the protests that erupted in Manipur when he last tried to visit his hometown in 2010. That visit was formally opposed by the Manipur government at the time over the NSCN (IM) demand for integrating the Naga-inhabited areas in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur into a greater Nagaland that it demanded despite opposition from the respective state governments.