KOHIMA/IMPHAL: Despite the Centre's repeated requests to Thuingaleng Muivah, asking him to postpone his proposed visit to Somdal in Manipur's Ukhrul district for now, the NSCN(I-M) general secretary seems to be in no mood to backtrack.
Instead, Naga leaders and activists blamed the Centre for the crisis in Manipur and parts of Nagaland. They accused New Delhi of backtracking from its earlier stand of giving a go ahead to Muivah on his Somdal plan.
"Muivah, who is camping at Viswema village in Nagaland since May 5, is keen on visiting Somdal. No one can prevent him from visiting his ancestral home (in Somdal) after over four decades. We are awaiting a response from the Indian government," an NSCN(I-M) functionary said.
The Centre had on several occasions requested Muivah to defer his Somdal visit till there was a "conducive atmosphere" in Manipur, which is in turmoil ever since the state government banned the NSCN(I-M) chief's trip to his native place. New Delhi had also deputed its interlocutor for Naga talks, R S Pandey, and Union home secretary G K Pillai to convince the militant leader to put off his visit.
Reacting sharply against the Manipur government's decision to prevent Muivah from visiting Somdal, many Naga civil bodies have threatened to sever its ties with the Okram Ibobi Singh dispensation. "We will sever all relationships with the Manipur government and organizations and individuals, who collude with it, until our history and situation are acknowledged," read a statement issued by the United Naga Council (UNC), an umbrella organization of the Naga groups.
Tension along the inter-state boundary had reached a flashpoint on May 6 when two Naga students were killed as Manipur Police fired in the Mao Gate area to disperse a mob demonstrating against the Ibobi government. Condemning the incident, the UNC said, "It was a meticulously calculated military crackdown to undermine the rights of the Nagas."