Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
On this auspicious day I give my revolutionary salute to all the fallen comrades and greetings to my beloved fellow countrymen and all of you who are gathered here in the precious name of our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ.
Countrymen, the reality that must be accepted is that the global political map was drawn and redrawn and it is in the process of redrawing. Nothing stands still and everything moves forward; peoples and nations too grow. The British Empire embraced the present India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Burma which later emerged into nation-states on the basis of the universal principal of right to self-determination. There are still peoples and nations who must be liberated from domination and we can assure you that such aspirations are supported by many including the Unrepresented Nations and People’s Organization (UNPO).
The foundation of the Naga nation is laid on the solid ground of trust in God and in the Universal principle of right of self-determination. Any organizations that is not founded on these two fundamental principles or who has betrayed them are like a house that is build upon the sand. Secondly, one cannot claim leadership. Leadership and authority comes from the will of the people and God. Therefore, leadership should be anointed by the Lord and have the goodwill of the people. The Lord said to Abraham that his promise would be traced in the line of Isaac, son of the free woman and not that of the slave woman. We believe in the truth that everything comes to pass according to and through the will of the Almighty God. Decades ago our fathers declares that Nagalim would be for Christ.
There are some people who talk of picking up solution with sword; some others talk of solution to be hammered out with the help of some powers from distant shores and a few spineless and faithless people say Naga can never reach their destination. But to the revolutionary Naga people the deciding factor is the people who are faithful to the cause and the word of God. The Lord says, “He makes nations great and destroys them. He enlarges nations and guides them” we take the word of God with us into the battle fields and also in the negotiating table. We believe we will overcome one day.
As mandated we have been faithful to the cause working in the east, in the west and everywhere. In our humble efforts we have not failed in any of the confrontations we have faced. But while we are heavily engaged in the cause, people with vested interest have been sabotaging the historic movement of the people on any pretext. They went even to the extent of shouting against payment of taxes to the nation. We will not remain silent when mobs are allowed to take liberty against the aspiration of the nation. However, we are willing to listen to the grievances of the people.
We give our heartfelt gratitude to all the support groups from different parts of the world. We are indeed indebted to you all for your priceless constant support to our cause. We shall ever value what they have done for the Nagas.
All peoples have their own history. Nagas too have their own unique history which is now officially recognized by the government of India. Our history speaks about our identity, land, culture, religion and politics. And that it cannot be twisted by any force or power however great it may be. The Meiteis and others too have their own histories, which we respect. We are for peaceful co-existence with our neighbours based on the principle of mutual recognition of right and respect that sustain a harmonious inter-dependent relationship.
Countrymen, the Indo-Naga peace process has completed 17 years and both the parties are for an all out honourable solution. There are difficulties for both, but we have to arrive at some meeting point in order to realize a permanent political solution. The NSCN has come as close as possible but they cannot go beyond the limit that amounts to selling off the historical and political rights of their people. If realistic steps are not taken, anything can happen at any time. Therefore, alertness is a must and we all ought to be prepared for any eventuality or even get ready for the worst.
Kuknalim.