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05/13/2006: "Speech delivered by Drs. F.A.M. Welman of the Naga International Support Center at the Houses of Parliament London during the inaugural conference of Parliamentarians for National Self Determination, PNSD."

Naga International Support Center, Nisc, www.nagalim.nl
A human rights organization

Press Release
London, May 11 2006

Speech delivered by Drs. F.A.M. Welman of the Naga International Support Center at the Houses of Parliament London during the inaugural conference of Parliamentarians for National Self Determination, PNSD.

Ladies and gentlemen

Just two weeks ago I was terribly shocked. Here in London Mr. Yongkong, an old Naga, friend had died under lonesome circumstances. He devoted his life to the cause of the Nagas to be free. I recalled the day he proudly cooked Naga food for me, while telling how in the sixties he had come to Britain to stand by A.Z. Phizo, the revered leader of the Nagas and president of the Naga National Council, who was responsible for resisting the Indian military invasion. With glittering eyes Yongkong spoke fondly of his Naga Hills, but he never returned to Nagaland. His old British passport astounded me. Amazingly behind place of birth is written Nagaland. Through his passport Nagaland is recognized as a separate entity, a nation, for it does not show India. It does not show Burma, it clearly states Nagaland. I have this passport with me so you can all see for yourself.
What is so important about Mr. Yong Kong?
Together with Mr. Phizo he stood for the Nagas to be free of domination, for Nagas too have the freedom to determine their own future, the right to self determination.
Are the Nagas not free then?
The British left, without making provisions on the status of the Nagas and emerging India assumed that the Nagas were to be part of the Union of India.
When then first Government of India asked the Nagas to join the Union of India, they answered, ‘no we would like to be left alone. We will govern ourselves.’
When the Nagas followed up on the commitment given by Mahatma Gandhi and declared their independence a day ahead of the Union of India, the new rulers did not like that. Even though a plebiscite showed that an absolute majority but in 1951 that the Nagas wanted to be free of, what to them was, foreign domination. The Indian Government was not deterred by that. Deliberations followed and can be read in detail. Here it suffices to say that Prime Minister Nehru started the war and in 1954 Indian troops invaded Nagalim, the homeland of the Nagas as opposed to Nagaland state which is just a small portion, and sealed it off. The troops have been there ever since. Nagalim was isolated from the outside world and even today visitors need to obtain (from India) a remote area permit. I can disclose that those are very hard to get, in fact I wrote a book on three attempts to enter the Forbidden land. This war has lasted 52 years. It easily is the longest running war in modern history.
What has this got to do with the British you may wonder?
Before Great Britain handed its South Asian colonies and princely states over to the, to be formed India, time and again Nagas told the British representatives that they wanted to be as free as they had been before the British –partly- colonized them. Time and again they said they did not want to be part of the Union of India. Time and again!!!
Starting in the later part of the 1900's, when just one third of the territory was occupied and colonised by the British and some Nagas peoples conceded. However, never the treaty the British produced, was signed. Later, in 1929, the Simon Commission came to hear the Nagas at the Naga Club. Again the Nagas told that commission that they wanted to be as free as the British had found them; free to govern themselves, free because the Nagas are neither culturally, historically, religiously nor ethnically related to the peoples of India. But because Britain did not provide, the then Naga National Council declared Nagaland’s independence. The United Nations received this cabled declaration but did not act on it and Britain kept silent too. As a result the international community was not informed of the situation the Nagas were caught in, should they resist the India. Because of Great Britain’s obscure but important historical role, on the pretence of Jawarhlal Neru, India assumed to rightfully have taken possession of Nagalim. The two moral and based on human rights legal questions are:

Did Great Britain own Nagalim? And, if so, on what basis did Great Britain actually hand Nagalim over to India? Let’s examine a few important points:
British documents unequivocally show that Nagalim as it was then called, the Naga Hills, was never completely controlled by the British. Just one third of the Naga areas, through the unsigned treaty just mentioned, became part of the British Empire and was officially administered. The other part -two third- were called ‘unadministered areas and the people living there free Nagas. The Nagas lived freely and without interference of the British. These areas were not surveyed let alone administered. The question to Great Britain is then:
Was Nagalim actually handed over to India? According to India, Apparently so.
How could it be when it had no jurisdiction over a large part of Nagalim?

Of course these two similar questions are for India too:
Did India accept Nagalim from Britain? Does India formally own Nagalim?
Did it formally agree to rule over the Nagas?

Consequently I like to pose the question of pre- and post colonial accountability
Almost sixty years after Great Britain released its Indian subcontinent this conflict through its negligence, but initiated by the Union of India still awaits an honourable solution.
The British kept silent all these years. It did not intervene when India brutally took possession of Nagalim. Only token statements in line with India’s policies surfaced, like this one of the visiting British High Commissioner to the so-called North-East. On the peace talks during his stay in Shillong he said:
"The political talks between the Nagas and the Government of India are in the right direction," and on the Indian Government: "that to have the North-East militants branded as terrorists by the Indian Government is unfortunate."

For Great Britain to take post colonial responsibility it is timely to speak out, show inner strength and help resolve this long standing conflict. The human suffering of Nagas and Indians has to come to an end. With respect to this I put to you:

Morally Great Britain bears responsibility to clarify the position of the Nagas up to India's independence. Let is be known that Great Britain is accountable for the status of Nagalim. Great Britain occupied, colonised and ruled over just a part of Nagalim. Why then does Britain refuse to intervene in this conflict?

Because Great Britain kept quiet about the status of the Nagas it may be responsible for more than just negligence. Considering the divide and rule politics of the Indian Government the Nagas, who were one up to 1975, due to the infamous Shillong Accord, were forcibly segregated. As a result the Naga National Council, NNC, became practically defunct its leader languished here in London as his pleas fell on deaf ears. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland, NSCN, in 1980 saved the quest for self determination by resuming the struggle the NNC had left off. As a result to the chagrin of Yong Kong the Naga Nation became divided. It is the NSCN; most of its leaders were high ranking NNC members, which eventually led the Indian government to the negotiating table, just as the NNC had been able to do in the sixties. Both NNC and NSCN withstood Indian intruders. So much so that Indian generals came to the conclusion that India could only win the war when all Nagas were annihilated. This is why in 1995 the Indian Government began to talk about the possibility of a cease fire. Military solution is not possible it was concluded and in1997 the cease fire was agreed upon.
The consecutive peace talks that followed could have been a golden opportunity for Britain to shed light on the rights of the Naga Peoples. Especially so when the Indians themselves had little knowledge about the history of the Nagas:
Why did Great Britain omit to take up this righteous role?

The Government of Britain is not alone in forsaking postcolonial responsibility.
Among other places the peace talks are held in Amsterdam, so I ask you: Why are these important talks not held in Great Britain as well?

Post colonial countries are accountable for what they did to the people they colonized.
I am a Dutchman, the Naga international Support Center, NISC, is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Government of the Netherlands, like that of Britain, after hastily abandoning its colonies did sow seeds of conflict. The people of West Papua were promised independence, but were left with the United Nations. They were, with both the blessing of the USA, The UN and the Dutch Government, delivered to the Government of Indonesia, which in turn colonised West Papua. There are many more examples of decolonization that led to the nations paying a high price when daring enough to stand up for the right to self determination.

Thinking back on the time I spent with Yong Kong and his zest for a Free Nagalim, despite the failures, I saw hope in his face. The torch now carried by the NSCN, the issue of enabling the Nagas their right to self determination against the odds of an overwhelming power, flared still after more than five decades. It is time for obscured Nagalim to come out of isolation and show the world it claims its rightful place in the international community.

- The Naga International Support Center calls on the British Government, the British Parliament, the international community to come forward and review the past in relation to this Indo-Naga conflict and consequently to protect the rights of the Nagas, primarily their right to self determination. It is high time to show post colonial responsibility

- NISC calls on the British representatives, present here and present elsewhere, to inform all concerned about the realities of the Naga Peoples and others.

- NISC calls on the governments of the international community to dialogue with the Government of India.

NISC calls on the international press to come to Nagalim to report on the atrocities that took place and were kept from public view. Get access so disputed information. Then the claim that more than 200.000 Nagas were killed due to warfare and starvation can be verified. Human Rights organization conduct fact finding missions!

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for allowing me to speak frankly to you. Let’s join hands and stand by those who, in spite of many stumbling blocks, for many years fought courageously for their freedom and have had the patience to negotiate with India. I appeal to you to stand by the representatives of the Nagas, the NSCN to contribute to an honourable solution to this long lasting but practically forgotten conflict.

Thank you for your attention.
For more information please contact the Naga International Support Center
Email nisc@nagalim.nl, website: www.nagalim.nl