Naga Hoho executives disown president’s statement on peace talks

A group of Naga Hoho office bearers has publicly distanced itself from a recent press statement by the organization’s President, titled “It’s Time to Wrap Up Naga Peace Talk,” published in the Nagaland Post on February 26, 2025.

In a press communique issued on March 17, Vice-President David Boyes, General Secretary Atoho K Kiho, and Speaker Pauheu Newme asserted that they were “reluctantly compelled” to issue the statement in response to what they deemed an unauthorized and unilateral pronouncement by the President.

According to the signatories, the statement contained “opinions and assertions on contentious Naga Political Issues, some of which are tantamount to imposition upon the negotiating parties.”

They emphasized that while the Naga Hoho executive meeting had agreed on the “need for a unified approach to the Naga Political Issue paving way for a common draft that incorporates both the signed agreements for a final settlement,” there was “no discussion on competencies or the need to issue a public statement on them at this juncture.”

The executives further stated that the President issued the statement “without any prior information or notice with any of the core members of the executives.” Calling this “not the first instance of such unilateral public statements,” they expressed concern over the pattern of decisions being made without consensus.

The communique also revealed that the President had been “informally as well as formally advised to retract the press statement under scrutiny as a personal opinion and not a collective Naga Hoho statement” but had “failed to do so.”

Consequently, Boyes, Kiho, and Newme declared that they were “compelled to disown the Press Statement ‘It’s Time to Wrap Up Naga Peace Talk’ as a personal opinion of the President and not the collective position of the Naga Hoho.”

In conclusion, they stated that “for all matters regarding this unsavory affair, the executives will be subservient to and abide by the decision handed out by the Naga Hoho Federal Assembly to be convened shortly” and affirmed that they “will not be engaging in any public debate through press or social media.”

MT