NSCN-IM calls for maturity, criticizes Arambai Tenggol over Shirui Lily remarks

The NSCN-IM through a press statement on Monday reached out to the Arambai Tenggol’s Unit 58 (Cobra Team), urging restraint and maturity in the aftermath of what it described as an “unpleasant episode” triggered by a provocative statement on the ownership of Shirui Lily.

“Expressing our goodwill gesture notwithstanding the unpleasant situation,” the NSCN said it wished to convey a message “to find a perfectly sensible way out of what could be the outcome” of the controversy. The group reminded Arambai Tenggol to “go for maturity and handle the issue more objectively,” and to “be responsible enough not to create anything that dampened the social environment.”

Referring to the ongoing ethnic tensions in Manipur, the NSCN warned that “the awful air of ethnic conflict that you are deeply involved [in] has not totally disappeared yet.” It cautioned that there was “the responsibility not to provoke another ethnic tension by making reckless and impulsive statement.”

The statement further stressed that any remarks made “without any historical context is not acceptable to the Tangkhuls,” and warned that such comments only serve to open “the space for trouble makers using the social media platforms to fish in troubled water.”

Calling for better conduct going forward, the NSCN appealed to Arambai Tenggol to “learn to stand strong with the spirit of peaceful co-existence, social responsibility and integrity.”

Significantly, the NSCN also noted that Arambai Tenggol had “not responded to the ‘unqualified apology’ demanded by the Wung-Tangkhul Region of GPRN,” calling this silence “against the spirit of socio-political courtesy and the low ethical standard that can be stamped against your name.”

The message was issued by the Ministry of Information and Publicity (MIP), NSCN/GPRN.

MT