The NSCN/GPRN (Yung Aung) has issued a sharp condemnation of the Myanmar military junta’s ongoing forced conscription drive in the Naga Self-Administered Zone (NSAZ), warning that such actions pose a “heavy threat to Naga civilians” and could further destabilize the eastern Naga region.
In a statement addressed to the medias across Nagaland, Col. (Retd.) Joseph Lamkang, Kilonser of the group’s Ministry of Information and Publicity (MIP), stated, “Presently the Myanmar Junta has started forced conscription in the Naga Self Administered Zone (NSAZ) causing huge confusion to the eastern Naga people. The Eastern Nagas and the NSCN strongly condemns it.”
According to the group, “Once again, the Nagas are made to stand at a critical crossroad, facing the same choice,” referring to the recurrence of armed pressure on civilians in the Naga region. The NSCN/GPRN (YA) warned that the military junta’s actions constitute a violation of both the collective will of the Nagas and international legal norms.
The NSCN claimed that the military has begun distributing flyers to enforce the conscription law, reflecting “blatant disregard for the collective stand of the Nagas.” The group described the move as shocking and disappointing, noting that “no one knows better than the Nagas themselves about the consequences that will unfold from the aftermath.”
Reports from the region indicate that “Junta soldiers and authorities in the NSAZ have been compiling lists and forcibly apprehending young people in all townships, including Khamti and Homlin,” which has triggered “widespread panic and insecurity among Naga public.”
The group emphasized its long-standing position of neutrality in Myanmar’s internal conflict. “Ever since the Myanmar political conflict started, the NSCN/GPRN have clearly conveyed our non-interference stand to both the conflicting parties not to destabilize the Naga territory,” it stated, recalling the trauma still borne by Eastern Nagas from past atrocities.
Reiterating its stance on sovereignty, the NSCN said, “The Nagas have never accepted the suzerainty of India and Myanmar over the Naga country. It is precisely because of their unique historical and political condition that Nagas stand in opposition to any law which threatens their way of life.”
The group called the conscription drive “a direct threat on our national movement” and stated that “our resistance is just and legal.”
It described the junta’s policy as “brutal” and designed “only to coerce Nagas to take part in the war as human shields,” which it says is “a grave human rights violation.”
The statement also criticized unnamed Naga groups allegedly working in collusion with the Myanmar regime. “Some corrupt Naga groups are actively working hand in gloves with the Junta by playing a win-win tactics to gain affection and patronage,” the NSCN alleged, calling their actions “a huge blunder against their own people.”
“If Nagas feel unsafe or threatened in their own land, they will be compelled to stand up and defend themselves,” the group warned, adding that “Nagas will unite to ensure that our youths are not used as instruments of war.”
Calling on the Myanmar junta and its “proxies” to “stop their destructive policy fully and immediately,” the NSCN/GPRN concluded by appealing to all Nagas “to continue the resistance” and urged “every forcibly enlisted Naga to contact our nearest authority at the earliest.”