Kohima, Nov. 22: The NSCN (I-M) has once again called for reconciliation and unity among the Nagas to achieve what it said was a “common goal”.

The outfit’s chairman, Isak Chishi Swu, who had recently sneaked out of the country and is reportedly in Bangkok en route to the Philippines, urged the Naga people to give up chauvinism of all forms and divisive thinking and instead unite hearts together to achieve the goal for the benefit of all Naga people. In his first message after he left the country, Swu affirmed that if only the Nagas have unity, the rest would be done by the Almighty.

“I urge every Naga citizen whoever he or she may be, whatever he or she thinks, wherever he or she may be, to think soberly and take a decision and take note of the most important responsibility to save the righteous cause of Nagalim for Christ,” Swu stated in his one-page message received here today.

Pointing out that the Nagas would have to seriously ponder upon unity, Swu urged that “reconciliation, forgiveness and compassion reign among us in Nagalim today”.

“Naga people without any exception should realise that Nagalim is created in a special way for which we have to thank God in the first place,” Swu said. Stating that God had given the Nagas the stewardship of message of grace to be given to the whole of humanity, Swu appealed that in order to execute God’s will, Nagas as a whole would have to “rise up to the occasion in one accord”.

The NSCN (I-M) chairman expressed regret that the evil has taken advantage of the differences and misunderstandings among the Nagas and was continually misleading them through his cunning devices to let the Nagas remain divided. As such, Swu said the course of a nation cannot be left unattended to by sensible citizens. For this “...it is seriously felt that the necessity of saving our people from this predicament, with a new perspective, is a must to uplift our national precarious situation and a change of our mind is extremely necessary at this juncture”.

This message has come at a time when several Naga organisations and the Church are trying to broker reconciliation and unity among the warring Naga groups, especially between the two NSCN factions.

But the Khaplang faction of the NSCN has reiterated that it would never unite with the rival, terming them as a “pseudo Naga-nationalist” organisation. The Khaplang faction, which comprises mostly Sumi and Konyak tribesmen, are opposed to the rival’s demand for integration of the contiguous Naga-inhabited areas, though its chairman S.S. Khaplang is from Myanmar.

The outfit has severed ties with all Naga organisations, including the Church, which had played a significant role in ushering in peace in the state during the height of insurgency in the fifties and sixties. It considers these organisations pro-NSCN (I-M).

The NSCN (K) today warned all international organisations against interfering in Naga affairs.

It said problems would be sorted out between the Nagas and the Centre.