“If a solution is arrived at whereby borders will be properly demarcated with a unanimous settlement, then peace will usher between different states and the people residing along the borders can live without fear and in harmony amongst themselves,” the organisation said.
TFM Desk
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) expressed its anguish and disbelief at the recent border conflicts along the Assam-Mizoram boundary which the conglomerate of student bodies said is condemnable and which had also taken a huge toll on human lives, injuries to scores of other people and destruction to people’s property.
NESO, in a release, also called upon all the indigenous peoples that this issue is not an ethnic issue but of border dispute in which the respective state governments are duty bound to solve.
The clashes that erupted on the border of these two states sent shockwaves throughout the entire region as news from ground zero kept spreading like wildfire. The fragile situation along the Assam-Mizoram border is a reminder of how vulnerable security of border residents can be when such conflicts arise, NESO said.
It also maintained that past incidents along the borders of Assam-Meghalaya, Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh also illustrated the pain and sufferings of the border residents.
Many lives were lost from the Meghalaya side during 2010 in the border clashes between Meghalaya and Assam. Similar is the situation along the Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
However, the student body said it appears that many levels of boundary talks bear no solution to this plaguing problem. The NESO also said that it had been sending numerous appeals to various state governments in the region to resolve the complex boundary dispute with utmost sincerity so as to maintain peace and harmony amongst the indigenous communities of Northeast. NESO had also requested the union government to intervene in the best interest of the stakeholders on many occasions.
Recently, the organisation also sent a representation to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the vexed border issues during his visit to Meghalaya.
It is understandable that border disputes vary and differs from area to area, however, NESO said it once again strongly urged upon all state governments to be committed to solve this long pending problem once and for all and if necessary, the union government should be a party in these dialogues and NESO on its part will continue to encourage peoples to peoples contact and peoples to peoples relationship along the border areas.
“If a solution is arrived at whereby borders will be properly demarcated with a unanimous settlement, then peace will usher between different states and the people residing along the borders can live without fear and in harmony amongst themselves”.
NESO represents eight major students movement in the seven Northeastern states comprising of the Khasi Students Union (KSU), All Assam Students Union (AASU), Naga Students Federation (NSF), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Twipra Students Federation (TSF), All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU).