It was agreed upon by both sides that the security personnel of both states “shall simultaneously move back from their present locations to their respective base camps” and the simultaneous withdrawal of the security personnel in the next 24 hours as far as possible.
Imna Longchar, TFM Nagaland Special Correspondent
The state governments of Assam and Nagaland on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to de-escalate the tense situation spurred by a “stand-off” between the armed police forces of Nagaland and Assam prevailing in the Dessoi Valley Reserved Forest (Assam) and Tsurangkong valley (Nagaland).
The MoU was signed between the Chief Secretary of Nagaland, J Alam, and Chief Secretary of Assam, Jishnu Baruah, at Chumukedima Police House, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister, Nagaland, also in-charge of Home, Y Patton, and Assam Education Minister, Ranuj Pegu.
Both sides agreed that to maintain peace and tranquility in the areas under the influence of Ao Senden and Vikuto villages as they are known in Nagaland and known as Jankhona Nala/Nagajankha and Compartment No.12 respectively in Assam, urgent and effective steps are required for diffusing the “stand-off” between the security forces of Nagaland and Assam.
In this regard, it was agreed upon by both sides that the security personnel of both states shall simultaneously move back from their present locations to their respective base camps and the simultaneous withdrawal of the security personnel shall begin immediately and shall be completed in the
next 24 hours as far as possible.
It was also agreed upon that Nagaland and Assam shall monitor the area by surveillance using UAV and satellite imagery with a view to maintaining the Status Quo and the Superintendents of Police of the districts of Mokokchung (Nagaland) and Jorhat (Assam) shall ensure an orderly withdrawal of their
respective forces and shall be responsible for it in the instant case, the agreement stated.
Y Patton extended his gratitude to his Assam counterpart, Minister Ranuj Pegu, and Chief Secretary, Assam, Jishnu Barua, for taking the trouble and coming all the way to Nagaland for signing the agreement. He informed that the signing of the agreement for the simultaneous withdrawal of security personnel was decided after interacting with the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, on July 24 and 25.
Patton also requested the Assam counterpart to provide safe passage to Naga commuters not only in some particular gates but also in all the border gates so that the travelers are not harassed.
Assam Education Minister, Pegu, also congratulated Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, Nagaland Chief Minter, Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister, Nagaland, Y. Patton, and Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, for their statesmanship.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, taking to his official Twitter handle wrote that signing of the agreement was a “historic step” in the relation between the two states and further extended his gratitude to Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, for working with Assam in restoring peace on the border.
He also stated that Assam is committed to ensuring peace along all its borders and strives for social and economic prosperity of the Northeast region.