Allies condemn Mungro killing

NEW DELHI, August 20, 1999: The allies of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) have condemned outright the killing of its general secretary Dali Mungro. The Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF) president, Ranjit Debbarma, offered its "deep sympathies" to the NSCN(K), the Naga people and the bereaved family of the leader. Debbarma, in a statement made available to this e-zine, said his organisation would remember the efforts of Mungro towards unity of all revolutionary organisations of the region. The "cowardly" assassination of Mungro is sure to lead the process into rough terrain, he said. The Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF) expressed shock at the news of Mungro's assassination and expressed its profound sorrow at his untimely demise. The MPLF is the umbrella organisation of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) and the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK). The MPLF described Mungro's death as a loss to the struggle for independence and freedom not only for the Naga people, but for the entire region as well. "He was a strong advocate of peace and unity among the revolutionary organisations of the region," the MPLF publicity-in-charge said in a statement. The MPLF said such senseless killings will not take the Naga struggle an inch further to their desired goal of freedom and independence. Stating that the act deserved "universal condemnation", the MPLF said, "It is up to the Naga people to judge whether the assassination has done anything good to their national cause and unity." The secretary-general of the RPF, Sanasam Gunen, in a separate statement said the RPF admired and remembered the efforts of Mungro in the national liberation movement of the region. Gunen said the killing was nothing but a symptom of cowardice and warned the people of the region to beware of the "enemy's" divide-and-rule policy. The UNLF alleged that the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) group had committed the crime at the behest of its "Indian masters" as Mungro was opposed to the ongoing peace talks the group was having with India.