New Delhi: In a shocking move, Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu has condoled the death of SS Khaplang, the chief of banned Naga terror group NSCN-K, who passed away late on Friday after cardiac arrest in Myanmar.
“I am grieved to learn about the sudden demise of SS Khaplang last evening in Myanmar. It is tragic that such an important Naga leader like Khaplang has expired considering the fact that the protracted Naga political problem is on the verge of being resolved, and the need for all different Naga political groups to come together to air our views and aspirations to the Government of India in one voice is absolutely imperative,” the CM’s condolence message, on the government’s letterhead, said.
“I appeal to all grieving Nagas to resolve and dedicate ourselves to endeavour with renewed vigour and determination to find a solution to the Naga political problem which is honourable and acceptable to all stakeholders; and that this protracted problem be resolved during our lifetime and not to bequeath it to the future generations. In memory of the departed leader who had dedicated all his life to the cause of the Naga people, let all Naga people dedicate ourselves to strive for peace, harmony and well-being of the entire Naga family so that we and our children can march ahead with the rest of the world as equals in the 21st century and for ever more.”
Since the 1980s, Khaplang’s outfit has engaged in subversive activities, including attacks on Indian security forces, extortion and looting. Khaplang entered into a ceasefire with the central government in 1997 but abrogated it on March 28, 2015.
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Khaplang’s NSCN-K was involved in the killing of 18 Army soldiers in an ambush in Manipur on June 4, 2015. The ambush on the Army convoy was carried out by the group despite it being involved in peace negotiations with an interlocutor of the central government.
Khaplang joined the Naga nationalist movement as early as 1964 and was one of the key people in the formation of the NSCN.
Subsequently, the government snapped the dialogue and in September 2015, the NSCN-K was declared as an unlawful organisation for five years.
Born in April 1940 in Waktham village, east of Myanmar’s Pangsau Pass, Khaplang joined the Naga nationalist movement as early as 1964 and was one of the key people in the formation of the NSCN. However, Khaplang split and formed his own group NSCN-K in 1988.
Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang was a Hemi Naga from Myanmar and was based mostly in that country where the outfit maintains several camps.
Few hours after Khaplang’s death, the banned outfit reportedly appointed Khango Konyak as the new chairman of the group. Konyak was the outfit’s vice-president.
Khango Konyak, who was unanimously elected vice-president in 2011, had an illustrious career as a military man and served the nation in different capacities.