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Journalism of Courage
A Manipur-bound freight truck was set on fire in Nagaland Saturday.
The incident came in the wake of the ‘ban’ imposed by the Southern Angami Public Organisation (SAPO) on members of the Mao tribe of Manipur from entering the Southern Angami-dominated area in Nagaland since December 15.
Saturday’s incident occurred at Vishuma under Khuzhama police station, Nagaland.
According to the police, individuals believed to be members of the Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) checked the documents of every Imphal-bound truck and detained a truck belonging to a member of the Mao community. Later, the suspected SAYO members set the truck on fire.
An official team led by Mao MLA Losii Dikho accompanied by the top brass of the Manipur Police and Home commissioner took stock of the situation.
On December 7, SAPO announced the ‘ban’ in response to the “act of illegal aggression” by the Mao Council and the Manipur government in the ‘disputed’ Kezoltsa area along the Manipur-Nagaland border.
Earlier this year, SAPO had imposed an indefinite blockade on National Highway-2 along the Manipur-Nagaland border over the same boundary issue disrupting supply routes to Manipur. The blockade was called off following the intervention by the governments of both states.
Kezoltsa is a thickly forested area on the periphery of the picturesque Dzukou Valley, bordering Nagaland and Manipur. The Valley, spread over the two states, has traditionally been a bone of contention between the Mao Nagas of Senapati (Manipur) and the Southern Angami Nagas of Kohima (Nagaland).
While the Maos claim that portions of Dzukou Valley falling in Nagaland belong to them, the Angamis say they are the traditional owners of the portions of the Valley that extend into Manipur.
