UNLF Defends NSCN(K)’s Yung Aung in Response to Article Questioning His Origins

The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) – a valley-based Manipuri armed political group – dismissed the assertions made in an article published in The Week yesterday (November 27). The article alleged that Yung Aung, the present Chairman of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) [NSCN(K)] was not a Naga, but a Meitei. It was further alleged that Yung Aung was planted in the NSCN(K) by the UNLF. The article was published on November 24 and has been cited in several online news sites which focus on the Northeast.

According to the Imphal Free Press, a press release signed by the director of the Department of Publicity in the UNLF, M Sak-hen refuted the claims stating that it is “mere propaganda by Indian Intelligence Agencies initiated in connivance with ‘The Week’.” The release further stated that Yung Aung is from Chenggraing khul which falls under Namyun Township in the Sagaing Division of Myanmar. Yung Aung’s father, Sung Dang Ngaimong is a close relation of the NSCN(K)’s former Chairman, late Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang. Sung Dang Ngaimong used to hold the post of a Kilonser (Minister) during the days of the undivided NSCN. The article in The Week however, had claimed that Yung Aung was born in Ukhrul, bordering Nagaland, as Nongmeikapam Thoiba Singh to N. Phenajawa and Anuradha Devi.

Also Read | What the NSCN(K) Coup Could Mean

The release went on to state that Yung Aung’s father, on the advice of S S Khaplang, gave his son to the UNLF so that the boy could study in Manipur. A former member of the UNLF’s central committee, late Nongmeikapam Sanajaoba was entrusted with the boy and raised him as his own son, calling him Thoiba. In 1996, Yung Aung was recalled by Khaplang to take up a prominent role in the Naga movement. The Week on the other hand, said that ‘Thoiba’ was a member of the UNLF and changed his name to Yung Aung after he converted to Christianity, following which he joined the NSCN(K).

The UNLF has alleged that the purpose of the story was to discredit the new leadership of the NSCN(K) in the eyes of the Naga people. Assuming this allegation as true, what could the reasons be?

The Konyak Angle

In August this year, reports emerged that there was a leadership shuffle in the NSCN(K) and that Khango Konyak – who had assumed the role of Chairman since S S Khaplang’s demise on June 9, 2017 – was impeached while Yung Aung was unanimously chosen to be the new Chairman. The new leadership of the NSCN(K) allowed Konyak and his supporters safe passage out of the NSCN(K) controlled territory in Myanmar. Later reports stated that Konyak and his group of supporters were camping in Myanmar across the border along Mon district in Nagaland. Predictably, feelers were sent to the Government of India that Konyak was willing to join the Indo-Naga talks representing the NSCN(K).

Also Read | Konyak Led Faction of NSCN(K) to Join Indo-Naga Talks

Subsequently, opinion pieces emerged which painted the coup as an Indian Naga versus Myanmar Naga conflict. However, considering that Niki Sumi who is from Zunheboto in Nagaland continued to remain the Deputy Commander in Chief, this theory does not hold water. All the while, the Yung Aung-led faction ‘warned’ the Konyak faction not to use the NSCN(K)’s name when entering the talks. Here was probably the first time the Meitei angle emerged. According to a report in The Times of India, a Facebook post by the Konyak faction’s Information Secretary, Isak Sumi, responded to the warning by stating, “There cannot exist two parallel NSCNs in Nagaland. The Myanmar NCA secessionist group led by a Hindu and a Meitei half-breed Yung Aung, an arch opponent of Naga integration, must never be allowed to create disturbance in Nagaland.”

Considering that a Naga born on the Indian side of the Naga inhabited areas retains a top post in the NSCN(K), the Indian Naga versus Myanmar Naga paradigm could not be used effectively to discredit the organisation among the Nagas born in India.

Status of the Indo-Naga Talks

Since the Framework Agreement was signed on August 3, 2015, not much is known about either the agreement or the talks. Vague assurances have appeared from both sides but it appears that the talks are in a limbo. On one hand, perhaps the Government of India was waiting for the NSCN(K) to join the talks after it unilaterally abrogated the cease fire on March 27, 2015. This may be presumed considering that some Naga citizen organisations have trekked to the camps in Myanmar to urge the NSCN(K) to join the talks.

Also Read | Nothing to Show: Three Years of the Framework Agreement

On October 1 this year, Thuingaleng Muivah, the General Secretary and de-facto Chairman of the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) [NSCN(IM)], was reportedly admitted to a private hospital in Delhi. It was also reported that several prominent leaders of the NSCN(IM) had rushed to meet him. Despite the official NSCN(IM) position stating that it was for a minor ailment and that his health is fine, it must be noted that Muivah is 84 years old. Further, there have been no reports of him being discharged from the hospital.

On November 20, the Morung Express reported that Anthony Ningkhan Shimray, Longvibu (Commander in Chief) of the NSCN(IM) addressed the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) in Senapati district. Shimray told the gathering that through the Framework Agreement, the Government of India recognised the ‘unique history of the Nagas’, that sovereignty lies with the people and that integration is a legitimate right of the Nagas. He further stated that land will be demarcated and integrated on the basis of Naga history and not on the basis of Indian states, while at the same time hinting at ‘shared sovereignty’.

Also Read | Sovereignty, Integration and the Naga Peace Process

That Anthony Shimray chose to speak about the Framework Agreement may indicate who could be next in line for the top post in the event that Muivah follows Isak Chisi Swu and S S Khaplang. However, his elevation may not be entirely palatable, particularly if there are disagreements over the final agreement. Between around 2010 and 2015, Shimray was lodged in Tihar Jail following his abduction from Nepal. The official story is that he was apprehended near Patna.

Konyak after being impeached has signalled his willingness to talk. However, he does not have the numbers to be recognised by the Naga public as the face of the NSCN(K). The NSCN(IM) despite Konyak’s long association with the Naga movement probably has an internal pecking order which would get disrupted if Konyak was admitted. Konyak on his part, too, would probably be unwilling to be suddenly demoted if he were to join the NSCN(IM).

Thus, it would appear that the article in The Week may have actually been a disinformation operation geared towards cutting support for Yung Aung among the Nagas in India, as well as discrediting him among those cadres still with him. On the other hand, the article may be true and the UNLF’s statement may be based on covering up its own dealings.