In this context, a meeting took place on Tuesday to form the Nagaland tribal apex body. Several of Nagaland's highest tribal bodies were represented at the meeting, in the presence of ministers G Kaito Aye and KG Kenye, deputy chief ministers TR Zeliang and Y Patton, advisor Imkong L Imchen, and advisor to chief minister Dr. Chumben Murry, who serves as facilitator.
Despite the absence of the Eastern Nagaland People's Organization (ENPO), sources mentioned that the meeting was very fruitful. According to sources, the eight tribal bodies that represent the CNTC and TUN would shortly take the next step toward forming a common platform.
The ENPO general secretary Manlang Phom and president R Tsapikiu Sangtam expressed gratitude to the facilitator in the letter for starting the initiative to promote unity. Also, according to their statement, ENPO decided at the CEC meeting to offer "the fullest cooperation and unite with other Naga tribes to address any common issue confronting the Naga people by representing or participating as ENPO, but not necessarily under one common platform as proposed."
However, some attendees of the meeting said that the tribal leaders believed that all tribal bodies should be properly consulted before creating an apex body. Despite being "fruitful," the meeting produced no clear results because the necessary consultations had to take place before the apex body could be formed.
Tier I, II, and III will be the three levels of the proposed apex tribal body of the tribes in Nagaland. All of Nagaland's individual apex tribal houses are included in Tier-I (tribal level); Tier-II (regional level) consists of the gathering of these bodies under the auspices of Tenyimi Union Nagaland (TUN), Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC), and Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization (ENPO). The proposal states that Tier-III, the state-level apex body, will include representatives from every Nagaland tribe.
Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton urged everyone to "realize the strength of our collective efforts for the future of Nagaland we all envision" in a post on X. "A momentous day for Nagaland as we made a huge stride toward our sincere goal of creating a unified apex body that includes all of the state's tribes in order to promote peace and create a common future," he declared.
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