Nagaland, Manipur Bishops appeal to settle boundary dispute
Kohima – (UCAN) Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal in Manipur and Bishop James Thoppil of of Kohima in Nagaland have jointly appealed to settle a boundary dispute between the states.
In a joint statement both the prelates reiterated the need for sitting across the table to dialogue and iron out differences in a Christian way.
They asked for "dialogue" to find a peaceful solution" over the stand-off between the Southern Angami Public Organization (SAPO) in Nagaland and Mao Council of Manipur.
"As the heads of the Catholic Church in Manipur and Nagaland, we are pained to hear of the ongoing conflict between the Southern Angami and the Mao communities, who are Tenyimi brothers by tradition, over land which is the common heritage,'' they said.
''It is painful to see that the problem has escalated into a conflict of enormous intensity in the past few weeks causing untold suffering particularly to the student community," the statement maintained.
Espousing that every conflict is a test of one's "moral and Christian values" and also an opportunity to show human "sagacity and maturity," they argued that rigid stand will cause untold suffering and fear. There are no victors in violence and conflicts."
They also said that no issues can remain unsettled through concerted effort and open dialogue.
"It requires give and take attitude, humility, sincerity and the willingness to come to the negotiating table. Peaceful co-existence is a courageous decision," they added
