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Naga peace process : No smooth journey |
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Naga peace talks due to resume this month in New Delhi may either be delayed or not held at all if the attitude of the collective NSCN-IM leadership is any indication.
According to media reports, the militant outfit has in a recent statement accused the Centre of “arming discredited” organisations like the rival Khaplang faction and the Naga National Council and has threatened to withdraw its commitment to the ongoing ceasefire and peace negotiations if New Delhi fails to clear the air.
Observers view the NSCN(IM)’s latest belligerent salvo as a deliberate attempt to extricate more from the Centre as it comes from the Netherlands and coincided with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to The Hague to attend an Indo-EU conference. This new development underlines the sort of obstacles that lie in the way of a return to peace.
The collective Naga leadership remains blind to ground realities and insists that they alone are entitled to New Delhi’s attention. They can least afford to claim they are the sole voice of the Naga people because Khaplang is supported by Myanmarese Nagas and the NNC - which has a following among the Angamis, Chakesangs and Kheamnugans. What compounds the misery is the lack of unity.
The Naga Reconciliation Commission lies in limbo after members resigned en masse following the NSCN-IM’s objection to the appointment of two Angamis - which is a pity since it was widely believed that the collective Naga leadership would abide by its “we must be respectful and accommodative of each other’s ideas” line, at the 2001 consultative meeting in Bangkok attended by different tribes.
Government’s denial on Muivah’s charge
The Union Government has refuted NSCN(IM) leader T. Muivah’s charge that the Centre’s policy towards the Naga problem is “wicked” as it “promotes discredited organisations like the Naga National Council (NNC) and the NSCN (Khaplang).
The Government is “sincere and serious” about negotiating a peaceful settlement with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), highly-placed sources said in New Delhi.
“We want to settle the Naga issue and not prolong it. This is what prompted the invitation to the NSCN (I-M) leaders to visit India and engage in sustained negotiations for peace. We hope that they will stop having any second thoughts about their visit to India expected at the end of this month,” the sources said.
Muivah had claimed that the peace efforts were being disturbed by India by arming the NNC and “facilitating” the NSCN (K) to undermine the efforts of the NSCN (I-M) to reach a mutually satisfactory peace settlement with India.
The Government would not like the NSCN (I-M) leaders to have any doubt at all in their mind about the Centre’s intention to resolve the Naga issue permanently, they said.
“We recognise that if the Naga issue is settled, then it would become easier for us to deal with the other insurgencies in the North-east. Once we come to an agreement with the Nagas, others can also be encouraged to come to the path of peaceful negotiations,” the sources said.
They also claimed that the Central Government was in no way involved in creating any armed group in Nagaland - it did not make any sense for it to do so.
The sources clarified that there was also no question of the Government encouraging any activity by the NSCN (K) to disturb the impending peace negotiations or “sponsoring” any of its leaders to hold press briefings in Delhi to malign the Government and the NSCN (I-M).
Undue importance should not be given to stray individuals holding press conferences and saying this or that, the sources advised the Naga leaders. “This is a part of politics. But the Indian Government is certainly not behind any such activity. It is sincere and serious about negotiating a peaceful settlement with the Nagas. Let there be no doubt about the intention of the Government,” they said.
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