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Naga peace talks : Focus on autonomy |
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The Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) will focus on analysing the Indian Constitution vis-a-vis giving special status or greater autonomy to Nagaland during three-day talks to be held in Amsterdam from Tuesday.
While exploring the basic framework, both the parties are expected to find out which articles of the Constitution will apply, not apply or apply with modifications to Nagaland in future.
The Union Government and rebel Naga negotiators had agreed upon this during the parleys in Bangkok in July this year. The proposal was the brainchild of Michael van Walt van Praag, head of the Dutch NGO, Kreddha.
In its 30-point charter of demands, the NSCN (I-M) has made a case for a separate constitution which would have provisions similar to those earmarked for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This means greater autonomy for Nagaland than the existing provisions in Article 371 A.
Though the Centre is yet to decide on granting a separate constitution to Nagaland, Home Ministry officials are of the view that accepting the Naga proposal could encourage other militant outfits and separatists groups to come up with similar demands elsewhere in the country, especially in the Northeast.
According to Home Ministry officials, the recent “quit notice” served by the NSCN (Khaplang) on the NSCN (I-M) would also figure during the talks. The NSCN (I-M) has been alleging that the government is yet to give up its policy of inciting one group against the other in the Northeast to maintain its equilibrium.
New Delhi is sending a strong team to Amsterdam. Led by Union Minister of State Oscar Fernandes, the team’s other members are minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan, Minister of State for Home S. Raghupathy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Special Representative K. Padmanabhaiah.
Turf war claims eight lives
Eight NSCN (K) militants were killed and another 10 seriously injured when rival NSCN (I-M) men raided their mobile camp at Shoixe village in Zunheboto district.
Many of the injured cadre are in a critical condition. They have been shifted to hospitals in Zunheboto about 150 km from Kohima.
Phungthing Shimrang, convenor of the Ceasefire Monitoring Cell in Dimapur, said, “We gunned down at least eight of them while another 10 received bullet injuries.”
The killings once again brought to the fore the bitter infighting in the NSCN camp despite efforts to restore peace by several NGOs, the Naga Hoho and Nagaland Baptist Church Council. When asked Shimrang, however, refused to comment.
The district administration confirmed the presence of around 300 cadre of both factions of the NSCN in Zunheboto. It did not rule out more such clashes in the future.
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