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Naga peace talks : Tribal Council wants other groups in talks

	May 29, 2006

A week after the latest round of peace talks between the Centre and the NSCN-IM which ended in Amsterdam without making much headway, an influential Council of Naga Tribes has appealed to the Government to include other groups of Nagaland in the peace process to find an “honourable solution” at the earliest.



Stating that there has been “insufficient” progress in the dialogue with the NSCN-IM, the Naga Hoho, which has been playing a proactive role in the peace process, also cautioned the Centre of the possible fallout if the talks broke down.



“Besides NSCN-IM, the Government should talk to major Naga groups to find a respectable solution to the decades-old struggle,” said Naga Hoho president Keviletuo Angami, who has been involved in backroom negotiations with the Centre and the NSCN(IM).



Addressing mediapersons in New Delhi on May 28, he said no peace process could go on without any visible result and both the parties should discuss the “core issues” in a phased manner.



“If the talks fail, it will be back to war again and this will have disastrous consequences,” Angami said.



“Keep the harder issues for the future and continue the parleys as frequently as possible,” he said.



Expressing satisfaction at the Government’s resolve to find an amicable solution to the country’s oldest insurgency problem, he said the change of negotiators from the Centre’s side had also delayed the peace process.



“It is taking too long. But there have been changes in the negotiators as there has been constant changes of Government after the ceasefire agreement in 1997,” he said, adding that the “real” negotiations had started only now.





NSCN (IM) warns of return to arms



Meanwhile, NSCN(IM) leader T. Muivah has threatened that his organisation will pick up arms once again if Delhi continued making attempts to undermine it. While defending the activities of his organisation and extolling its “commitment to a peaceful solution”, the Naga leader adopted an accusatory tone towards the Centre.



“I told the Indian delegation that there is no problem from our side. We are committed to a peaceful solution and we honour our commitments. The problem is on their side. India does not honour its commitments. Even while dealing with us, it is helping other groups to erode our position. Is this the way to proceed with peace talks?” he asked.



The Naga leader warned: “Supporting others to undermine us is a treacherous policy. We will not hesitate to take up arms if forced by government of India’s policies.”



Trying to contain the fallout of the NSCN (I-M)’s latest diplomatic forays abroad, Muivah claimed that India was being “unnecessarily critical”.



“We sent our men to brief others of the progress in the peace talks with India and nothing else. We did not send them to ask for arms. Wherever they go they talk about the need for a solution through peaceful means. This is what our representatives did in London and in China,” he explained after being cautioned by India against such activities.



The Naga leader admitted that Michael C. van Walt, the Dutch facilitator, had submitted some proposals for consideration of the two sides. Without revealing what they were, he said: “We are studying them and so is the Indian side. Any suggestion for a peaceful and honourable solution is acceptable to us. This is our policy and I told the Indian negotiators this.”





Whip on plebiscite campaign



Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Manipur, a snowballing campaign for plebiscite as an alternative to peace talks between militant groups and Delhi has forced the Okram Ibobi Singh government to threaten punitive action against any individual or organisation endorsing the idea.



Pro-plebiscite meetings are reportedly being organised by youth clubs and women’s groups at various places in the valley and the hills. The campaign is a boost for the militant United National Liberation Front (UNLF), whose chairman ruled out peace talks just the other day and asked for an immediate plebiscite to end “armed conflict” in the state.



Police chief A.K. Parashar declined to say whether an official ban on pro-plebiscite meetings was on the way, but did mention that “militating against the sovereignty of the country is a serious offence”.



In another development, the United Committee of Manipur (UCM), which had spearheaded the agitation against Delhi’s decision to extend its truce with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) beyond Nagaland, has questioned Ibobi Singh and the Congress-led coalition’s commitment to the task of protecting the state’s territorial integrity.



It said Ibobi Singh’s “inaction” when some Naga youth unfolded a banner welcoming him to “South Nagalim” was symbolic of his failure to silence those seeking the disintegration of Manipur. B.M. Yaima Shah, publicity and public relations secretary of the UCM, said the banner - “Welcome to South Nagalim, Shri Ibobi Singh, honourable Chief Minister of Manipur” - was derogatory and an “affront” to the people of the state.



When the topic was raised at a news conference on May 23, the Chief Minister shrugged it off as just another instance of a community expressing its views on a cause. “In a democratic country, anyone can raise any demand. I did not see any wrong in the act of the Nagas in this case,” he said.



The remark angered the UCM further. It said Ibobi Singh’s conduct had made people wonder whether the Congress-led governments at the Centre and the state had “any hidden agenda” .