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North East : Naga peace process : Foreign expert to salvage talks

	December 26, 2005

Both the Union Government and the Naga militant outfit, NSCN(IM), which have been engaged in the negotiation process to solve the five decade old Naga problem, have intensified efforts to salvage the talks which have been deadlocked over sensitive issues such as NSCN (IM)’s demand for integration of Naga inhabited areas in adjoining states, separate national flag, currency and so on.



According to media reports the two sides have now agreed to involve a foreign expert to salvage the peace process. Reports say that a Dutchman, Michael C. Walt Praag of international NGO Kreddha, is set to attend the next round of talks between the NSCN (I-M) and Delhi as the third-party mediator.



Praag, who is a known longtime friend of Nagas, is the Executive President of Kreddha, which is administered by a council of nine eminent conflict-resolution experts.



Kreddha has offices in The Hague, the Netherlands, and the US. Its council members include former Rajya Sabha member Nirmala Deshpande and Nobel peace laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Jose Ramos Horta.



Kraibo Chawang, the NSCN (I-M)’s spokesman confirmed that Praag would be the “pointsman” in the peace process. Both sides agreed on third-party mediation during the last round of talks in Bangkok this month.



Praag, a former general secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples’ Organisation, has been mediating unofficially in the Naga peace process since 2001 and visited Nagaland in 2002 and 2004. Now that his involvement in the dialogue has been formalised, he will place proposals to end the impasse. Chawang said Praag’s proposals could be the “central point of discussions,” adding that his contribution towards salvaging the peace process had been acknowledged by both sides.



The next round of talks, also in Bangkok, will be crucial because the ceasefire is set to lapse on January 31. The truce was extended by only six months last July.





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North East students for J&K status



The apex organisation of students in the Northeast has demanded Jammu and Kashmir-like constitutional safeguards for the states of the region to protect their land and resources in the face of a demographic invasion from Bangladesh.



Leaders of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), which includes representatives of all major student organisations of the region, met in Dimapur (Nagaland) last week to discuss this and a host of other issues.



NESO chairman Samujjal Bhattacharyya, also an adviser to the All Assam Students’ Association, said on Dec. 19 that a constitutional shield like that of Jammu and Kashmir would at least prevent illegal migrants from acquiring land in the Northeast. “Unless safeguards are in place, it will be difficult to protect the rights of indigenous people to their land and prevent destruction of the region’s natural wealth.”



Bhattacharyya blamed the delay in sealing the Indo-Bangladesh border for the unabated influx of migrants.



Echoing him, NESO vice-president Lalmuanpuia Punte said from Dimapur that the organisation would formally move Delhi to accord Jammu and Kashmir-like status to the entire region, at least in respect of land and other resources.



No law is applicable in Jammu and Kashmir without ratification by the Assembly. Given the nature of their problems, NESO believes all seven states of the Northeast should enjoy a similar privilege.



NESO has been campaigning against provisions of the Citizenship Act that extend citizenship to the descendants of migrants who entered the country as late as in 1994. “If the region enjoys constitutional safeguards like Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship Act will not have any impact on the region because it has to be ratified by the state assemblies,” a source said.



The two-day NESO conclave, which commenced on Saturday last, also reviewed Delhi’s Look-East Policy, given the fact that it is expected to have a major impact on the region. The student leadership demanded that Guwahati airport, which supports the “international” tag but lacks the facilities, be upgraded to the status it deserves.



NESO also made a case for reopening Stilwell Road to connect the region with China and 100 per cent reservation for grades III and IV jobs in all central government offices in the region for local candidates. The constituents of the organisation are planning a concerted agitation, including demonstrations in front of all Raj Bhavans on January 16.



Protests will also be held in front of BSNL offices of the region on January 6 against the telecom PSU’s recruitment policy.





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