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North East : Nagaland : Rio moves in to save peace process with NSCN(IM)

	November 21, 2005

Rattled by a restive NSCN (IM)’s threat to call off the ceasefire and armed with a “now-or-never” attitude, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has urged the Centre to spell out “what is possible and what is not” during this very crucial phase of the Naga talks.



Rio, replying to questions on the recent threat of NSCN (IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah that the ceasefire would be called off if the Centre does not give in to its demands, said: “I will have a frank discussion and find out their (the Centre’s) mind... the time for playing hide and seek is over.”



A State Home Department official said as far as the NSCN (IM) was concerned, the Chief Minister’s “level of worry has never been so high.” He explained that Rio has been “constantly in a state of concern ever since the NSCN (IM) renewed the ceasefire for six months” instead of the conventional one full year. He said now when the NSCN (IM) had issued a veiled threat to return to the jungles, the Chief Minister was left with “no option but to sort out things with New Delhi threadbare”.



Rio will be visiting New Delhi later this month to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on the progress of the peace process.



“The talks have entered a decisive phase. If some drastic steps are not taken towards settling the Naga issue, the peace process may be derailed. Time is running out,` said a senior NSCN (IM) functionary.



The NSCN (IM) has made it clear that the peace process cannot go forward without the integration of Naga-inhabited areas with the government backing the outfit’s demand four times in the Assembly.



Rio insisted on transparency in the peace talks, saying New Delhi needed “an open mind” to discuss the integration issues.



Criticising Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Oscar Fernandes, Rio said as head of the ministerial team for Naga talks, Fernandes should have met members of the government and civil societies during his recent visit to Nagaland. “His visit to meet only his party functionaries has raised doubts in people’s minds”.



Fernandes’s visit had also peeved the Naga Hoho and other NGOs as they later said the Minister should have met the Naga people.



The Chief Minister said during his previous discussions with the Centre before the talks resumed, he was told that only four or five points remained to be sorted out.



Rio said both the NSCN (I-M) and the Centre should be sincere in their discussions to sustain peace. Asked about his stand if the ceasefire did indeed fall through, Rio said he would renew his appeal for peace.



The Chief Minister said he would highlight the NSCN (Khaplang)’s role in the killing of former DGP Hesso Mao. “There is a ceasefire in place and the ground rules have to be adhered to”, he said.



The Chief Minister, however, dodged a direct reply on the recent kidnapping of seven persons by the NSCN (I-M) in Pfutsero.



Later, Rio met the Ceasefire Monitoring Group Chairman, Lt-Gen. (Retd) R.V. Kulkarni, Chief Secretary Talitemjen Ao and Director-General of Police J.Changkija on the Mao murder case.





NSCN-K, Naga Hoho seek truce status quo



The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) and the apex Naga body, Naga Hoho, have urged both the Centre and the NSCN(IM) to maintain status quo on the issue of ceasefire.



The NSCN (K) has vowed to “fight to the finish” if New Delhi abrogated their four-year ceasefire agreement.



The Union Home Ministry is understood to be reconsidering the truce with the NSCN (K), citing repeated violation of the agreement by the militant group. The immediate provocation is the killing of former Nagaland Director-General of Police Hesso Mao.



An indignant NSCN (K) said the Government had every right to do as it pleased, but that would certainly not be good for Nagaland. A.Z.Jami, the outfit’s spokesman told newspersons in an interview over phone that his organisation was not scared of the prospect of the ceasefire agreement being discontinued.



‘It is totally upto the Government of India. We will fight till the last drop of blood of the Nagas is left,‘ said Jami, who was a senior member of the rival NSCN (Isak-Muivah) until last year.



The Naga Hoho, which is the apex organisation of the Naga tribes, expressed disappointment over the development. ‘If the ceasefire agreement is broken on the basis of a single incident, it will be unfortunate. The consequences of this abrogation will not be good’, Naga Hoho vice-president Keviletuo Angami said.



Jami, too, said it was surprising that New Delhi was thinking of abrogating its truce with the NSCN (K) after one incident, ‘Mao’s killing’ but was allegedly turning a blind eye to rampant violation of a similar agreement with the NSCN (IM). ‘I was there when the ground rules of the ceasefire with the NSCN (IM) were framed. There has been rampant violation of these rules, to which the Government of India has not been reacting at all.’



Another NSCN (K) leader Kughalu Mulatonu said the news of New Delhi’s strategy could actually be a rumour. “The NSCN (IM) has killed hundreds of innocents and yet the ceasefire is intact. So the Government of India has no reason to abrogate the ceasefire with us”.



The NSCN (K) New Delhi truce took effect in 2001, four years after the NSCN (IM) signed an agreement with the Government. The NSCN (IM) has since taken the upper hand both in terms of visibility and area of influence, but the NSCN (K) still is a force to reckon within the Nagaland districts bordering Myanmar. It has alliances with other outfits, including Ulfa, the People’s Liberation Army and the United National Liberation Front of Manipur. NSCN (K) chairman S.S.Khaplang lives in Myanmar and is said to even enjoy state protection.



The militant group’s opposition to the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas of the Northeast has distanced it not only from the NSCN (IM), but also some Naga NGOs.



The NSCN (K) described Mao’s murder as “capital punishment” for an incident that took place in 2000, when there was no ceasefire in place.







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Counter-insurgency Army exercise with Mongolia



The Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in north Mizoram will hold a 10-day joint training exercise between Indian and Mongolian troops from December 5.



This is the second joint exercise conducted by the Army training unit on its sprawling campus stretching over 560 acres. The earlier joint training was held with US troops in September.



The highlight of the exercise will be a joint visit by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Mongolian counterpart Tserenkhuu Sharavdorj to the camp on December 8.



Col. Rajeev Dhar, a spokesperson for the training unit, said nearly 30 armymen from Mongolia will participate in the training

exercise.



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NSCN-IM releases hostages



The NSCN on Nov. 18 released the seven Chakhesang leaders it abducted from Pfutsero town in Phek district of Nagaland last week in response to a public appeal.



“The NSCN has released all of them unconditionally”, Chakhesang Public Organisation president Vedayi Nyekha said over phone from Hebron, the NSCN (IM)’s general headquarters near Dimapur.



Officials of the Chakhesang Public Organisation and members of the Chakhesang Baptist Churches Council had gone to Hebron to secure the release of their leaders.



Pfutsero Town Council chairman Dingulo Khutso, Chakhesang pastor Nuvosaye Vese and village elder Puneru Chakhesang were among the seven kidnapped by the NSCN (I-M) on November 10.



NSCN (I-M) activists had picked them up in retaliation to their “active participation” in a rally against the outfit at Pfutsero last month and alleged ransacking of its “office” during the rally.



The Naga Hoho had earlier appealed to the NSCN (I-M) to release the public leaders immediately, saying whatever be the case it was unfair to “abduct” one’s own people.







Myanmar frees five prisoners



Five persons from Manipur’s Churachandpur district, arrested and jailed by Myanmarese authorities for illegal entry into that country, were released on November 18 and handed over to Manipur police at Moreh.



The five - Zamkhokam Kuki, Khaikhanlal Zou, Hangsuan Zou, Khupkhammuang Zou and Ginkhamthang Zou - were brought by Myanmarese immigration officials to Moreh on Nov. 18.



A report submitted to Moreh police said the five villagers were apprehended from Aishi, a Myanmarese village, under the Myanmar Immigration Emergency Prevention Act. They were arrested for entering Myanmar and staying in the country without valid papers and permission.



The villagers were taken into custody on February 12 when they crossed the international border to collect timber. They had reportedly been invited by a Myanmarese village headman, identified as Haocing, to collect pine from his village. They were about to transport the timber when Myanmarese troops caught them. They were later taken to Mandalay jail.



The release came after the families of the five men filed complaints with the State Government and the Centre. The families had also submitted several memoranda to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, urging them to secure the release of the villagers.