New Delhi
An important four-hour long meeting was held between Nagaland Core Committee of state legislators and an NSCN-IM delegation.
At the meeting on Saturday near Dimapur, V.S. Atem led the NSCN-IM delegation, while the Core Committee was headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
"It was a lengthy and fruitful meeting," said Nagaland Planning Minister Neiba Kronu.
Former Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang said the potent Naga underground group has been specifically urged not to derail the peace process or walk away from the talks process. "Only through talks this settlement can come," he said.
Meanwhile, informed sources said that at the May 31 'emergency meeting of Naga national assembly', NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah will deliver a "political talk".
His address would be like a "report on the Indo-Naga political talks", the sources added. Muivah, the most powerful NSCN-IM leader, had skipped Saturday's meeting.
During the recent visit of an NSCN-IM delegation to New Delhi for parleys with peace emissary A.K. Mishra, the aging Muivah was not present.
The sources said that after Muivah's address on May 31 at the NSCN-IM's camp headquarters, there will be a general discussion on the 'Indo Naga Political talks' and the declaration of vow.
All key leaders are expected to attend the May 31 meeting and Centre also expects "more clarity" will come on contentious issues such as a Flag and a separate Naga Constitution.
A 10-member NSCN (IM) delegation led by Atem camped in Delhi recently and held at least two rounds of important parleys with the Mishra.
The Central government has rejected demands for a separate Flag and Constitution.
Close scrutiny Saturday's meeting suggests there were still 'hopes' about Naga peace talks and an early solution.
"Extortion is a menace, everyone agrees. There should be an early Solution everyone agrees. So it's all positive and no bitterness and harshness," a source told IANS.
"Saturday's deliberations were positive and even the militant group (NSCN-IM) did not contest the general sentiment of Naga legislators including from BJP that there should be an early solution."
NNPG, the umbrella body of seven Naga militant groups led by N. Kitovi Zhimomi, has been also strongly in favour of early signing of a peace pact to resolve the state's decades-old insurgency and political problem.
The Naga peace talks have been put on a fast track during the last one month as the Assembly elections in the state are due by February-March 2023.
The complexities in the talks have also forced to explore other avenues. One suggestion has been the voluntary resignation of the incumbent NDPP-BJP ministry and imposition of a President's Rule.
The state at present does not have an exclusive Governor as Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi is holding additional charge.
The Central government agencies had last week expressed concern over extortion and money collecting venues at various places in the state and the same sentiment was also reportedly shared by Governor Mukhi.
The Nagaland Home Department has subsequently ordered abolition of many such counters.
There are other issues as well and some influential bodies have strongly pressed for an early solution.
In a statement, the influential Ao Students' Conference said: "For decades, Naga citizens have quietly endured extortion of national workers, but we have been denied the Naga solution. For how long will the Naga citizens be kept in the dark?"
In February, the Naga Tribal Council in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that "the only task left at the moment is for the government of India to take a call for signing the agreement".
Last month, the NNPG had also month demanded that the Neiphiu Rio government must step aside and facilitate an early solution.
(IANS report)
India making sincere efforts to end political problem in Myanmar: Dr Jaishankar
New Delhi
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that while the western world could easily make remarks or give 'sweeping prescriptions' about Myanmar citizens taking shelter in Mizoram, but India for its part is trying to address the root cause of the problem in the neighbouring country.
“Countries far away can give sweeping prescriptions, but living next door has different ramifications,"
Dr Jaishankar said interacting with students of IIT-Guwahati on Saturday.
" We (India) are making greater effort to solve the political problem in Myanmar. Progress and
good governance cannot mean being oblivious of the happenings at the border, ” he underlined.
Hundreds of Myanmar citizens are taking shelter in Mizoram following conflicts in that country
after February 2021 coup.
The Minister, however, maintained - "We are not an open house for the rest of the world. It is
not in our interest to be so".
He stressed on the importance of diplomacy in a nation's growth and security saying it was "the first line of
defence."
“If diplomacy is successful, military is not necessary….But in some cases when military action is absolutely
necessary, diplomacy plays an equally important role,” said diplomat-turned-political leader.
The Minister maintained that India had the "right ideas" in foreign policy and strategic thinking, "but India didn’t
follow it up".
But he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led dispensation is rightly focused on on development push in
diplomacy and it is showing good dividends.
Referring to the measures being taken along with countries bordering north east India in tackling insurgency and crime, Jaishankar said, the region had serious problems of terrorism, narcotics trade and trafficking.
"But when these activities stopped getting support in the neighbouring countries, it made the region more
secure," he pointed out.
Dr Jaishankar was in Guwahati to address the conclave of Natural Allies in Development and Interdependence
and it was attended among others by Bangladesh foreign minister A K Abdul Momen and Assam
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Minister said India has been able to maintain its policy of equi-distance from key global players
or it non-alignment in the polarised scenario because it has clarity about its own interests and
confident of pursuing it.
“Every time the world polarises, it has its own complications and we are at that stage right now.
Ukraine (crisis) is one of them,” he said.
ends
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