Integration....Myanmar Nagas ..... "Well, it's out of box"
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| Blogger at Kohima |
New Delhi
Is the tide turning? Something is clearly changing the dynamics.
Who is on the back foot, for now ? There was a virtual snub from New Delhi. The perceived submissive mindset of a section of leaders came in for critical observation at the Sept 12 meeting between the Core Committee and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Sources say during the interaction, the centre expressed displeasure on use of the word 'request' vis-a-vis Core Committee's future meeting with NSCN-IM to convince them to sign the final peace pact at the earliest.
One member among the 11-member panel led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio told the central leaders and officials on Monday - "Next time, when we go, we will request them".
At this -- reportedly came the snub - "What request...no request !". The message from New Delhi --- in other words being - you better get the work done.
No doubts, some of these interactions and crystal clear assertion from the centre left the Nagaland delegation dumbfounded. Sources say the deliberations and the tone of that left the Nagaland delegation surprised also.
"If it was the same old trick or strategy to hoodwink everyone that we are sincere etc etc ....it all backfired".
For about the first two hours after the meeting - most Naga leaders became inaccessible and later on came a protocol diktat that none should talk to media people out of turn.
"The manner the meeting went on, it is absolutely clear, the centre is very serious about an early solution. This is the case not only because it's BJP's election promise of 2018. It is also because the Nagas of Nagaland and the civil society messages to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been very clear that people are frustrated with extortion and they are all craze for solution," the source told 'Nagaland Page'.
After the Chief Minister tweeted stating that the state core committee has urged the centre to expedite, only Rio's trusted lieutenant Neiba Kronu was allowed to make a very selective disclosure to a news agency.
The vital message of the day - the Government of India stating -- "we are ready to sign a peace pact even today" was concealed from the media. Only 'Nagaland Page' could thankfully break it.
Sharing another anecdote of the meeting wherein the central government made it absolutely clear that the 'delay' in signing the peace deal was essentially due to NSCN-IM, sources claimed Amit Shah himself made reference to the word 'Manipur'.
At one point during discussions, the Core Committee was quizzed, "You all are talking about Naga integrity, integration of Naga inhabited areas. But what about the Nagas of Myanmar, are you taking them on board?"
The question was pointed and obviously left the Naga delegation dumbfounded yet again.
At this one member amongst the 11-member panel meekly remarked, "Sir, that's out of box". The said member is a former minister and a well known party hopper.
Sources told this journalist that the much expected meeting between the Core Committee members and the NSCN-IM leadership will take place after September 22 once the state assembly session gets over.
The Union Home Minister assured -- "You ask for anything else, we are there with you".
But with regard to the Flag and a separate Naga constitution, Shah was reportedly categorical - "woh baat nahi karna (Please do not raise these two issues)".
One Naga leader emphasised his point of view for an early solution and remarked in Hindi - "Solution dena padega".
ends
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| Blogger at Dimapur airport |
Centre for regional councils, Nagas of Nagaland must shun confusion: NNPG
New Delhi
Things have started moving fast. Sources claimed the central agencies and representatives would be soon getting in touch with the pro-Solution NNPG led by N Kitovi Zhimomi once again to fine tune the arrangements as were agreed upon in 2019.
Meanwhile, an NNPG insider when contacted said - "The Naga issue is clear, half the confusion is created by vested interest".
He also said, "it has been reliably learnt that the centre is willing to make a special political and developmental arrangement for Nagas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. In our Status Paper, the NNPG has proposed special autonomous territorial councils even with legislative powers".
So, he said, "The need of the hour is that Nagas should no longer confuse themselves; and instead focus
on an early Solution and peace in the state of Nagaland".
However, the NNPG insider said - "But the Nagas of Nagaland should come of that confused stage.
We have to do it for our children and the coming generation before things are too late".
He explained - "The Naga issue has been deliberately made complicated and diluted by
those who are outsiders to the state. That's why things look so complex. It is learnt
even the centre is now convinced that it is the 'Manipur angle' that is diluting our cause and
also delaying solution".
The NNPG contention has been earlier also revolving around these.
Firstly, the issue for Nagas of Nagaland is at one stage -- confined within the state boundary.
Secondly, the umbrella group says the 'Naga integration' has not happened so far and so -- it must be understood that
when it comes to Nagaland state and about Nagas of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the issue is
"national" vis-a-vis the Government of India.
Thirdly, but the moment the Khaplang faction is added and also there is reference to Nagas of Myanmar,
the issue becomes "international".
"Only a man in a fool's paradise can dream that you can find the solution for all three stages at one go,"
the NNPG source told this journalist.
"So, we have to be logical and practical. The problems are at three stages and therefore they have to be
dealt with separately. When it comes to peace in Nagaland, the Nagas of the state should no longer suffer
extortion and law and order problems".
To a question, the source said, the NNPG also has made it clear to the centre that all pending and contentious issues
may be taken up in posterity through a democratic political process.
ends
NSCN-IM and NNPG pledge to move 'forward' and fight 'cynicism'
New Delhi
The Naga peace talks saw a merciful positive moment on Wednesday.
Amid fast changing developments with regard to the Naga peace talks, the two warring militant groups NSCN-IM led by Thuingaleng Muivah and the umbrella organisation NNPG led by N Kitovi Zhimomi on Sept 14, Wednesday, in a joint statement pledged to "overcome the cynicism" and make forward movement in peace.
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| NNPG convener Kitovi |
"We are committed to a dialogue in order to move forward, live in peace and overcome the cynicism," said the statement inked by V S Atem, the top military commander of NSCN-IM and Alezo Venuh, coordinator NNPG.
The statement said, among other things, that "disagreements" between Nagas and Naga groups have made each one "foes and strangers, rather than members of the same family".
It said, "We are aware of our differences", adding that therefore, all individuals and organisations should "refrain" from all forms of "rhetoric, assumptions and agendas that are divisive".
The joint statement added: "Such a culture must end immediately."
The initiative for the joint meeting was taken by a group of social workers and intellectuals under the platform 'Forum for Naga Reconciliation'.
Notably, the development came within two days after the Centre categorically directed the Nagaland Core Committee of legislators and ministers to meet the NSCN-IM leadership and convince them to sign the final peace pact at the earliest.
The NNPG -- the umbrella body of seven militant groups operating in Nagaland -- had finalised details with the Government of India in 2017 and 2019 and is keen to ink the peace pact to herald an era of lasting peace in Nagaland.
When contacted, a key NNPG leader told this reporter that "the need of the hour is that Nagas should no longer confuse themselves, and instead focus on an early solution for peace in the state of Nagaland".
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio also expressed his "deep appreciation" to the FNR, the NSCN-IM and the working committee of NNPG on the "historic step taken to remain committed to peace, unity, respect and settling outstanding issues".
"Peace and unity is the only way forward," Rio tweeted late on Wednesday.
There are some inherent complexities in the entire issue. While the NNPG wants a solution for Nagas of Nagaland and also that the 'regional territorial council" should be given to the Nagas outside Nagaland -- like in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh -- for its part, NSCN-IM holds a sizable presence in the hilly areas of Manipur.
Thuingaleng Muivah himself is a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur and reportedly the 'Manipur angle' figured at the September 12 meeting in Delhi between Home Minister Amit Shah and a Naga delegation led by Chief Minister Rio.
Various socio-political bodies and even the NNPG had earlier alleged that the NSCN-IM wants to dictate terms to 'Nagas of Nagaland' -- which they would reject outright.
At the September 12 meeting, Shah had told the Naga delegation that they were approaching the "wrong man" when Chief Minister Rio and others were trying to impress upon the government of India to expedite the peace process.
This reference was made to the NSCN-IM, which had stalled the peace talks by raising the demands for a Naga flag and a separate Constitution.
At the meeting, recent data revealed by the National Crime Records Bureau that the state of Nagaland tops the list of states for extortion and related offences also figured.
"People are fed up with extortion in the name of peace process," several Naga leaders insisted.
With regard to the flag and a separate Naga constitution, Shah was reportedly yet again categorical, saying: "Woh baat nahi karna (Please do not raise these two issues)."
The Home Minister, however, assured: "You ask for anything else, we are there with you."
The ball is finally yet again in the court of the NSCN-IM -- which originally entered the peace parleys with the centre way back in 1997.
With the Centre having made it clear that the onus is on the NSCN-IM to end the stalemate and ensure an early inking of a peace pact, the Nagaland Core Committee led by Chief Minister Rio is now likely to meet the militant leaders after September 22.
The inking of a joint statement by the NSCN-IM and the NNPG incidentally came on Wednesday -- hours before BJP national President J.P. Nadda is to make a two-day visit to the state.
Elections are due in Nagaland by February-March 2023.
Five years back during the 2018 Assembly elections, the 'Election for Solution' slogan was raised chiefly by the BJP and also by the Rio-led NDPP, which fought the polls together.
Public pressure and general mood in the state seemed to have influenced the thought process of Nagaland legislators and ministers.
At the meeting with Shah on Monday, an 11-member panel admitted that it would be difficult for political leaders irrespective party affiliation to face the electorate in Nagaland without a solution to the Naga political problem.
(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. The views expressed are personal)
Source: IANS
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