Naga peace pact: A tale that seems near but yet so far

KOHIMA: The Gordian knot enveloping the Naga peace talks could not be untied over the past year, as Naga rebels and the Center agreed to disagree on two key issues for a final deal acceptable to all parties.

The Center’s new interlocutor for Naga peace talks, AK Mishra, arrived in Dimapur, Nagaland early last year and interacted with representatives of various Naga groups and other stakeholders in an effort to resolve the vexing issue. Hopes were raised that it would be resolved decades later. Insurgency in the state will come as a welcome Christmas present.
Mishra met the leadership of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac-Muivah), including veteran leader Th Muivah, inside the group’s headquarters in Hebron, a first in the history of such talks.

A former special director of the Intelligence Bureau, Mishra replaces the last interlocutor and Nagaland governor RN Ravi, who was transferred to Tamil Nadu as governor in September last year.
After this, there were several rounds of talks in Delhi with Muivah and other leaders of the group, but no final settlement could be reached, as the NSCN-IM remained steadfast in its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas. A demand, which is not in the favor of the Center so far.
However, on the 25th year of the ceasefire with the Centre, the NSCN-IM has assured that it will uphold the ceasefire.
This assurance was given by the Ceasefire Monitoring Cell (CFMC) of the NSCN-IM on 25 July 1997 on the completion of 25 years of the ceasefire agreement signed with India.

The Government of India has been in separate discussions with the NSCN-IM and the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) since 1997 and 2017 respectively.
The NNPGs comprise at least seven Naga groups.

It signed a framework agreement with the NSCN-IM in August 2015 and an agreed position with the NNPGs in November 2017.

While the NNPGs have agreed to accept a solution and continue talks, the NSCN-IM remains firm on its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas.

“They (Naga negotiators) are back from Delhi and nothing is likely to happen before Christmas as the talks will resume only after the festive season,” Nagaland Chief Minister Nephew Reo had said last month.

On the other hand, the Center heeded the plea of ​​the people of the state to remove the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 1958 from Nagaland.
On 31 March, the Center announced the withdrawal of the 1958 AFSPA from 15 police stations in 7 districts of Nagaland from 1 April, which was welcomed by the state government but Naga civil societies demanded that the state repeal the law completely. Rejected it.
AFSPA was implemented in the entire state of Nagaland from 1958 to curb the movement of Naga insurgency.

The demand for a separate state of Frontier Nagaland by people living in six districts with the support of Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO) was also discussed.

ENPO, an apex body of seven tribes from the six districts of Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator, started demanding a separate state in 2010 and announced a boycott of the Hornbill Festival, which was held from December 1, in August this year. what was 10, to highlight the demand.