Governor of Nagaland and Government of India’s Representative and Interlocutor to Naga Peace Talks, RN Ravi, and NSCN (I-M) leaders led by ato kilonser and chief negotiator, Th. Muivah, held a formal meeting in New Delhi Thursday.
Reliable sources told Nagaland Post that issue of NSCN (I-M)’s demand for separate Naga national Flag and Constitution dominated the formal meeting. Sources said both the parties failed to break the deadlock regarding the demand even after several hours of discourse.When contacted, NSCN (I-M) source confirmed that both Government of India and NSCN have maintained their respective stand regarding the latter’s demand for separate Naga national flag and Constitution.
The source said NSCN (I-M) would not compromise on the issue, adding that Naga national flag and constitution were “legitimate rights” of the Nagas.
Asked about the group’s position regarding the three-month deadline to conclude the Naga Peace Talks, the source refused to comment, but said NSCN was committed to solve the Naga issue at the earliest. It maybe be mentioned that Ravi in the month of July this year had expressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to conclude the Talk within three months.
In an earlier exclusive interview to Nagaland Post on February 28, 2019, Ravi had admitted that “differing positions” on the demand for separate Naga flag and Constitution has delayed signing of the final agreement. On August 22, 2019, the Interlocutor, while referring to the ongoing talk with NSCN (I-M), which he said has remained static in the last one year, likened it to a “switched on car engine in a neutral gear”.
When asked about the three-month deadline, Ravi said, “Pushing a car with a switched on engine in a neutral gear should not be construed as an ultimatum. No one would like to sit in such a car for so long.”
On September 8, 2019 in an exclusive interview to Nagaland Post, National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) chairman, Q. Tuccu, accused the Government of India of backtracking from August 3, 2015 Framework Agreement signed by the two entities in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reacting to Interlocutor’s jibe on stalled peace process, Tuccu said, “The car is in neutral gear because of the government of India and not NSCN.”
Tuccu also maintained that NSCN would sign the final agreement provided government of India adhere to the agreed positions based on the Framework Agreement. While both NSCN (I-M) and Government of India do not seem to be budging, Working Committee (WC) of Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) has gone ahead and claimed that the group was ready to conclude the talk.
In a latest exclusive interview to Nagaland Post on October 6, 2019, WC of NNPGs convenor, N Kitovi Zhimomi had asked, why should solution be kept on hold when there was “no problem between Government of India and Nagas of Nagaland?”
Kitovi then said, “There may be some problem between Government of India and NSCN (I-M), but it must not hamper the Nagas of Nagaland.”
He said since integration of the Naga inhabited areas was not possible at this point in time, the Nagas should be left alone to settle their problem and that “ties between Government of India and NSCN (I-M) should not have any adverse impact on Nagas of Nagaland”.
Asked if NNPGs was ready to sit with NSCN (I-M) to resolve issues before final agreement, Kitovi had said, “To sit with NSCN (I-M) is not an issue, we can even sleep with I-M provided our stand is pragmatic. If we are not practical then sitting together, sleeping together have no benefits”. With just few weeks to go before the three-month timeframe expires, it remains to be seen whether government of India and NSCN (I-M) would arrive at an agreement on the issue of separate flag and constitution.
There is also considerable speculation on whether Government of India would be willing to go ahead with signing the much awaited final agreement with NNPGs comprising mostly of Nagas inhabiting the state of Nagaland without a major group like NSCN (I-M).
Whatever maybe the outcome, there is no denying that there is a huge pressure from the Naga public, tribal hohos and civil society organisations to conclude the decades-old Naga political issue, which has taken a tremendous toll on the common public – physically, mentally and economically.