Rio’s plea to Patil on CFMG/CFSB chairman

In the wake of frequent violations of ceasefire ground rules (CFGR) including loss of lives and property of innocent civilians and public due to unabated factional clashes, chief minister Neiphiu Rio has sought immediate intervention of the Union Home minister for appointment of a fulltime chairman of ceasefire monitoring group (CFMG) and ceasefire supervisory board (CFSB).
The chief minister in a letter to Union Home minister Shivraj Patil said the service of a fulltime chairman of both CFMG/CFSB was needed to take action against violations of CFGR either by the chairman or by the central and state agencies in consultation with CFMG/CFSB chairman.
Rio said under the prevailing situations in the state when the services of the CFMG/CFSB chairman were most needed, the Ministry of Home Affairs released CFMG/CFSB chairman Lt Gen (Retd) RV Kulkarni without first deciding on his successor, and allowed special secretary (Home Ministry) ML Kumawat to function as temporary chairman with headquarters at Delhi.
Stating that the office of CFMG/CFSB chairman representing the Government of India was constituted to supervise the enforcement of CFGR and to establish a proper channel with both factions of NSCN, Rio added “the day to day monitoring, prevention and control of such factional clashes require the physical presence of the chairman, CFMG/CFSB on the ground.”
The chief minister also pointed out that the NSCN (I-M) had staged a walk out in the last CFMG meeting and threatened to boycott future CFMG meetings, in protest against the temporary appointment of Kumawat as chairman.
Rio said after decades of violent insurgency, the signing of the ceasefire agreement with the undergrounds had resulted in restoration of some semblance of normalcy in Nagaland. “If this hard gained peace is allowed to be wasted due to the casual attitude of the Government of India, it will set a dangerous trend for the entire NE Region, which is beset with such insurgency problems in almost all states,” he added.
Reiterating the vital role of the CFMG/CFSB chairman in enforcement of ceasefire ground rules, Rio urged Patil to appoint a fulltime chairman at an early date, preferably in consultation with other parties to the ceasefire.