Nagaland Government's Appeal To Centre On Naga Peace Talks

The Nagaland government has urged the Centre as well as the Naga extremist groups not to back out from what has been committed over the last 25 years towards the resolution of Naga political issue and peace talks.

Former Chief Minister TR Zeliang, chairman of ruling United Democratic Alliance, has said the government of India should not change its stand from what has been committed to the Nagas through former interlocutor RN Ravi and present government representative AK Mishra.

"The negotiating parties should not back out from what has been committed to each other. With this approach Nagas can expect that the talks will come to a logical conclusion at the earliest. The ongoing talks so far are positive," the Naga leader said in a video message.

Referring to various reports in the media, Mr Zeliang said "loose remarks" made by some Naga leaders based on speculations and hearsays caused misunderstanding and confusion among the Nagas.

"I appealed to all right-thinking Naga leaders to refrain from making unsubstantiated comments. Lawmakers, public leaders and everyone have the right to speak out for the common welfare of the Nagas."

"However, one must remember that unlike the 1960s when overground groups were part of the (peace) negotiations, it is the Naga nationalist groups who are part of the negotiations today," he said.

The undivided armed group Naga National Council, said Mr Zeliang, was not consulted prior to the signing of the 16-Point Agreement in the 1960s by Government of India and the Nagas.

"The UDA government wants inclusiveness and involves everyone to settle the Naga political issue," the former Chief Minister said, adding that any unfounded and unwarranted remarks might mislead the most sensitive peace process.

Appreciating the "genuine" effort of the negotiating parties, the UDA chairman said one should not believe that the final agreement on this complex and sensitive issue would be inked secretly and imposed on the Nagas.

The UDA government headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been working vigorously to settle the Naga political issue. The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) is the dominant party of the ruling alliance UDA in Nagaland with the BJP, which has 12 MLAs, as one of the important constituents.

Recently,  21 of the 25 MLAs of the Naga People's Front (NPF) led by Mr Zeliang merged with the NDPP increasing the strength of the NDPP to 42 in the 60-member Assembly.

Both the BJP, the NPF and the NDPP are the constituents of the opposition less all-party UDA government, formed last year to take forward the Naga political issue between the Centre and Naga outfits and various other groups.

The election to the 60-member Nagaland assembly is expected to be held in February-March next year and all the political parties and the state government are keen to resolve the much-expected issue before the polls.

The NSCN-IM's repeated insistence on a separate Naga flag and Constitution have become a big hurdle in the way of resolving the Naga issue.

After signing a formal ceasefire agreement with NSCN-IM in 1997, the Central Government has held more than 85 rounds of negotiations with the NSCN-IM and other Naga groups.