Govt-NSCN talks to begin on Jan 29

The insurgent team will include Swu, Muivah, ‘Kilo Kilonser (Home Minister)’ Rh Raising and group emissary V S Atem. During the talks, the 30-point memorandum submitted by the I-M group to the Centre will be discussed and the two sides will try to reconcile their positions. The strategy is to work out the easier issues first and leave vexed ones such as the question of Naga-inhabited areas for the end. The Centre is keen for a solution that leads to lasting peace in Nagaland and the six other North-east states.

Apart from Fernandes—considered close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and also the Chairman of the Central Election Authority of the party—the government side will have Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Prithviraj Chavan and Minister of State in the Home Ministry S Regupathy.

Interestingly, Special Advisor to Prime Minister M K Narayanan, who is now the guiding force behind the Naga peace initiative, is not on the team but will assist the negotiating ministers from behind the scenes.

The Government decided to field a ministerial team as the I-M leaders could be averse to negotiating with the Home Secretary. Fernandes, who was a party observer in the recent Arunachal Pradesh elections, is well-versed with North-east issues. Chavan will represent the PMO and Regupathy the Home Ministry in the talks.

After being re-elected as leaders of the I-M group, Swu and Muivah have been consulting other groups within Nagaland to come up with a cogent agenda for talks with the Centre. It is learnt that they will also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Shivraj Patil during their stay here. The talks are expected to last nearly a week.