Nagas offer olive branch, some thorns

THE Nagas are talking peace. And they are doing it earnestly if you go by the week-long hectic parleys held by the outlawed National Sociali...

THE Nagas are talking peace. And they are doing it earnestly if you go by the week-long hectic parleys held by the outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagaland’s (NSCN) Issak-Muivah faction and others, at Bangkok, beginning May 5. Though firm on their ‘historical’ claims on parts of other states, they have made enough encouraging noises to prompt K Padmanabhaiah, the government’s chief interlocutor for the peace process, to call his one-day meeting with them ‘fruitful’.

The Thai capital was all abuzz as the who’s who of Naga society arrived to take part in the third Naga consultation meeting on ‘Strengthening the Peace Strategy’. Five days of marathon deliberations ended with the signing of a four-point Bangkok Declaration that supported the on-going negotiations between India and NSCN.

It also urged Naga factions to join hands. That unity was the flavour of the season was evident from the presence of Naga Hoho, Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA), Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) and Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR). Special invitees included Pu Zoramthanga, the Mizoram Chief Minister who has invaluable experience in the arena of peace talks.

This Mizo can help

THE Nagas don’t have to go far for advise, they can lend an ear to Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who was a senior leader of the erstwhile outlawed Mizo National front (MNF) that fought a long battle for a sovereign Mizo state. As Number Two to MNF boss Laldenga, he’s seen the negotiations from close quarters. ‘‘The NSCN leaders may be unhappy with the slow progress of the parleys, but I have told them how we talked and talked for nearly 15 years before clinching a deal,’’ said Zoramthanga .

Though no one was ready to commit on the course the peace talks were taking, Padmanabhaiah was quite upbeat. “There has been a steady progress in the talks, but no dramatic developments,” he said.

Muivah, the all-powerful general secretary of the NSCN(IM), however, was more circumspect. ‘‘The Indian government’s commitment towards the Naga people is unstable and it frequently takes a dramatic turn. The Naga’s struggle for sovereignty is unique and it does not admit distortion,” he declared. Muivah also complained that some “historical facts” have not been acknowledged. Naga hills, argued Muviah, were never part of India and were annexed by the British, and when the latter left, these areas should have been given their pre-annexation status.

But things have changed a lot. So has the map of “Nagalim” — the sovereign Naga country that the NSCN(IM) India has always dreamt of — which now contains large portions of Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and western Myanmar.

And here lies the problem. No state is willing to part with its territory. Memories of the violent protests sparked off by the government’s decision to extend the on-going ceasefire last year are still fresh in the minds of the people. Over 30 Manipuris had sacrificed their lives for the cause besides reducing the Assembly secretariat to ashes. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh also witnessed stray protests.

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United they
should standd

Will the Centre be able to find a solution to the five-decade-old Naga problem by just talking to the NSCN (IM)? Well, the answer is a big NO. Even Nagaland Chief Minister S C Jamir, often accused of siding with the Khaplang faction of NSCN, has called for including “all the warring Naga factions” in the peace process. Naga Hoho, the apex body of the Naga councils, too is of the same view.

Manipur fears that a major part of its territory, notably the hill districts, would be apportioned to Nagaland if the government strikes a deal with NSCN. “There will be a Third World War in Manipur if this happens,” warned its Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

Singh also slammed New Delhi for not taking other states into confidence while negotiating with the NSCN. Manipur’s apprehensions have roots in the fact that Muivah hails from the Ukhrul hill district of Manipur, where the Tangkhuls, a Naga ethnic group, are in a majority.

Meanwhile, the next round of talks is slated for the last week of June. With the Indian Government promising a safe passage to rebel leaders and the Nagaland Government withdrawing arrest warrants against some of them, the June talks may even be held in India. And that would definitely be one step closer to a solution.