The Hindu : International / India & World : Naga peace talks `on track'

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Saturday, Jul 31, 2004

International

International - India & World

Naga peace talks `on track'

BANGKOK, JULY 30. As the Government extended the ceasefire with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) for another year today, the National Security Adviser, J.N. Dixit, told reporters that the peace talks "are on track."

The decision to extend the truce, which expires tomorrow, was taken after two days of negotiations the Centre's interlocutor on Naga peace process, K. Padmanabhaiah, had with the NSCN(I-M) chairman, Isak Swu, and its general secretary, T. Muivah.

Mr. Padmanabhaiah's meeting with the NSCN (I-M) leadership coincided with the visit of Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to Bangkok for the BIMST-EC summit.

The Centre and the insurgent group entered into a ceasefire accord in 1997 and have continued with the peace process since then.The Government also reached a ceasefire agreement with Khaplang faction of the NSCN. Mr. Padmanabhaiah had met the NSCN(I-M) leadership in Amsterdam last month.

In January last year, Mr. Swu and Mr. Muivah had visited Delhi and met the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and his deputy L.K. Advani.

Mr. Dixit said he was not planning to meet the Naga insurgent group leaders nor had he any occasion to talk to them. "There are Government representatives dealing with that and those representatives will continue to do so," he said.

Reservations

Regarding the reservations the NSCN (I-M) has with the Government's Common Minimum Programme on the Naga issue, Mr. Dixit said as per the CMP there shall not be any erosion of the current territory status of the north-eastern States.

The NSCN(I-M), however, wants "Greater Nagaland" which includes Naga-dominated areas of other States neighbouring Nagaland.

"Taking into account the totality of the territorial limits of the existing States, that is a matter to be discussed and that's what we are doing," the National Security Advisor said.

The current peace process between the Centre and the NSCN began in June 1995 between the then Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and the NSCN collective leadership.The second Prime Minister of India to meet the NSCN collective leadership was Deve Gowda in November 1996. Subsequently, the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also stressed upon a peaceful solution. — PTI

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