Naga peace talk

Wednesday, March 2, 2010, The Telegraph :-

Talks positive: Muivah. Muivah after meeting Chidambaram in Delhi on Tuesday.

The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) said meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram today were “very positive”.

“Both the Prime Minister and home minister were very positive,” said a senior functionary of the group.

The NSCN, led by Thuingaleng Muivah, its ato kilonser (prime minister), V.S. Atem, convener of the steering committee, the highest policy-making body of the group, Tongmeth Konyak and Johny Dibulong, members of the steering committee, and Vikiye Sumi, a senior cabinet kilonser (minister), met the Prime Minister at his residence.

The meeting lasted 40 minutes.

Later, the team had a 75-minute meeting with the home minister where they discussed the boundary dispute with Manipur and Assam.

“We had a comprehensive discussion and the NSCN (I-M) will continue the negotiation with the government of India.... If the Centre is serious, then we will talk,” said Muivah. Home secretary G.K. Pillai and special secretary (internal security) U.K. Bansal also attended the meeting.

The outfit’s source said talks would be extended beyond tomorrow if there was desirable progress.

Muivah led a five-member delegation and the Centre’s interlocutor, R.S. Pandey, to an undisclosed location to carry forward their talks after their meeting with Chidambaram.

From tomorrow, Pandey, a former petroleum secretary and chief secretary of Nagaland, will begin discussing the Centre’s 29-point proposal.

NSCN sources had said New Delhi’s proposals contained financial sops, greater autonomy and a proposal to absorb all NSCN “officials” in the new administrative set-up.

But the Naga outfit still continues to harp on a special federal relation with the Centre.

Muivah is said to be unhappy with the new interlocutor but is prepared to test him out in this round of Naga talks.

“The government of India has confidence in him (Pandey). So we will talk to him. But if the talks do not yield any result, then we will say no (to talking to Pandey),” said Muivah after his meeting with the home minister.

When asked, senior home ministry officials, however, asserted that Muivah had no reservations about Pandey.

While NSCN (I-M) leaders met the central leadership, ministers in the Okram Ibobi Singh government and leaders of social organisations spearheading movements for safeguarding Manipur’s territorial integrity closely monitored the developments in Delhi.

The Ibobi Singh government and leaders of the United Committee, Manipur (UCM) reiterated their stance that Manipur’s “territorial integrity would not be compromised under any circumstance”.

“We will welcome any outcome of the ongoing talks between New Delhi and the NSCN (I-M) leaders. We will accept anything that is good for the Nagas. We also want an early solution to the Naga issue, but cannot accept any outcome that would affect the territorial boundary of Manipur,” Yumnamcha Dilipkumar, president of UCM, said.

“We are ready to go to any extent to safeguard our boundary. Manipur cannot be divided under any circumstance,” Dilipkumar stressed.