The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has “called off” a proposed meeting with representatives of the Isak-Muivah faction of the extremist National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in Arunachal Pradesh following a wave of protests.
The meeting was scheduled for Thursday at Deomali in eastern Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district bordering Myanmar.
“The meeting has been called off by New Delhi due to security reasons and unavoidable circumstances,” a statement from the Arunachal Naga Students’ Federation said.
Last week, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union had asked Chief Minister Pema Khandu not to allow the meeting on the State’s soil.
‘Bid to create confusion’
“It is a premeditated attempt on their [NSCN-IM] part to create confusion on the purported peace talks and sabotage peace in the State as the content of the Framework Agreement is still shrouded in mystery and yet to be made public,” the union’s president Hawa Bagang said.
The NSCN(IM) and other factions operate in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh, together called the TCL region. These districts, along with large swathes of Assam and Manipur, are included in the NSCN(IM)’s map of Greater Nagalim encompassing all Naga-inhabited areas beyond Nagaland.
The three States neighbouring Nagaland are opposed to the idea of Greater Nagalim and suspect the Centre might have given in to the outfit’s demand while signing the Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015.
Warning to people
Eastern Naga National Government, a newly-formed insurgent group, had also warned the people of eastern Arunachal Pradesh against attending the MHA’s meeting with NSCN(IM). The group pointed out that the NSCN(IM)’s ‘integration’ demand has nothing to do with Arunachal Pradesh.
The perception that the Centre has come close to resolving the 70-year-old Naga political issue has made other States in the northeast restive too. On Wednesday, the Kuki tribal group in Manipur observed a 24-hour shutdown in its areas demanding punitive action against the NSCN(IM) for the ethnic cleansing of Kuki people from 1992-1997.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), which called the shutdown, said let the Centre know that their land must be excluded from any territorial deal with the NSCN(IM).