The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, or NSCN (IM), has said it will disclose the “competencies” of its talks with the Union government in “due course of time”.
The armed group’s statement follows the decision of the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), a conglomerate of seven rival groups, to distribute copies of their competencies to people in the spirit of “transparency and inclusiveness”.
Competencies are issues discussed or placed on the table during peace talks. In official jargon, it means “entries in the Union, State and Concurrent list of the Indian Constitution”.
100 rounds of talks
There have been more than 100 rounds of talks since the Centre and the NSCN (IM) declared a ceasefire in 1997. Influential Naga organisations such as the Nagaland Gaon Bura Federation or village elders’ body have slammed the NSCN (IM) for shrouding the talks in secrecy.
The NSCN (IM) did reveal portions of the Framework Agreement signed with the Centre in August 2015 after accusing Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi of tweaking it, but nothing much is known apart from contentious issues such as “Naga national flag” and “Naga constitution”.
In a statement on Friday, Hutovi Chishi, convenor of NSCN (IM) Steering Committee, said the outfit appreciated the Nagas’ eagerness to know the details of the competencies. But some of the competencies were still under hectic negotiations.
“Any agreement signed under Indian constitution can be openly published like others do. But the FA (Framework Agreement) and the competencies being worked out with outside the box solution needs caution till its completion. Therefore, we shall surely bring forth before the people in due course of time for wider consultations,” his statement said.
The “others” was a reference to the NNPGs, whose 11-member delegation led by Mr. Chishi’s counterpart N. Kitovi Zhimomi met Mr. Ravi at a police facility near Nagaland’s commercial hub Dimapur on Thursday.
Ravi ouster demand
Mr. Ravi is also the Centre’s representative and interlocutor for the Naga peace talks. The NSCN (IM) has been demanding his ouster since his June 16 letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, in which he referred to the armed groups as “gangs” running parallel governments through extortion.
The NSCN (IM) also asked Nagas not to be confused between Nagaland and Nagalim. While the former refers to the geographical confines of a State, the latter is a term the NSCN (IM) uses to mean all Naga-inhabited areas – in Nagaland and adjoining northeastern States as well as Myanmar.
On Wednesday, the NSCN (IM) met representatives of the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) and its affiliates. The ENPO’s push for statehood for ‘frontier Nagaland’ comprising four districts of Nagaland is believed to undermine the idea of a unified Naga homeland as Nagalim envisages.
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NNPGs decision
After Thursday’s meeting with the Governor, the NNPGs announced its decision to share all the competencies or crucial matters regarding the peace process since people are the primary stakeholders of the Naga issue. It pointed that it had been transparent on all discussions since the Agreed Position or Preamble signed with the Centre on November 17, 2017. The Preamble forms the guiding principle for the negotiation with the NNPGs.
The NNPGs also took pot-shots at the NSCN (IM) by stating that Nagas could not be held hostage “indefinitely under the pretext of negotiations that spell socio-political and socio-economic disorder”.