Naga peace talks stumble on 'flag, constitution'

GUWAHATI: The Naga peace talks yet again stumbled on the NSCN(IM)’s twin demands for a “Naga national flag and constitution”, with the outfit declaring on Tuesday that the onus was on the Centre to now introspect and acknowledge that there could be no “final solution” to decades of turmoil if these two issues remained unresolved, reports Prabin Kalita.
After last week’s talks, the NSCN (IM) leadership held an “emergency national assembly” in Nagaland and decided to “uphold and protect Naga unique history and Naga national principle at any cost”. The Centre had acceded to NSCN(IM) using the “Naga national flag” for cultural purposes only, which the outfit rejected. “How can we forfeit Naga national flag and Naga constitution in the name of a political solution?” its chairman Q Tuccu said.
Referring to the framework agreement of 2015, with the Centre, he said NSCN(IM) had inked the pact after taking into consideration the “Naga people’s sovereign rights and dignity”. He said “forces are at work to undermine its political significance by giving a wrongful interpretation”.