‘Delay in talks due to lack of wisdom, guts’

The NSCN (IM) collective leadership has alleged that the delay in resumption of peace talks between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) was due to the lack of “wisdom and guts” on the part of the GoI.

Talking to media persons at Dimapur Airport Sunday noon, after their arrival from Delhi, the NSCN (IM) collective leadership, including Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and General Secretary Th Muivah, also accused the Centre of deliberately postponing the peace talks.

“Whatever might be the circumstances, you know they (Centre) ought to take steps but they don’t take. Very sorry we don’t see wisdom and guts on the part of the Indian Government because you know both the Indian and Naga people are anxiously waiting for the outcome of the talks and that is not wrong on our part,” Muivah said.

The two NSCN (IM) leaders, who had been campaigning in Delhi since November 13, 2013, returned on Sunday. “The ball is in their (Centre) court and naturally we expect that they will be prepared to continue the talks. Of course they are willing to do it but we came to understand that they are too much engaged. On top of the coming election, there has been an unfortunate incident also, the interlocutor resigned himself and so without the presence of the Interlocutor, initiative cannot be taken from our side or either side and so the process has been held up”, Muivah said.

It may be mentioned the Centre’s interlocutor to the Naga peace talks, RS Pandey resigned in December 2013 and later joined the BJP.

Stating that the delay in resumption of talks did not mean that the peace process has stopped, the NSCN (IM) General Secretary however said that GoI was not expected to keep silent but to take initiatives, as the ball was in the court of the Centre.

“Of course the assurance is that the talks must there, solution must be worked out. That is what they told us. Yet we are not satisfied with that kind of promises. In the past three years they kept themselves silent. When the Interlocutor was there, the talks could have been taken up”, Muivah said.

“They cannot go back upon their own commitment. Remember the Prime Minister, almost all the Prime Ministers, they said that Naga history is unique and we have to seek solution basing on the uniqueness of Naga history. How can they go back? They cannot go back”, he added.

Asserting that the NSCN (IM) was not disappointed by the temporary setback, the collective leadership nonetheless insisted that things have to work out. “But things have to work out when the time is ripe, when it is not done than whose failure is it? Naturally those people who did not take initiative,” Muivah said.