Dimapur, October 14 (MExN): The Naga Rising (TNR) group on Wednesday said the signatories to a peace accord, if and when it happens, must be the Naga Political Groups (NPGs) and representative/s of the Government of India.
“The state government, tribal Hohos, church or other stakeholders have never been part of the negotiations and therefore, they cannot be made to sign or be held accountable,’ the group said in a statement on October 14.
If required, they may be present solely as witness, it added.
It also said that the Naga political issue or signing of a Naga Accord cannot be equated with a ‘memorandum,’ as was done with the Assam Accord of 1985 and Mizoram Accord of 1986.
The TNR said that the offer of the Government of India to take up all unresolved issues through ‘democratic process’ is a welcomed approach. However, it viewed that the move was “a vague commitment as it is like giving a cheque without any signature, date or amount.”
“Drawing lessons from past experiences of Indo-Naga negotiations and the failure to meet commitments, Naga negotiators must demand written guarantees to facilitate all ‘unresolved issues,’” it added.
Stating that the Indian political leadership is aware that ‘a unique’, ‘out-of-the-box’ solution and ‘some special arrangement’ would have to be made for the Nagas, it asserted that the political leadership should now “take the lead in concluding the present talks on the Naga issue and not let it be held hostage to the security and military establishment.”
“The Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs—2019 and its strong recommendation that the Government of India ‘should tread carefully on the issues sensitive to the Nagas and not let vested interests hijack the peace narrative,’ must guide the political executive to conclude the present talks with an agreement at the earliest,” the TNR said.
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