CFMG Chairperson says Cease Fire office was misused
Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 14
The Chairperson of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group (CFMG), Amarjeet Singh Bedi said that the NSCN-K (Niki) has been held accountable for violating the Ceasefire Ground Rules (CFGR).
“The NSCN-K (Niki) has been found to have violated certain provisions of the ceasefire ground rules and has been held accountable for this violation,” Bedi told a press conference on October 14. He did however specify which “certain provisions.”
The comment came four days after the abduction of two entrepreneurs, on October 20, by members of the NSCN-K (Niki) led to a public outcry and demand for arresting the adductors.
The press conference followed after the CFMG held back to back meetings, at the Nagaland Police Complex in Chümoukedima, with the NSCN-K (Niki)’s Ceasefire supervisory Board (CFSB) and a conglomerate of youth organisations, which issued ultimatum to the government authorities to bring to justice the abductors. The NSCN-K (Niki) was represented by its CFSB Supervisor Abel Zingrü Thuer.
The ultimatum was issued twice, back to back. After the expiry of the first 48-hour deadline without the police unable to arrest the absconding abductors, it was extended for another 48 hours, which expired at 4:00, October 14.
Bedi said that the NSCN-K (Niki) was also found to have misused the Ceasefire office allotted to them. The CF office is located in Padumpukhuri, Dimapur.
According to him, the NSCN-K (Niki), in writing, committed to adhering to the CFGR, while assuring to bring to book its cadre behind the October 10 abduction.
“They have also committed to not obstructing the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Nagaland police in arresting the culprits,” he said, while adding that the NSCN-K (Niki) was told to hand over the erring cadre to the police.
He claimed that the Nagaland Police chief has assured of swift action and have already conducted raids at the CF office in Padumpukhuri and other locations. “I am sure the police are making every effort to ensure these people are arrested as soon as possible,” he added.
When it comes to apprehending members of the Naga Political Groups, accused of crime, the police generally claim helplessness on account of political immunity enjoyed by the NPG cadre, who are said to usually take the protective cover of their camps designated by the Government of India. On this, Bedi maintained that there is a distinction between designated camps and ceasefire offices.
If there are reports of unlawful activities in the allotted CF office, he said that the CFMG will facilitate the police to carry out its job. He added that the ceasefire offices are provided to the groups for specific ceasefire-related activities and not for harbouring criminal activity.
Earlier on October 12, Niki Sumi, the President of the NSCN-K (Niki), responding to the public demand for arresting his erring cadre, said that his group as a political organisation, function outside the scope of the Indian constitution. The CFMG chairperson declined to comment on this.
CF with 5 NPGs
At present, some 25-26 groups claiming to represent the Naga political cause are active in Nagaland. However, Bedi clarified that the GoI has active CF agreements with only 5 groups— NSCN (IM), NSCN (K), NSCN (Reformation), NSCN-K (Niki), GRPN/NSCN.
The latter is also known as GPRN/NSCN (Unification). According to him, his mandate is limited to these five ceasefire groups.
“The ceasefire mechanism is limited to the people with whom the Government of India is in ceasefire. If there is anyone else who is carrying out any illegal activity… the police are free to take action,” he asserted.
Agitated youths prevented from proceeding to NSCN-K (Niki) CF office
The Dimapur-based Naga youth conglomerate, calling itself the Western Naga Youth Front (WNYF) for the interim, after meeting the CFMG Chairperson, proceeded to Aoyimti, where a crowd of people had been assembling since afternoon. The fledgling pan-Naga youth organisation, with Aka Rengma as the Convenor, was said to have got the mandate of 19 tribes.
Announcement of the meeting with the CFMG and the outcome was not welcomed by the crowd, who demanded that the answer from the authorities should not be less than the arrest of the absconding perpetrators. An agitated crowd jeered and interrupted as the leaders, who addressed the gathering, gave their speeches. According to the leaders, while the culprits remain absconding, they got a victory in the form of WNYF, which would provide a unified pan-Naga platform to address issues of extortion and ransoming by the NPGs. The leaders did not address the media however.
While the speeches ended, the emotions of the crowd did not, who began proceeding to the NSCN-K (Niki) CF office. They were however prevented as the police formed a barricade. The agitated youths eventually relented to appeal from local leaders to cool down and turned back.