Urges focus on larger unresolved Indo-Naga talks
Dimapur, February 10 (MExN): The ‘tripartite agreement’ signed on February 5 between the Government of India, the Eastern Naga People’s Organisation (ENPO), and the Nagaland State Government has been described as a “timely correction of the historical injustice” endured by the region for decades.
In a statement released by the Media Cell of Working Committee, Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs), the agreement was characterised as “a powerful reminder that the will of the people is supreme.” The new arrangement must “realign and calibrate” the long neglected administrative and economic lapses, it urged.
The WC, NNPGs said that it is the responsibility of the Eastern Nagas to bring out an “ingenious, independent, transparent mechanism” to effect a robust transformation and ensure agreement paper and pace matches on the ground.
While acknowledging the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) announcement, it reminded the signatories that a larger Indo-Naga political issue concerning the entire Naga ancestral homeland remains unresolved.
The WC, NNPGs highlighted that the “negotiations have officially” concluded on October 31, 2019. ‘Broadly, clear negotiated charters are on the tables of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Home Minister of India Amit Shah,’ it added.
The statement noted, “WC, NNPGs believes New Delhi and Kohima are on the same page.” It said that the “Status Paper” is inclusive of Nagas of Nagaland, Nagas of Manipur, Nagas of Assam and Nagas of Arunachal Pradesh.
However, they remarked, “Regardless of this fact, if the Nagaland state government has a separate agenda to negotiate with the GoI and desires a new interlocutor, that is a different matter.”
