National
| Previous
| Next
Nagaland ceasefire runs into rough weather
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, MAY 8. The four-year-old ceasefire in Nagaland appears
to have hit a rough patch with the influential militant group,
National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issak-Muivah), accusing
the Centre of failing to extend the peace process beyond
Nagaland.
Demanding that the ceasefire be reviewed within two weeks, the
NSCN (I-M) said in a statement that the matter should be treated
``seriously.''
Not surprisingly, the NSCN (I-M) statement came close on the
heels of the Centre declaring a ceasefire with the rival Khaplang
faction of the NSCN on April 28. The ceasefire between the Centre
and the NSCN(I-M) was agreed upon in August 1997 and has been
extended periodically. It is to come up for annual review in
July.
The NSCN (I-M) charged the Government with going back on its
assurances and is particularly peeved at the Government's
``dilly-dallying tactics'' on the demand for extending the
ceasefire to all areas along the Nagaland border with Naga
presence.
It said the Centre declared the ceasefire with the Khaplang
faction which was a ``surrogate'' outfit supported by the
Nagaland Government. It dubbed the ceasefire as a ``marriage of a
mother to her daughter.''
The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, had recently
convened a meeting of the three Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur
and Arunachal Pradesh who appeared reluctant to extend the
ceasefire, but at the same time welcomed any move which would
bring peace to the areas in their respective States. The Centre
has not made any official announcement after the meeting with the
Chief Ministers.
``As the Government of India has betrayed its commitments, the
NSCN (I-M) has no moral obligation to respect the Government's
commitments anymore,'' the outfit said in its statement.
A spokesman of the Union Home Ministry said discussions had been
held between the Centre and NSCN (I-M) on the extension of the
ceasefire beyond Nagaland, but these had been ``inconclusive.''
The former Union Home Secretary, Mr. K. Padmanabhaiah, who is the
Centre's chief negotiator for the Naga peace process, said the
matter was ``under consideration.''
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
|
|
