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01/14/2006: "Centre optmistic about Naga truce extension"

Centre optmistic about Naga truce extension New Delhi | January 14, 2006 Webindia

The Centre is optimistic about the extension of the ceasefire with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) that expires on January 31.
Talking to ANI, the Union Minister Oscar Fernandese, who is also heading the ministerial committee dealing with Indo-Naga peace parlays, expressed the hope that the Naga group would agree to extend the ceasefire.
"There is a cordial atmosphere, ceasefire agreement that we had signed, they had extended it for six months. Now, it's getting over on the 31st of January, may be we have one more round of talks before the term is extended...we are hopeful of ceasefire being extended", Oscar Fernandes said.
Fernandes said that the issue of the "Greater Nagaland" or the unification of Naga dominated areas is one of the contentious issues between the NSCN (IM) and the Centre.
"That is the point of contention also, we cannot force anything on the states, like Manipur we cannot tell them you part with it, unless Manipur state people are willing to sit and discuss on the issue. We cannot come to a conclusion before taking the concerned people in the confidence. These are the hitches", said Fernandes.
Fernandes expressed hope that with both the Government of India and the NSCN (I-M) committed for the early realization of Indo-Naga political problem, peace would finally prevail in the state.
"Violence means who would be affected, Naga people will be affected, their children will be affected. They are fully aware of this. No body wants violence. The entire effort of the Naga Hoho and seniors are to see that there is no violence, yes but they want progress in the discussion. But peace it cannot be achieved that easily and they do not want to call off the ceasefire only because there is peace", said Fernandes.
Oscar Fernandes along with Centre's interlocutor for the Indo-Naga peace talks K Padmanabhaiah would be leaving for Bangok in the last week of January to hold peace parlays with NSCN top brass for the extension of ongoing ceasefire.
Analysts say that the Congress-led UPA Government is concerned that recognizing Naga "uniqueness" could stoke separatist sentiments in other parts of the country.
The team of Indian negotiators has already held talks with the NSCN in Bangkok on December 16 last year for the extension of the six month-long truce. (ANI)
Naga talks this month to preserve ceasefire PTI NAGA-TALKS Outlook India
NEW DELHI, JAN 13 (PTI) The next round of talks between the government and Naga groups will take place between January 27 and January 31 when the six-month ceasefire ends.
Talks will be held in Bangkok, Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, part of a three-member ministerial group involved in dialogue with Naga insurgents, said today.
He was also hopeful that the ceasefire would be extended as "everyone wants peace".
"The ceasefire ends on January 31. So the talks have to take place before that day. But I won't be able to leave the country before January 26," Fernandes told reporters here, making it clear that the discussions will take place in the intervening period.
The Minister said the primary issue was territorial and not development.
"The bone of contention is the demand for a Nagalim (Greater Nagaland)," Fernandes said, referring to the insurgents' demand to unify the all Naga-dominated areas in the northeast into Greater Nagaland.
Fernandes, however, said he believed the insurgent groups too did not want violence.
"It's the Naga people who will be affected by violence, which no one wants," he remarked.
Last month, Fernandes and K Padmanabhiah visited Bangkok as Central emmisaries for talks with the NSCN(I-M) leaders but returned without assurance from the insurgents over ceasefire extension.

15 Myanmarese soldiers killed: Naga rebels
GUWAHATI: At least 15 Myanmarese soldiers and six anti-India tribal separatists were killed and dozens wounded in weeklong fighting between the two sides inside Myanmar, a rebel leader said on Saturday. There is no independent confirmation of the clashes from the Myanmarese authorities.
But a spokesman of the SS Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) said guerrilla fighters were engaged in heavy fighting since Jan 7 with soldiers of the junta in the thickly forested Myanmar's northern Sagaing Division.

"So far we have killed 15 Myanmarese soldiers and lost six of our cadres. It is no longer mere fighting, but a full scale battle, with the junta using mortars and heavy weapons on us," senior NSCN-K leader Kughalo Mulatonu said on telephone from somewhere close to the India-Myanmar border. The NSCN-K is an influential rebel group fighting for an independent tribal homeland in Nagaland. The NSCN has at least 50 camps with some 7,000 rebels entrenched in fortified bunkers in Myanmar.

"Myanmarese soldiers have managed to demolish and burn down at least 50 of our makeshift shelters housing some 500 cadres although they managed to escape," the rebel leader said.

"We are getting reports that the junta is planning a massive strafing operation with helicopter gunship on our camps. We have in place several heavy machineguns to challenge low flying helicopters."

Myanmar in December launched a massive military offensive to evict anti-India separatists based in the northern Sagaing Division. "Chances of survival of many of our injured cadres are indeed remote as there is no medical support available with the terrain very hostile and rough," Mulatonu said.
The NSCN-K had claimed to have lost three of its cadres in the first round of military assault last month, besides two of its camps being demolished by advancing soldiers.

"They had also captured three of our leaders in a raid last month. We do not know if they are dead or alive," Mulatonu said.

At least four other militant groups from India's northeast, where numerous tribal and ethnic groups are fighting for greater autonomy or independence, have training camps in northern Myanmar's thick jungles - all of them sheltered there under the patronage of the NSCN-K. The NSCN's Khaplang faction has been observing a ceasefire with New Delhi since 2001 although peace talks are yet to begin. Myanmar in January last year killed at least 20 anti-India rebels, most of them from the NSCN-K, in a similar military offensive in the same area. Myanmar had repeatedly assured New Delhi that the junta would not let Indian rebels operate from its soil. The first time Myanmar launched a military operation against the Indian rebels was in 2000 when at least a dozen separatists were killed. There were similar operations last year as well. India and Myanmar share a 1,640-km long unfenced border, allowing militants from the northeast to use the adjoining country as a springboard for hit-and-run guerrilla strikes on federal soldiers. More than 50,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the northeast since India's independence in 1947

Fernandes to talk with Naga rebels in Thailand Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, January 13, 2006
With a ceasefire between Naga rebels and security forces expiring this month, Union Minister Oscar Fernandes is travelling to Thailand to hold talks with the insurgents in the hope of extending the fragile, eight-year truce.
"The ceasefire ends on January 31. So my talks have to be before that. I will be going to Bangkok after January 26 for the talks," Fernandes, who heads a three-member team of ministers to negotiate with the Naga rebels, said on Friday.
"Nobody wants violence. There must be progress in negotiations. But peace also cannot be achieved overnight and the day you call off the ceasefire, there will be no holds barred and that won't be good," said Fernandes, who is Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs.
"We sincerely hope the ceasefire is extended," he said, referring to the peace process with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM).
Though the NSCN-IM has traditionally extended its truce with the Government for a period of 12 months at a time, it agreed to an extension of only six months last year as a tactic to pressure New Delhi to accept its demands.
Fernandes indicated that the next round of talks would revolve around the rebels' demand for unification of all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast, a proposal that has been strongly opposed by the governments of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
"What the Naga leaders wanted was that the talks be taken up at the political level," Fernandes said. While he was willing to discuss all issues, for the Naga rebels it was primarily the "territorial issue", he added.
"But we can't force anything on the states. There has to be a due process and other states will also have to be involved," he said, responding to a question on the demand for creating a "greater Nagaland".
Besides Fernandes, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan, and Minister of State for Home Affairs S Reghupathy are members of the three-member negotiating team.
Fernandes said former Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah would continue to be the Government's pointman for the Naga peace process.
The Government and the Naga rebels entered a ceasefire in August 1997. The last round of two-day peace talks ended in the Thai capital Bangkok on December 17.

Killing is not our culture: Thenucho New Kerala
Kohima: Nagaland Home Minister Thenucho has called upon the Nagas to shun violence and resolve conflicts through negotiations.

Addressing the cultural session of 59 Chakhasang Students' Union (CSU) conference at Dzulhami village in Phek district recently, he said, ''If there is any misunderstanding, resolve it by talks as our forefathers used to do and not by killing.'' The minister urged the youth to take interest in traditional music, songs, dances and arts of the Nagas as these would help in presenting the state in a positive light at the international level.

Earlier, state Urban and Planning minister Shurhozelie emphasised on the dignity of labour and cautioned the students from running after easy money as it often led to disintegration of the society.
Talks to extend Naga truce soon Statesman News Service The Statesman
NEW DELHI, Jan. 13. —– The Centre’s chief political man on the Naga talks, Mr Oscar Fernandes, will travel to Bangkok in the last week of this month to hold discussions with the Naga rebels, for the extension of the ceasefire which expires on 31 January.
“The ceasefire ends on 31 January. So I have to talk to them before that. I will be going to Bangkok after 26 January,” Mr Fernandes, the minister for overseas Indian affairs, said. He added that he was optimistic that the the eight-year long ceasefire would be extended. Mr Fernandes asserted that “they (Naga rebels) do see reason,” pointing out that “both sides know the advantages of a ceasefire”. “Nobody wants violence. Negotiations must ensure progress. But peace cannot be achieved overnight and the day you call off the ceasefire, there will be no holds barred attacks and that won’t be good,” he said.
Mr Fernandes is part of a three-member ministerial team, also comprising minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, and minister of state for home affairs, Mr S Reghupathy, that had been formed after the Naga rebels wanted to discussions at the “political level”.
Mr Fernandes said that former home secretary Mr K Padmanabhaiah would continue to be the Indian government’s mediator for the Naga peace process, explaining that the primary issue here was territory and not development.
“The bone of contention is the demand for a Nagalim (Greater Nagaland),” he said, adding that the Centre “cannot force anything on the states”. “There has to be a due process and other states will also have to be involved,” he said.
Finding the Global Naga The Morung Express editorial
Inaugurating the 4th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, an annual convention of the Indian Diaspora, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a slew of policy measures including the assurance of giving them voting rights. Over the years there is an added new sheen to India’s image abroad. Thanks to the Indian Diaspora, today the country is basking in the glory of its Non Resident Indians (NRIs). Without a doubt, Indians abroad are a feel good factor to the Indian State and they have made the west view the country differently. More than anything else, the NRIs have shown with their success that east and west can not only meet but meet on equal terms.
It is all the more fitting that the Nagaland State Government should likewise recognize the inherent strength that can be derived out of those innumerable Nagas presently residing or working outside the State. The case of Meren Imchen, Nagaland’s own prodigy whose animated film was selected to be screened at the Annecy film festival at France is quite an achievement. Likewise, the well known social worker Dr. Joyce Angami finding a place in the reputed office of the United Nation bodes well for the Nagas. There are still many more Nagas out there achieving similar successes in their chosen fields. Whether the government will feel it worthwhile to step in and encourage such type of efforts remains to be seen.
Today the Naga people require an image makeover. This can come through only if those running the affair in the State (government or NGOs) can start identifying its own Diaspora and then providing them a platform from where they can contribute to the social and economic well being of the State. Like the overseas Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs who have changed the face of their motherland, the phenomenon of brain drain (though often criticized) can work the other way round as well through—brain gain. The overseas Nagas can likewise make a difference however small it may be in the beginning.
For this, their role and presence would have to be quickly recognized by the government and NGOs. They can play an important role in altering perceptions about the Nagas by exposing to the outside world the rich heritage, art forms, food, traditions of the Naga people. One to one contact of people with their western counterpart is already taking place. Many Nagas after their exposure are already supporting and involving in various educational and social service activities. But to harness this into something more meaningful, the State government will have to put a policy framework into place.
One specific suggestion is to set up a panel on Naga Diaspora headed by a prominent figure in Nagaland having a global personality with wide outside contact. Such a panel would have to firstly identify through detailed exploration the addresses of those living outside the State. Once this exercise is complete the rest of the jig jaw can be put into place in a logical manner. For this, the State Government can likewise push for setting up of a global organization of people of Naga origin to bring together the Naga Diasporas under a single umbrella and thereby providing the platform for a deeper engagement across all levels of socio-economic activities. Subsequently, once the Naga Diaspora becomes visible, the State Government can take steps through a broad policy framework in order to help in forging a mutually beneficial relationship. It is worth a gamble to find the global Naga and tap their potential.