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06/26/2006: "NISC blames GoI for infighting among Nagas The Morung Express"

NISC blames GoI for infighting among Nagas The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, JUNE 25 (MExN): The Naga International Support Center has called on the Indian Government to once and for all show its sincerity, to stop supporting fighting among Nagas and to come up with a policy which shows to the Indian populace what it’s policy is for Nagaland.
The NISC pointed out that while the talks themselves are held in an amicable atmosphere and the commitments to arrive at a mutually agreeable and honorable peace accord are time and again confirmed and reinforced, India props up adversary elements to undermine its Naga partner at the talks for peace.
“The question now is: Is India sincere in its endeavor to end this war once and for all”, the NISC stated in a press communiqué. Reminding the Congress Government in power in 1995 delivered the commitment openly, it stated that military solution is not possible, opening all avenues to negotiate with the Nagas on an equal basis.
“At the same time, through the years and now quite openly, India reinforced the results of its divide and rule policy by providing the NSCN-K and the remnants of the Naga National Council, funds and arms to fight against the NSCN who by the Government of India itself are the recognized representatives of the Naga Peoples, which is partnering in the peace talks”, the NISC stated.
Stating that time and again the Indian Government negotiators have reassured the Naga negotiators to contain these groups, so fighting among the Nagas could stop, “however, it looks like the negotiators are alienated from the ground realities, for Assam Rifles and Indian Reserved Police team up with the said groupings to initiate confrontations and providing the logistics”.
Pointing to the recent confrontations between the NSCN factions, the NISC alleged that these are no factional clashes but Government of India-induced confrontations. “The NSCN-K, in line with the Government of India’s desire to settle for a Nagaland State wanted the NSCN-IM to sign a cease fire agreement. When the NSCN-IM representatives refused, saying that NSCN-IM stands for every inch of Naga soil, the K people threatened, fired and, under duress, made them sign the agreement. Such behavior by the K has been condemned by the NSCN-IM and the people”, the NISC further alleged.
This deliberate breach of trust, provocatively shown by the NSCN-K and backed up the Indian Government will certainly imperil the talks to the point of abrogation, the NISC stated and cautioned that the Indian Government is solely responsible for the continuous violence.
“But NISC does not think the Indian Government could be so shortsighted that it will inevitably lead its Armed Forces back into full fledged war. NISC calls on the common-sensed leaders of the Government of India to end this war”.
Admit it or not, Tribalism is HERE and NOW in Naga Society ‘Even Naga national movement saturated in tribalism’ Morung Express News Dimapur | June 25
Decidedly lucid that the denouncement of sectarian tendencies, particularly Tribalism, in Christian Nagaland is limited only to ‘Sunday churches’, the scourge is not only underhandedly existent in the state but is also destroying the Naga society gradually. The Morung Express Poll covering the preceding week witnessed an overwhelming 94% of the respondents categorically agreeing that tribalism is destroying the very fabric of the Naga society, underhandedly or explicitly. Only 4% responded in negative while the final 2% stood on the sitting fence.
Some respondents in generic terms affirmed that “most” Naga tribes have their own ethnocentrisms not only in respect to other tribes but also within their own communities. “Most of the Naga tribes have (their) own ethnocentrisms in their respective tribes” one respondent asserted while another opined “Tribalism is a curse for Nagas as Caste System is for the Hindu society”. Unfortunately, the “curse” doesn’t seem to limit itself only to intra-tribal systems – observers asserted that even the Naga national movement has been invaded by the Tribalism-virus as well. “The factional killings are almost taking the form of tribal feud…infusing deep hatred against one another” one respondent observed. Perhaps this might be the reason why the Naga underground movement is being view as a veritable synonym for disunity like one reader responded by saying “it is preventing any form of dialogue”. Another reflected the warning voice of many a sensible Naga today –“Naga people have become so narrow-minded; you can’t speak your mind freely because they start threatening you in the name of clan, village (or) tribe. Nagas are doomed”. The slow deterioration of brotherly ethos in the so-called Christian society of the Nagas is reflected in the opinion of the same reader – “(The Naga) people are making up their own customs and tradition.”
The respondents also affirmed the obvious trend that likened sectarian mindsets like Clanism is not only destructive but is already destroying the Naga people. The most prominent instance of this evil is the prevailing (albeit underhandedly) intra-tribal antagonism among the Naga tribes where the significance of a tribe is measured in the context of the next tribe’s superiority/inferiority. The trend implied a cycle of the past and the continuing future. “The tribes that are less-advanced are now recognizing how they were used earlier” according to one reader. To this effect, albeit counter-productive, “the so-called advanced tribes feel threatened when other tribes progress” still another opined. This is indicative of the cycle of the continuing process and counter-processes that the evils of tribalism has started. Tribalism/clanism in Nagaland being too malicious to be unnoticed, one reader even asserted that the two evils can even be ‘activated’ when sensible, right-thinking Nagas resist the sectarian tendency: “Resistance mechanism against domination triggers tribalism”, the reader asserted. Reinforcing this contention another respondent said “Nagas are a jealous race that always hates to see progress in someone; when one progress, everybody wants a part to bring them down.”
Still there are some who prefers to sit the fence “Tribalism? I would rather not waste useful time and energy and indulge in such unproductive issues. To me tribalism is a misconstrued word for the distinction that has been among the Nagas since Month of Sundays, which in essence, puts together a rich ethnic Naga society.” Christian Nagaland still has to ponder over its faith.
Naga rebels read demands to India Nagarealm.com
A powerful rebel group in India’s remote northeast has demanded a separate constitution, flag and more control of natural resources and finances to end their decades-old revolt. Leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland submitted their 30-point “charter of demands” to a group of Indian ministers during their latest round of three-day talks which began at The Hague on Thursday.
“We have put up our demand for a federal arrangement between India and Nagaland,” V Horam, a senior leader of the council told. “The kind of relationship between the two will be worked out in the course of the next rounds of discussions, so that it could be incorporated in the constitutions of India and Nagaland,” he added.
The Indian government and the council have held many talks since a ceasefire in 1997. The truce is due to end on July 31.Analysts say peace with the Nagas will be crucial to a broader peace in the region, home to dozens of insurgent groups. Meanwhile, suspected left-wing guerrillas in central Chhattisgarh state beat three people to death, police said. The rebels also attacked police when officials went to collect the bodies of the three in Dantewada district however there were no casualties in the exchange of gunfire.
Police said those killed were activists of a state-sponsored anti-Maoist campaign that has put civilians under greater threat from Maoist violence. Agencies
NSCN demand new constitution for peace GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - A powerful rebel group in the northeast has demanded a separate constitution, flag and more control of natural resources and finances to end their decades-old revolt. Leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland submitted their 30-point "charter of demands" to a group of Indian ministers during their latest round of three-day talks which began at The Hague on Thursday.
"We have put up our demand for a federal arrangement between India and Nagaland," V. Horam, a senior leader of the council told Reuters by phone on Saturday.
"The kind of relationship between the two will be worked out in the course of the next rounds of discussions, so that it could be incorporated in the constitutions of India and Nagaland."
The Indian government and the council have held many talks since a ceasefire in 1997. The truce is due to end on July 31. The Naga tribal rebellion is India's oldest insurgency, and analysts say peace with the Nagas is crucial to a broader peace in the turbulent northeast, home to dozens of insurgent groups.
Ulfa must prepare for realistic dialogue NORTH by NORTH EAST: SANJOY HAZARIKA

It is now virtually official: the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULfa) is almost certain to come to India for direct talks with the Government of India later this year to begin a dialogue to end decades of confrontation, as it winds down its struggle for a once-romanticised “free” Assam. Last week’s meeting of the Peoples Consultative Group, the public face of Ulfa, with the representatives of the GoI, including home minister Shivraj Patil and national security advisor MK Narayanan, was positive. The discussions lasted over four hours and closed with a joint statement to the media. There are three issues on which the two sides hammered out a consensus: that there would be no recrudescence of Ulfa’s violence, a reference to the attacks that it unleashed on the Assam valley two weeks ago; that the organisation would come for talks and that five senior leaders in custody, a few captured after the Bhutan army’s assault on their camps in the Himalayan kingdom in December 2003, would be released.
Several media reports had proclaimed a hitch in the talks on the eve of the PCG’s arrival in New Delhi, saying that the five leaders, including a woman, were unlikely to be freed. However, this column had said last week that New Delhi had begun the process of releasing them, which has since been borne out by the government’s decision. The group is to be freed in order to enable the policy council of the organisation to meet to take a formal decision on the talks.
But what is Ulfa’s future agenda? What are the key issues it will discuss? It has proclaimed in the past that the key issue for discussion will be sovereignty but this is unlikely to be on the table for negotiations because New Delhi will not look at it. Talk about half-baked ideas such as “shared sovereignty” is not going to move the process much further. The Ulfa leadership needs to be far more realistic and recognise, as have the Nagas, that the Indian State can sustain the limited violence that it can unleash, which in turn angers and alienates the people of Assam.
Bangladeshi factor
There is a Bangladeshi factor here, as mentioned earlier in this column: that the possibility of a pro-India regime in Dhaka after the Parliamentary elections due in that country next year bodes ill for Ulfa and other armed groups based in Bangladesh such as the Hynnyetrip National Liberation Council of Meghalaya’s Khasi hills. They will no longer receive the welcome that they had long enjoyed there as Dhaka puts the finishing touches to an extradition treaty with India and has openly claimed that it had killed a number of Tripura rebels based in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Western diplomats told me recently that pressure from the political-military establishment in the USA and Britain, deeply concerned about the radical edge of an Islamic surge in Bangladesh, is also beginning to tell on Dhaka.
What is required is for Ulfa to shed its call to arms, to move away from Bangladesh into Assam, to quickly move into a political mode and get a feel of the ground realities by travelling across the state. For this to begin, two or three nominees of the group should start discussions quietly with Indian government officials and its leaders should consider a return to their homes ~ they need to learn that there is strong opposition to them, not merely from political groups such as the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party but also from those who believe in a transparent peace and human rights for all, not a select few, and the families of those who have suffered their wrath and violence.
There is also a group known as the People’s Committee for Peace Initiatives in Assam which has attacked the media for allegedly taking part in a “conspiracy” to derail the Ulfa-New Delhi peace process. This was a response, seemingly on behalf of Ulfa, which got rapped on the knuckles by the media in Assam and other parts of the country blasting it for seeking to intimidate senior editors and journalists in the state. Groups such as Ulfa and the PCPIA should understand that they need the media more than the latter needs them. And such self-proclaimed civil society groups as the PCPIA should be aware too that in the public eye they appear to have become the convenient tools of Ulfa’s propaganda machinery.
Talks in The Hague, hope at home
Another round of talks in The Hague, Netherlands, between the GoI and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim has taken place with a high-level representation from New Delhi, including three political leaders led by Oscar Fernandes, a minister in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government; the others were Prithviraj Chauhan and S Reghupati while long-time interlocutor K Padmanabhiah was also there.
Whatever the outcome of these talks, there is wonderful news out of the little village of Khonoma in Nagaland, the home of the late AZ Phizo, founder of the Naga independence movement. A reconciliation has taken place between two major clans, on the one side the descendants of Phizo, and, on the other, that of Sakhrie, once Phizo’s closest advisor who had a sharp difference of opinion with his former mentor and who was allegedly killed by the leader’s loyalists.
After years of dialogue and discussions between leaders of the two clans, Sebi Dolie, the eldest survivor of the Phizo line, took responsibility for the tragedy, apologised to Shimray’s family and called for reconciliation. The apology was accepted and an old bitterness, not less than 50 years old, finally buried.
It is this reconciliation, this healing between Nagas ~ at the individual, community, tribal and political level that is crucial if agreements at the highest level are to come together and bear fruit. This is the healing touch that must cement the foundation of good politics and strong negotiation.
It is also my view that it is now time for the GoI to call a consultation with the chief ministers and top officials of the neighbouring states of Nagaland as well as Nagaland to brief them on the progress of the talks with the NSCN and seek their views. Such an exercise will open up hearts and minds as well as make the consultations more transparent. However, statements such as that of K Chawang, a spokesman of the NSCN at Kohima recently, do not bode well. Chawang has criticised the media about misinformation about the ongoing talks.
Well, no one really knows what happens at the talks apart from bland statements, platitudes and close aides of both sides! A federal relationship, according to Chawang, on defence, foreign affairs and currency is what is being negotiated. That is not autonomy, according to him. But a federal relationship exists within repeat a federation and is all about autonomy and the extent to which political frameworks can be stretched. I wonder why this point is always missed in such remarks.
The principal stakeholders in the Naga peace process are not just the NSCN and the GoI but the neighbours of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh whose lands and futures are also at stake. Whether such a consultation can lead to a broadening of the process by which the NSCN leaders also share their views with the political leaders of the three states is yet to be seen, but it appears to be a logical and appropriate way to move ahead. New Delhi is not a real neighbour of the Nagas ~ Assam, Manipur and Arunachal are.
Naga peace talks ‘fruitful’: Fernandes Nagaland Post
THE HAGUE (THE NETHERLANDS), JUNE 25 (PTI): Giving a push to the Naga peace process, a group of ministers has concluded "very fruitful" talks here with the NSCN-IM leadership on key issues raised by the rebels, including autonomy for Nagaland. "This round of talks were part of the ongoing peace process. The talks were quite good and very fruitful," Union Minister, Oscar Fernandes, said after three days of talks with Naga rebel leaders along with Union Minister of State for Home, S Reghupathy, and Minister of State at the PMO, Prithviraj Chouhan. Fernandes, Reghupathy and Chouhan are members of the Group of Ministers constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the Naga peace process.
Asked whether NSCN-IM's 30-point Charter of Demands that included autonomy had figured in the talks, Fernandes said, "we discussed all relevant issues. But we cannot have talks on a piece-meal basis."
"We generally discussed the ongoing ceasefire in Nagaland. But the issue of extension (of the truce beyond July 31) was not taken up in the meeting," he said when asked whether the two sides had discussed extending the ceasefire that will end next month. Asked whether another meeting would be held before July 31, Fernandes said, "certainly another round of talks will be held before the expiry of the date. It is premature to talk about the extension now."
Sources said the 30-point Charter of Demands submitted by the NSCN-IM, including a greater say in the utilisation of Nagaland's natural resources, a separate Constitution, separate flag and control in areas like finance, defence and policing, had figured in the discussions. The NSCN-IM is insisting on "some kind of concession" from the Centre on its demands to "please domestic constituencies" that have become desperate due to delays in the peace process. However, the Centre's response to this was not known, sources said.
The issue of unification of Naga inhabitated areas in the northeast was also raised by the rebels. The Naga outfit has made a case for a "federal relationship" with the Indian Union. It has argued that the nature of this relationship should be incorporated in the country's Constitution as well as the separate one for Nagaland. If it is granted, this alone can ensure a lasting settlement to the nation's oldest insurgency problem, sources said.
The government's negotiators are believed to have put forward the Centre's view on the extent of flexibility under the Constitution that could take care of regional diversities and aspirations, sources said. The interlocutor for the Naga talks, K Padmanabhiah, was also present at the meeting while the NSCN-IM was represented by Chairmam, Isak Chishi Swu, and General Secretary, Thuingaleng Muivah.
The Centre began talks with the NSCN-IM in 1997 after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire.
Centre, NSCN-IM hold ‘fruitful’ talks in the Hague The Morung Express
The Hague (The Netherlands), June 25 (PTI): Giving a push to the Naga peace process, a group of ministers has concluded “very fruitful” talks here with the NSCN-IM leadership on key issues raised by the rebels, including autonomy for Nagaland.
“This round of talks were part of the ongoing peace process. The talks were quite good and very fruitful,” Union Minister Oscar Fernandes told PTI after three days of talks with Naga rebel leaders along with Union Minister of State for Home S Reghupathy and Minister of State at the PMO Prithviraj Chouhan.
Fernandes, Reghupathy and Chouhan are members of the Group of Ministers constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the Naga peace process. Asked whether NSCN-IM’s 30-point Charter of Demands that included autonomy had figured in the talks, Fernandes said, “we discussed all relevant issues. But we cannot have talks on a piece-meal basis. We generally discussed the ongoing ceasefire in Nagaland. But the issue of extension (of the truce beyond July 31) was not taken up in the meeting,” he said when asked whether the two sides had discussed extending the ceasefire that will end next month. Asked whether another meeting would be held before July 31, Fernandes said, “Certainly another round of talks will be held before the expiry of the date. It is premature to talk about the extension now.”

‘No collective identity for Kukis or Nagas’ By Our Staff Reporter Sangai Express
IMPHAL, Jun 25 : Asserting that there is no collective identity for Kuki group or Naga group, vice-president of HERICOUN Renghang Chothe noted that it is almost an impossible task to build a collective identity exclusively either for the Nagas or Kukis.
Speaking as a guest of honour on the concluding day of the Fifth Manipuri National Convention at DM College of Arts ground today, he maintained that it would be more democratic and rational to allow each ethnic group to preserve and promote their own unique identities.
Kakomlunglu Kamei of Kabui Mothers' Association said that in the prevailing situation, it is a must to encourage protection of identity for every ethnic group with the ultimate objective to bring unity in the State.
Chairman of Dingpi Area Development Peace Committee of Samtal village, Chandel district Ngamkhojam Guite observed that there is no such ethnic group as Naga or Kuki in Manipur but it is inhabited by indigenous groups like Kabuis, Tang-khuls, Maos, Khongshais etc.
Disclosing that Dingpi area which lies close to the Burmese border is bereft of electricity, drinking water, health centres and other civic amenities, he lamented that if any person falls sick, the patient is left to his/her own fate. He also mentioned that malaria and dysentery have claimed many lives in the area.
Rather than just shouting for unity at Imphal, Ngamkhojam Guite called upon all to help spread the light of development and progress in such areas. Then only, unity among the all the Manipuris would become a reality, he added.
Addressing the function as chief guest, titular king Sanajaoba remarked that it is essential to rejuvenate the value systems and traditional institutions of each and every ethnic group to build up emotional integrity of Manipur.
Sanajaoba recalled that Manipur had unified strength and unity among its people in the past.
Unfortunately, it seems that today unity has become a thing of the past. The titular king attributed such disintegration to failure of different ethnic groups of Manipur to preserve their distinct identities and the inability of all Manipuris to keep up a common ‘National ideology’.
He also mentioned of the alien ideologies imposed from beyond the State as one of the main factors of national disintegration.
Following the conflict between the ‘National ideology’ and ‘alien ideolo- gies’, a large number of Manipuris have started losing faith in their own National ideologies, remarked Sanajaoba. Another factor he counted for disintegration was discrimination among the people of Manipur practised under Hinduism during certain period of history. He further reiterated his call to revive the traditional value systems and institutions of different ethnic groups of the State. Today's concluding function was also attended by many representatives of several civil societies including those from outside Manipur as presidium members. During the programme participated by about 249 delegates from outside the State, cultural shows were also presented to mark the closing function.

Is all not well in the North? By Oinam Anand Sangai Express
Can two parallel lines meet at one point when extended on both the ends? The Geometry says 'no'. But two men walking in the same direction along two parallel roads may meet the same destination somewhere if they don't diverted or strayed away from their original tracks. Just opposite to this if two individuals or two groups of people ask for the same thing, the same piece of land at the cost of the other, who shall be the judge? What will be his decision? This is the present problem arises out of the NSCN (IM) talk with GoI and its effect and impact on the territorial integrity of Manipur.
The Manipuris vow to protect the integrity of Manipur while the demand of NSCN (IM) is to create a Nagalim which is possible only when the boundaries of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are redrawn. Will the Manipuris agree to this? The mass uprising of the 18th June 2001 is more than enough to show that much blood is there to shed to protect the boundary.
Another June 18 has passed this year with the vivid memories of the tragedy five years ago. The convergence of the large number of people from children to the aged and from the lowest rank to the highest to pay floral tributes to the tombs of the 18 martyrs had shown the love and sacrifice of the eighteen. For their blood, the integrity of Manipur is intact and will not be forsaken in future also.
On the other camp, this June 18 is a day which carries bad omen for them. According to their estimation the incident that happened on this day five years ago was a blow that thwarts the seemingly achievable goal.
So, actually this day is a day of hate and scorn for them but they named it as a 'prayer day' to find a solution in their own liking. Can a prayer with folded hands, with closed eyes before the alter of God while the mind is pre occupied with hatred of others be called a sincere prayer?
Some are following a path which they think right. Some others are following theirs which they think right. But the two paths criss-crossed each other not even run parallel for a short distance. Let us be friends and we shall eventually meet. Will you and I meet if you are going north and I south? Can we be friendly if you have one set of principle, action and belief and I another. To be friendly implies relationship in work, in thought, but is there any relationship between the man who always hates you?
When we turn back to the pages of the ceasefire talk between NSCN (IM) and GoI which has been for more than seven years, what we have seen is there is no definite course or direction in the talks. It may be taken as a far fetched metaphor but here is a story from fables:
A man cut down a tree with an intention to make a boat. In the process of making he found a flaw in the middle and he dropped the idea of making a boat. He again tried to make a pillar with the remaining piece. At this time by his slight mistake a vertical crack developed. He then trimmed it and tried to make a pole which is to be used in de-husking the paddy (Shuk in Manipuri). But it was also broken in the middle.
He next had thought of making a divider used in handloom ('tem' in Manipuri). He could not make it because he had no idea about it. In these long process the huge trunk of the tree becomes smaller and smaller and at last the man decided the stick to use in smearing chandan on the forehead (Chandon Chei).
He cut the small piece with some force and the stick flew away giving a sound 'hung' and lost from sight. The man had nothing to do but consoled himself by saying that he had succeeded in making a sound at least.
The Nagas fought for many decades with the Indian Government for an independent home State in the SE Asia in between the stretch of India and Myanmar and bordering china. In the course of long war they have gained nothing except recognition by some NGOs in the international level. They came to term with GOI dropping the idea of an independent country with ceasefire in 1997.
The main agenda or condition of the ceasefire is 'Unification of Naga inhabited areas. As the talks progress, the steps in the demand came down to Greater Nagaland, South Nagaland and now as the reports floated in the press is to be taken the talks this time will be on the autonomy of the Naga areas. Then the demand may come down again to the demand of 6th Schedule provided in the Constitution.
While there is downward trends (it may be the writers presumption) in the demands made by the NSCN (IM) to find a respectable solution to their problems there is upward trends of enmity created by this long never ending talks of peace to the people of hill and valley. Many problems arise between those with want to separate, clinging to their separateness and those who wants to hold the crack. This invariably breeds conflict and pain.
A problem is never solved on its own level; being complex, it must be understood in its total process. To try to solve a problem on only one level physical level leads to further conflict and confusion. Consciously or unconsciously we refuse to see the probability of solution of every problem because we don't want to let go of our problems.
For what we be without them? With the problems at least we are familiar whether they are world problem or kitchen problem, whether they are political problem or religious problem. We talk of the ideals of peace, of non-violence, and yet lay the foundation stone of war. As the days of peace talk develops it seems that all is not well in the north. Is this the conflict between two actualities or between the actual and the fictitious? Time will tell.