A time for peace

Situation one: Thuingaleng Muivah, the all-powerful general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN(IM)) is in jail in Thailand since January. Situation two: The terms of the on-going ceasefire between the NSCN(IM) and the Indian government, first agreed upon in July 1997, come to an end on July 31. And K Padmanabhaiah, the Prime Minister's official negotiator in the Naga peace process, has said that it was time the NSCN(IM) deputed or delegated another person instead of Muivah so that the process could continue. Talks between the government and the NSCN(IM), in fact, have not taken place since November last year, though the two sides had agreed to meet, and were indeed meeting, at least once in three months. "The entire process has suffered a major setback due to Muivah's absence," remarked Padmanabhaiah, who was in Guwahati recently. "Given this situation, the NSCN(IM) should either nominate a new person to carry on the talks, or let the government know what it wants to be done," he added. Muivah was arrested in Thailand last January on charges of travelling with false travel documents. Though he was initially let out on bail, he was re-arrested while allegedly trying to flee Thailand. The next date of hearing for the case comes up on July 24, and there is little indication that he would be allowed to go free. In the meetings held between the two sides in New Delhi on May 25 and 26, the government expressed its "deep concern" at the continuing violation of the ceasefire by the NSCN(IM). Official documents relating to that meeting recorded that this had resulted in as many as 536 deaths. Of these, 165 persons lost their lives in inter-factional clashes, while 211 innocent civilians died in the crossfire. Also reported were 365 abductions and 456 extortion cases. This meeting, in which the government was represented by RD Kapur, special secretary (Northeast) in the union Home Ministry and the NSCN(IM) by V. Atem, also resolved to reactive the Cease Fire Monitoring Group (CFMG), which has remained inactive since the government ordered the NSCN(IM) to vacate the Monitoring Cell office at Dimapur on the night of November 29, 1999. The NSCN(IM) representative on his part also requested that a full-time chairperson be appointed for the CFMG. There were also suggestions from both sides regarding amendments to some ground rules for ceasefire, but these suggestions have been kept under wraps. But even as these discussions were on, the NSCN(IM) came out with what it termed as an "open letter to the Indian public", in which it recalled the proclamation of independence by the Nagas on August 14, 1947, as also the plebiscite of 1951, in which "99.9 per cent of the Nagas voted to be a sovereign state." "We are absolute strangers to each other even though we live next door to each other. There is also a wide chasm between us a chasm, which has been made by the Indian ruling classes and their agents. The only Indians we Nagas ever meet are the occupational forces, whether they be the Indian armed forces or the Indian bureaucrats. Indian media comes to our land under military escort. You only read biased reports about our people and us," says the three-page letter. It was through this letter that the NSCN(IM) also accused "your government" of not being sincere in its efforts to solve the Naga tangle. "There is a long history of betrayal of trust and promises made to the Nagas by the Indian government, which the people of India do not know," it added. The NSCN(IM) also outlined certain "obstacles" which have stood in the way of a political solution to the Indo-Naga conflict. These are: total insincerity on the part of Indian officials involved in the negotiation (Even the PM's emissary has no `real powers' to negotiate); intelligence agencies "which act beyond the rule of any law, got the Thai authorities to arrest our leader T Muivah by spreading false information... which has seriously jeopardised our faith in the sincerity of the Indian government"; the government's refusal to extend ceasefire to all Naga-inhabited areas of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh; the role of SC Jamir, who issued an order stating that all NSCN members were liable to be arrested and the closing down of the Ceasefire Motoring Cell office at Dimapur. The letter concludes: "Despite this, we have come forward for peace talks... However, our patience is running out." This is followed by a list of alleged incidents of ceasefire violation by Indian armed forces, which add up to 149 since January 1998. Meanwhile, leaders of the Church, by far the most influential organisation in Nagaland, have blamed both the government as well as the NSCN(IM) for the stalemate. "Both the Indian government and the NSCN(IM) are to be blamed for their insincerity and unrealistic postures," Rev VK Nuh and Rev L Suohie Mhasi, two senior Church leaders who had played a pivotal role in bringing the two sides closer, recently remarked. Rev Nuh and Rev Mhasi, who recently went to Thailand to meet Muivah in jail, have even gone to the extent of saying that the NSCN(IM) alone cannot bring about a solution to the Naga impasse. "If they (the NSCN(IM)) leaders) can bring about a solution, nobody will oppose them. But till now, they refuse to make themselves amenable to the interests of the general public," they said. The roots of their frustration can be traced back to the fact that while the other NSCN faction headed by S.S. Khaplang has agreed to work together with Naga groups like the Naga National Council (NNC) towards peace, "the NSCN(IM) leaders have remained adamant". No doubt the NSCN(IM) is the most powerful Naga group, but "they will have to declare a cessation of hostilities with other factions," Rev Nuh and Rev Mhasi pointed out. Chief Minister SC Jamir has been also pressing the Centre to include all Naga groups in the peace process, more particularly the NSCN(K). But that looks like a distant dream. Because, while the government cannot afford to lose contact with the NSCN(IM) leadership, the latter's "open letter" has put it on record that "We pledge to honour our leaders' commitments to leave no stone unturned to save the hard-won peace process." And time is running out.