Naga Ceasefire: clearing the air

AFTER HAVING ANNOUNCED, unilaterally, the decision to enlarge the ceasefire with the NSCN(I-M) rebels to parts of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the Union Home Ministry is now talking of a review. The shift, in the first place, is bound to put the peace talks with the NSCN(I-M) in a spot. After all, the Naga rebel outfit had placed this - that the Naga-dominated areas outside Nagaland too be included in the ceasefire agreement - as a condition to continue the negotiations that began some four years ago. The problem with the NSCN factions and the larger crisis involving the initiation of a political process in Nagaland (as well as in the other States in the Northeast) were even otherwise a complex mix. And the inability of the successive Governments in New Delhi to break the impasse had led to the present crisis. The manner in which the June 14 decision (arrived at after the Centre's emissary, Mr. K. Padmanabaiah's discussion with Mr. T. Muivah) was announced had only broadened the crisis rather than helped move closer to a resolution.

Add to this the ``reiteration'' now by Mr. Muivah that the demand for a ``greater Nagaland'' remains on the agenda as far as the NSCN(I-M) is concerned. That the Union Home Ministry and its emissary did not care to even get Mr. Muivah to put this demand on hold while negotiating the terms of the fresh ceasefire is indeed a matter for concern. The Union Home Ministry and its officials engaged in the negotiations with the NSCN could have secured this - a commitment from Mr. Muivah and his men that they will not press for ``greater Nagaland'' - in return for enlarging the area of the ceasefire. This they did not do and even after the violence that rocked Imphal, all that one heard were statements (for the record) that the ceasefire agreement need not be seen by anyone as paving the way for affecting the territorial integrity of any of the States in the region. Neither the Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, nor even the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee (after he entered the scene and talked to the leaders from Manipur), had ruled out the idea of a ``greater Nagaland'' outright. And without a categorical assurance, the new sense of insecurity among the people of Manipur and such other States as Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (where too there are Naga- dominated pockets and the ceasefire agreement applies) was only to be expected.

Be that as it may, having assured the members of the delegation from Manipur that a review of the ceasefire agreement is already on and that the process will now be expedited, the imperative for Mr. Vajpayee and those in the Union Home Ministry will be to involve a cross section of the political groups in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in the review process. And it is necessary, at least at this stage, to impress upon the NSCN(I-M) the need to suspend the demand for a ``greater Nagaland''. This will be needed in addition to a categorical statement by the Union Government against the idea apart from ensuring that the peace talks with the NSCN rebels are carried out with a definite time frame. The Home Ministry will also have to spell out, at least to representatives of the national political parties, the progress of the talks with the NSCN ever since the process was initiated. Apart from this, the events in Imphal during the past week have revealed that the All Manipur Students Union is in the forefront of the agitation and most parties in the State are being held captive by the group. This needs to be corrected. Any move that could lead to a vacuum in the political space (in the event of the parties and their leaders being pushed to the margins) will only lead to further complications in the region. One would expect Mr. Vajpayee and his colleagues in the Union Cabinet to learn from the past when student and youth leaders were allowed to take over the political process.

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