The Hindu : The Naga peace moves

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Thursday, Dec 12, 2002

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The Naga peace moves

By Wasbir Hussain

Only now, when the NSCN (I-M) leaders come to India, will discussions actually begin on `substantive issues'.

THE NAGA guerrilla chieftains, Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Chishi Swu, might still insist they are not Indians, but the two, easily among South Asia's frontline insurgent leaders, are set to fly into India anytime now to continue negotiations with New Delhi and carry the Naga peace process forward. Decks have been cleared for the top leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah faction), operating from various locations abroad, to come to India after New Delhi last fortnight lifted the 12-year-long ban on the outfit in yet another "mini-deal". Days after the Government's chief negotiator on Naga peace, K. Padmanabhaiah, briefed the NSCN (I-M) chairman, Mr. Swu, and the general secretary, Mr. Muivah, in Italy on the modalities for their visit to the country, New Delhi let the ban on the outfit lapse. Its current period expired on November 26.

The lifting of the ban was in fact among the several conditions put up by the NSCN (I-M) leaders for coming to India to continue with the peace talks in response to a personal invitation from the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. Another condition that has been met is the withdrawal of the arrest warrants against Mr. Muivah and other NSCN (I-M) leaders issued by the Nagaland Government in February 2000 after the assassination bid on the State's Chief Minister, S. C. Jamir. With the ban no longer there, the NSCN (I-M) is now a legitimate group, free to open offices anywhere in the country. It can back candidates or political parties or even contest if it likes in the coming Assembly elections in Nagaland. Of course, its cadres would still not be permitted to wander around in `inhabited areas' with weapons

It took more than five years for New Delhi and the NSCN (I-M) to come to a stage when they could actually talk on what the rebel leaders call `substantive issues' since the former Prime Minister, H. D. Deve Gowda's unorthodox initiative in 1996 — when he handpicked the Opposition Congress leader, Rajesh Pilot, to make contact with the NSCN (I-M). Ever since they entered into a ceasefire agreement that came into effect from August 1, 1997, the Government and the NSCN (I-M) have primarily been engaged in sorting out disputes that were central to the issue from the rebels' point of view, more than New Delhi's. The key dispute was over the jurisdiction of the truce, whether it should be applicable only in Nagaland or whether it should extend to all Naga-inhabited areas in other States adjoining Nagaland as demanded by the NSCN (I-M). Finally, after the anti-ceasefire uprising in neighbouring Manipur in June 2001 that saw 18 Meitei protesters die in police firing, it was `decided' that the truce would be confined to Nagaland.

So far, the peace talks have been held in Bangkok, Amsterdam, Paris, Italy, Davos and so on. Only now, when the NSCN (I-M) leaders come to India, will discussions actually begin on `substantive issues'. Before examining the possible solutions that could emerge, one would like to know the current citizenship status of Mr. Muivah, Mr. Swu and some other NSCN (I-M) leaders living in self-imposed exile abroad. If the NSCN (I-M) leaders are flying into New Delhi on Indian travel documents, it would indicate a relaxation in their position. After all, the Naga rebels still stick to the "declaration of independence" by the Naga National Council (NNC) on August 14, 1947, a day before India became free from British rule. This event is cited by groups such as the NSCN (I-M) to argue that they were fighting the Indian state to "regain their lost sovereignty", and that the movement is not at all a secessionist uprising. By all accounts, New Delhi is said to have persuaded the rebel top brass to accept Indian travel documents. Of course, they could well have been promised a safe passage to return to their foreign locations should the talks break down.

Unlike in the mid-1960s when the talks between the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, and the Naga leaders broke down as the two sides held on to their respective positions — the Nagas insisting on nothing but a sovereign Naga homeland and New Delhi simply rejecting it — it is the dominant mood for peace among the Nagas now that has made the two sides push ahead to evolve a solution. The NSCN (I-M)'s decision to agree to have a ceasefire in place in 1997, and thereafter, enter into negotiations with New Delhi suggests that it had made up its mind for a compromise. Like the NSCN (I-M), the Vajpayee Government, too, appears bent on clinching the issue. This explains why the Vajpayee Government has been going all out to ensure that every possible irritant is removed from the path of the peace process.

What could the magic compromise formula for a solution be? That is the million-dollar question. The NSCN (I-M) triumvirate of Mr. Muivah, Mr. Swu and the vice-chairman, Khodao Yanthan, are all in their 60s, and are in a hurry to assume the leadership of their people and make some fruitful contribution. Could the solution lie in a dual citizenship for the Nagas? Could Nagaland's administration, as a feel-good factor, be brought under the Ministry of External Affairs as was the case at one point in the past? Could the Nagas get a new autonomy package? This is for New Delhi and the NSCN (I-M) leadership to decide and agree upon, but certain things such as the demand for integration of the Naga-inhabited areas in States such as Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh into one Nagaland are issues that cannot be decided by the two negotiating sides alone. The NSCN (I-M)'s `greater Nagaland' dream is one that will be extremely difficult to realise even if it insists on that while agreeing to abide by the Indian Constitution. After all, no State, whether it is Assam, Manipur or Arunachal Pradesh would like its borders redrawn.

One thing is clear: New Delhi cannot afford to do things in a hurry. It must now try to ascertain whether peace will actually return to Nagaland or the Naga areas with only the deal with the NSCN (I-M) without the concurrence of rival Naga rebel factions as the NSCN (K) or the NNC. That, of course, is a long-term question. As of now, New Delhi's biggest challenge is to keep the NSCN (I-M) cadres in Nagaland under check, put an end to the internecine group clashes between the NSCN (I-M) and the NSCN (K) (between August 1, 1997, and November 26, 2002, a total of 96 NSCN (I-M) cadres and 246 NSCN (K) men were killed) and to see that the Congress Government in Nagaland headed by Mr. Jamir does not whip up unnecessary fears over the lifting of the ban on the NSCN (I-M). Mr. Jamir has already met Mr. Vajpayee and wanted him to ensure that the NSCN (I-M) does not intimidate voters during the coming Assembly elections in the State.

At the stage that the talks are in, mutual trust will hold the key to a great extent. For instance, the Mizoram Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, a former rebel leader himself, has said the NSCN (I-M) leaders were wary of New Delhi's response in the event of the talks breaking down while they are in India. Mr. Zoramthanga said that in 1978, he was part of an eight-member Mizo National Front (MNF) team that had come to New Delhi for talks with the then Prime Minister, Morarji Desai. "The talks failed, and we were forcibly detained for as long as nine months in New Delhi," he said. Mr. Zoramthanga, who has emerged as another key Government negotiator on the Naga issue, however, ruled out the possibility of New Delhi repeating the same mistake this time, saying, "this is too good an opportunity to be missed". He couldn't be more correct.

(The writer is Associate Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi)

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