GUWAHATI: Amidst differences among Naga insurgent groups on the demands for a separate "Naga national flag" and "Naga constitution", some tribe-based organisations of the state on Friday met the interlocutor in Naga peace talks RN Ravi, who is also the Nagaland governor, and insisted on early solution to the protracted issue.
The governor too said that the peace talks had been going on for a long time and they should be concluded.
The Nagas are divided on the twin contentious demands of flag and constitution. The largest insurgent group of the Northeast, National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM), is non-flexible. It insists that the two demands are non-negotiable. The outfit has the backing of some other Naga organisations.
However, a conglomerate of some other rebel groups, known as Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), assert that the Nagas should accept settlement within the three-month timeframe and pursue the demands of flag and constitution thereafter.
Given the recent Kashmir development, the Centre is unlikely to accede to the two demands.
The Working Committee of the NNPGs said if the appeal of the Naga tribes went unheard, it would "mean the negotiation is not for the people and therefore, Nagaland should be left undisturbed because it would be unwise to play emotional, sentimental and patriotic card at all times, without tending to wailing and dying generations of Nagaland."
The NSCN-IM alleged that the Centre was at work to "exploit vulnerabilities to pull away many individuals or groups in the state with monetary baits and other highly-rated economic packages."
"We have seen the rise of many black sheep who shamelessly exalt themselves in the media with their venomous write ups, and selected few civil society groups that are going extra vocal putting pressure upon the stakeholders to sign off the agreement within the time limit set by the Prime Minister of India notwithstanding whatever is to be lost,” the NSCN-IM said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, an organisation formed to achieve unity among the warring insurgent groups, urged them to refrain from media-confrontation. "This is only harming the Naga society and making us more vulnerable to further division. We encourage NNPGs and NSCN-IM to meet, address all outstanding differences through dialogues and explore finding a common ground," it said in a statement.