KOHIMA: Now that the elections are done and dusted, the people of Nagaland will hope that a settlement to the Naga political issues is reached at the earliest. Even at the peak of campaigning, a “solution” to the vexed issue was never far away.
All parties, including the BJP, had promised in their manifestos an equitable and just peace deal. And during election speeches, many leaders talked about bringing a solution that would be acceptable to all Nagas.
Addressing a rally in Chumukedima on the outskirts of Dimapur, the state’s commercial hub, Neiphiu Rio, a former Chief Minister and the leader of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, promised to bring a solution.
“The Naga issue is a political issue and my party will ensure that it is resolved at the earliest,” he said, promising development in the same breath.
But bringing a solution is easier said than done. A ceasefire agreement between the Central government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) has been in force since 1997. The government later signed a similar agreement with the SS Khaplang faction of the NSCN. And there have been several rounds of talks but there is yet no sign of a final settlement.
In 2005, the Centre and the NSCN (I-M) signed a framework agreement but this has also not yielded any result. What makes the situation murkier is the presence of several Naga groups and a peace deal with one may not be acceptable to the other.
Perhaps echoing the difficulties that lie ahead, Matong Longkumer, whose father was the vice-president of the ‘Federal Government of Nagaland,’ a self-styled government of the Naga National Council, said the “Naga problem is not India’s problem.”
“All the groups should thrash out their differences with a clear objective in mind,” he said. According to Longkumer, the differences cropped up after the signing of the Shillong Accord in 1975. The peace deal was signed between the Government and representatives of the Naga underground movement in the Meghalaya capital.
But soon after, some leaders of the NNC denounced the accord and called it a betrayal. This group called themselves the non-Accordist. Subsequently, Th Muivah, Isak Chishi Swu and Khaplang formed the NSCN, which also later split and the late Khaplang formed his own outfit. So the challenge before the government will be to work out a settlement that will be acceptable to all.