DIMAPUR: Ahead of the Centre‘s proposed broad-based comprehensive political package to the Nagas to be given this month to solve the vexed Naga political problem, the armed groups in the state have made it clear that the Nagas would not accept anything other than sovereignty.
“We’ve told the Government of India on umpteen times that Naga sovereignty and integration are the core issues,” said Phungthing Shimrang, a leader of the Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagalim.
The outfit also demanded the creation of “Greater Nagalim” by slicing out the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh despite strong opposition by the three neighbouring states.
Choosing to adopt the wait-and-watch policy for now, the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) said there could be no bargaining on the issues of sovereignty and integration (of Naga-inhabited areas).
“Nagas don’t want to live like slaves and lose their freedom,” Phungthing added. The Khaplang faction of the NSCN also appears to be firm on the issue of sovereignty.
Reacting to the hard talk by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram vis-à-vis the insurgents of the North-East, the NSCN (Khaplang) asked the Home Minister to look into the ground realities.
“The Naga political problem is above Mr Chidambaram. It should be dealt with by the Parliament of India,” said Kughalu Mulatonu, a leader of NSCN (Khaplang).
“Sovereignty is not negotiable. It has to be won,” he said.
Dubbing the political package as a part of political propaganda by the Centre Mulatonu said, “Sovereignty is the one and only goal, there cannot be two goals.”
He warned that if the Centre did not give sovereignty to the Nagas, his outfit would continue to ‘threaten’ India’s sovereignty.
“We may not be able to defeat them (India), but we have enough strength to continue to torment them and their sovereignty,” Mulatonu asserted. The Naga civil society, meanwhile, appears to have given the task of settling the political problem to the armed groups.
“Whatever the demands are, let the political (insurgent) groups decide,” said Rev Dr Wati Aier of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, which is spearheading reconciliation among the various rebel groups.
Demanding the integration of the Nagas, the Naga Students’ Federation said it would not accept any packages “unless physical integration of Naga inhabited areas is made possible”.
