GUWAHATI: Insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagalim or NSCN-IM on Tuesday sought an official clarification from “competent authority” on the “validity and extent” of its ceasefire agreement signed with the Central government in 1997 even as it warned of “ugly aftermaths”.
The largest of the extremist groups of Northeast made the statement in response to the comments of Brigadier Vijay Chasar, commander of 25 Sect of the Assam Rifles. The NSCN-IM said he had “justified” the recent killings of six of its members by the security forces in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh.
“Official clarification is hereby sought from the competent authority concerned as to the validity and extent of ceasefire agreement between the GoI (Government of India) and the NSCN. According to Brigadier Vijay Chasar, ceasefire is applicable only in Nagaland and not in Arunachal Pradesh. However, as per the Bangkok Agreement, dated June 14, 2001, the ceasefire agreement is between the GoI and the NSCN as two entities without territorial limits,” the NSCN-IM said in a statement issued to the media.
The outfit said it had been maintaining the essence of this historic agreement in letter and spirit wherever the “Naga Army” operates.
“Despite repeated and deliberate provocations, we have been restraining ourselves in the larger interest of the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process. A clear-cut answer is, therefore, demanded whether there is ceasefire in Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh state or not. Make your position officially known within one week time. In the event of ugly aftermaths evolving spontaneously out of such situation, we shall not be held responsible,” the outfit warned.
The NSCN-IM operates out of the soil of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal, each of which has a sizeable Naga population. The outfit has held over 100 rounds of peace talks with the Centre in the past 23 years but a solution to the protracted “Naga political problem” continues to elude both sides.