GUWAHATI: From his birthplace Somdal village in Manipur, NSCN-IM leader Thuingaleng Muivah on Tuesday reiterated that the outfit would not deviate from its long-held position on the Naga political issue.
“They (Government of India) started giving ultimatums… We were forced to tell them that come what may, we will stand our ground. We know who the Indians are and their history,” the 91-year-old leader said.
Muivah, who is also the chief negotiator in the Centre’s peace talks with the NSCN-IM, declared,
“We will not come taking your (India’s) history to surrender to you. We will never do that. Whether it is today or tomorrow, Nagas are Nagas and Indians are Indians.”
He added that there was no uncertainty within the NSCN-IM regarding its stand.
“If you don’t come to understand us and appreciate us, then there is no point in our going to you. The peace negotiators representing the Government of India have understood our position clearly, though some of them have said they face difficulties,” Muivah stated.
Muivah returned to Somdal in Ukhrul district last week after more than six decades, having left home in 1964 to join the Naga revolutionary movement.
At an event in Ukhrul town on October 22, he asserted that the “historic national decision” for a sovereign Nagalim had been “defended and consolidated from the battlefield to the negotiating table.”
“We have not surrendered the free existence and sovereignty of Nagalim, and we shall defend the sovereign national decisions of Nagalim to the last,” Muivah had declared.
He also made it clear that the NSCN-IM would not compromise on the twin issues of the Naga national flag and the Naga constitution.
“The letter and spirit of the Framework Agreement (signed with the Centre in 2015) have recognized and acknowledged the Naga national flag and the Naga national constitution,” he said.
Muivah is scheduled to attend another event in Senapati, Manipur, on Wednesday before returning to Nagaland, where he currently resides.
The NSCN-IM entered into a peace process with the Centre in 1997 following the signing of a ceasefire agreement. Despite nearly three decades of peace talks, a final solution to the Naga issue continues to remain elusive.
