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All eyes on Isak-Muivah faction

With the Centre planning to enter into a formal cease-fire agreement with two more Naga insurgent outfits, all eyes are now on the dominant Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, which has been holding talks with it for three years, while opposing the inclusion of other groups.

Union home ministry sources indicated that the government could announce a cease-fire during the Budget session of Parliament with the NSCN (Khaplang) and Naga Federal Group.

NSCN-I-M strongman Thuingaleng Muivah had opposed any move by the Centre to include other Naga factions, especially its bete noire, the NSCN-K, in parleys.

"If you say you will talk to us, then you have to honour it. If you take the initiative to talk with anyone else, we will not be party to that," Muivah had said in an interview from Bangkok.

It is against the background of such hardline postures that home ministry officials were keeping their fingers crossed on the issue of widening the peace process, as demanded by Nagaland Chief Minister S C Jamir.

The NSCN-I-M leadership has been averse to including other factions in talks as the group led by the Isak Chishi Swu and Th Muivah is the only 'legitimate' group.

But in changed circumstances, leading to a strong opinion in favour of ending the gun culture, the Centre believes that "the clamour for peace is so strong that none can afford to abrogate the peace process".

General officer commanding, Nagaland, Major General R N Kapur, said, "Peace has come to stay in Nagaland and anyone who will abrogate the process will get the boot himself."

Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, during a two-day trip to the state, appreciated the yearning for peace in Nagaland, saying, "The exuberance and enthusiasm I have been seeing is a clear indication that the people of the state want to come out of the turmoil."

Impressed with the people's cry for peace, Advani said the image of far-flung Nagaland from a distance was erroneous.

In the quest for peace, the state capital Dimapur observed a total strike on February 6 and 9.

"It appears that years in the wilderness of Nagaland seem to be over and a people's movement demanding peace, tranquillity and economic development seems to be gaining ground. The voice of the people will not go unheard and their desire for permanent peace is bound to bear fruit, putting Nagaland on the threshold of a peaceful revolution of political stability and economic prosperity," Horangse Sangtam, president of the Naga Council, a premier citizens' forum, said.

PTI

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