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Govt May Withdraw Naga Truce Extension

The Centre is likely to withdraw the extension of its ceasefire with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) beyond the territorial limits of Nagaland.

The agreement to extend the almost four-year-old truce to all Naga-dominated regions of the Northeast was reached on June 14, 2001, between NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and the government's negotiator, former Union home secretary K Padmanabhaiah.

The decision to withdraw the extension is likely to be announced after the chief ministers of six northeastern states and the governor of Manipur, which is under central rule, give their views on the matter during their meeting with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 27 in New Delhi.

Minister of State for Home I D Swami told rediff.com that while taking a decision on this crucial matter, the government would keep in mind the larger interests of the country and the other northeastern states.

Apparently, the thinking in the home ministry now is that it was a blunder to extend the ceasefire without territorial limits. The argument is that it is not wise to destabilise three more states -- Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh -- to bring peace to one.

"In any case, though the ceasefire became effective in 1997, it was never implemented on the ground," Swami argued, thereby dropping a big hint about its imminent revocation outside Nagaland.

Asked if Padmanabhaiah had established contact with Muivah in Amsterdam, Swami confirmed that the two had met. "We will know what transpired when Padmanabhaiah reports back to the ministry. He has to return before July 27," he said.

Padmanabhaiah has the difficult task now of trying to convince Muivah of the government's compulsions to withdraw the extension of the ceasefire to other states and not to break off his talks with the Centre to find a solution to the half-century-old Naga insurgency problem.

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