Govt plans peace offensive to win over Nagas
George Iype in New Delhi
The government will soon send a high-level team of ministers, politicians and civil servants to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Naga insurgency with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland. The venue for the talks will be either Bangkok, Manila or Paris.
Official sources said the government has shortlisted the names of Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma, Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, Samata Party president George Fernandes and Information and Broadcasting Minister Jaipal Reddy to lead the delegation to the first round of talks with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah faction).
The NSCN-IM, headed by chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah, reportedly operates from Bangkok.
According to intelligence reports, the NSCN (I-M) is the fountainhead of all sub-nationalist movements in the North-East. It supports and trains other militant groups operating in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura.
After he became prime minister in April, Inder Kumar Gujral has sent official emissaries to Bangkok, Manila and Paris to negotiate with the rebel Naga leaders and find a political solution to the oldest insurgency in the North-East.
Following an agreement between the central government and the NSCN-IM, a three-month cease-fire came into effect in Nagaland on August 1 to facilitate political discussions.
Sources said Gujral's Principal Secretary Narendra Nath Vohra has already visited Bangkok to finalise the schedule of talks between the Indian delegation and NSCN-IM leaders.
The Prime Minister's Office has shortlisted Sangma, Pilot, Fernandes and Reddy to lead the Indian delegation for talks. "However, a final decision on who will participate in the talks will be taken by the Cabinet," a senior official told Rediff On The NeT.
The decision to involve Speaker Sangma in the negotiations was taken after the PMO felt his credentials -- he hails from the North-Eastern state of Meghalaya and is only too aware of the realities of the region -- makes him more acceptable to the
NSCN-IM than any other leaders.
Pilot, a former internal security minister, met Swu and
Muivah in Bangkok on behalf of then prime minister H D Deve Gowda last November.
Sources said Fernandes was assigned by former prime minister P
V Narasimha Rao on more than one occasion to negotiate with insurgent groups in the North-East. He is said to be an able negotiator and hence, his inclusion in the short-list.
Gujral held a meeting with senior officials of the PMO, the
Research and Analysis Wing and the Intelligence Bureau on Monday to discuss the agenda for the discussions with the NSCN-IM.
Vohra -- a former Union home secretary -- and senior RAW officials are expected to be part of the Indian delegation. The government is pushing for the first round of discussions later this month or in early October.
EARLIER REPORTS::
Nagas's Atlanta meet pleads for peace
Naga underground outfit agrees to ceasefire
Gujral gives fillip to Naga peace process
Khaplang condemns ceasefire agreement with Centre
TRAVEL FEATURE:
Guns And Roses
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Military solution is no solution: Muivah
'Two uncles' in search of elusive peace
We are not toys to be played around with: Muivah
NSCN (I-M) pivot of ultra outfits in N-E
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