Nagaland: Peace at the Crossroads
31 Dec, 2001 · 670
Bibhu Prasad Routray says there is a need to broadbase the negotiation process taking into consideration the voices of the Naga people as a whole
The ‘Naga Reconciliation Peace Initiative’ (NRPI) organised in Kohima by the Naga Hoho, the apex Naga tribal council, on December 20, has been hailed as a landmark event. This event could make a dent on insurgents who have usurped the role of the people’s representatives.
Manipur , Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh. The Union Government’s June 14 decision to extend the area of ceasefire with the NSCN-IM ‘without territorial limits’ had resulted in tremendous uncertainty among the people in those states and trouble in Manipur, when the Naga-Meitei relations had taken a nosedive. The November 2001 diktats of the NSCN-IM to the Meiteis of Manipur not to use National Highway 39 had further complicated the matters.
Firstly, the meeting was organised under the broad forget and forgive’ principle underlining the yearning for peace in the State which is evident from the dispersed endeavours to keep the flag of peace flying. To cite a few examples: In January 2001, following repeated clashes between the two insurgent factions, the villagers of Mangkolemba in Mokokchung district declared their sub-division a ‘peace-zone’. In the year 2000, the tribal councils of Zunheboto and Tuensang districts had also made a similar declaration.
The NRPI meet, reiterated the indivisibility of peace in the region. Whereas peace in Nagaland needs to achieve unity among its fifty odd tribes, its permanence requires a greater effort to allay the fears of its neighbouris. To quote a Naga Hoho spokesman, ‘there may be perfect unity and total peace between the various Naga tribes, but if we are not at peace with the rest of the world or our immediate neighbours, we will not have lasting peace’. For the first time the Naga tribes have showed up at a common platform to take the pledge for peace. Active participation of influential Church organisations, student bodies and the State administration placed a decisive stamp of authority upon the meet.
The need for reconciliation was important to assuage the fears and apprehensions of the people in
Secondly, the meet is a landmark event because it induced the Khaplang faction of the NSCN to declare an unconditional month-long ceasefire, which effectively brought to a halt the two month long hostility between the two factions that began with the attack by the NSCN-K on the ceasefire monitoring cell of the NSCN-IM at Dimapur.
The other outfit, NSCN-IM started off with scepticism over the NRPI exercise and the assertion that such exercises had limited value unless they were based upon ‘national principles’. However, in a quick somersault its Vice-Chairman Khodao Yanthan not only attended the meet but also expressed his optimism that the initiative would not be a futile exercise but go a long way to achieve peace through reconciliation.
Thirdly, the meeting provided the Naga people an opportunity to express their views on the ongoing negotiations between the NSCN-IM leadership and the Union government. Speaker after speaker affirmed that peace in Nagaland would only come after the government talks to the genuine representatives of Naga society, not any single outfit. It was a decisive snub to the insurgent groups claiming to be the vanguard of the Nagas.
It is a pity that even after years of ‘struggle’ for realising a greater Nagaland (Nagalim), the NSCN-IM has failed to acquire the status of representing the people. Its indulgence in violence, as the tool for achieving its goal, has led to its marginalisation for all practical purposes.
Fourthly, the meeting emphasised the Naga Hoho’s emergence as the true representative of the Naga people, that makes the people’s wish its command not the other way around. Even though the Hoho also seeks at a greater Nagaland, its tactics have shown greater finesse contrary to the compelling machination of the outfit. This difference in approach makes the demands of the Council more acceptable compared to the people.
Finally, the meet was important for its timing. It came at a time when fratricidal clashes between the two insurgent groups threatened to engulf a relatively peaceful year. It also came at a time, when the peace talks with the NSCN-IM had been elevated to a higher level following the Prime Minister’s December 8 Tokyo initiative.
These facts need to be taken into account by the negotiators of the Union government. There is a need to broadbase the negotiation process taking into consideration the voices of the Naga people as a whole rather than considering the claim of individual insurgent outfits. Only that can establish enduring peace in Nagaland.
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