Central emissary to visit Nagaland for peace talks

KOHIMA: Central Government representative AK Mishra, who held the first round of talks with the major Naga groups including the NSCN-IM and other stakeholders in September last year in Nagaland, will visit the Northeastern State on Monday to take forward the peace talks, officials said on Friday.

A senior Nagaland Government official said that Mishra, a former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), during his week-long stay in Nagaland, would meet Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio other Naga leaders and the leaders of Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) and Naga National Political Groups (NNPG).

Mishra was entrusted with the Naga peace talks by the Central Government after it transferred Nagaland Governor Ravindra Narayan Ravi to Tamil Nadu. Ravi was the Centre's interlocutor in the Naga peace talks for many years.

During his last visit in Nagaland in September last year, Mishra also discussed the Naga peace talks issue with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the Convener of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Rio, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton, United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Chairman TR Zeliang and newly-elected Rajya Sabha Member S Phangnon Konyak met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday in New Delhi and discussed the Naga peace talks issue.

However, the Nagaland leaders remained tight-lipped about the crucial discussions.

During the Assembly session last month, all member, cutting across party lines, strongly demanded settlement of the Naga peace process at the earliest.

Rio had urged the negotiating parties to settle the issue, and that if a settlement cannot be reached, there should be fresh mandate by the people as to how to pursue the Naga political issue. Noting that 17 resolutions on the Naga political issue have been passed in the Assembly since 1964, he said: "But if a solution is not arrived at, and insurgency activities continue, the future of the younger generation remains at stake."

The Centre has been separately holding peace talks with the NSCN-IM and eight other Naga groups, which came together a few years ago under the banner of NNPGs.

The NSCN-IM and other outfits entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in 1997 and since then, both sides held more than 85 rounds of negotiations. A Framework Agreement between the Centre and NSCN-IM was signed on August 3, 2015 and the agreed position between the Government and the NNPG was finalized on November 17, 2017. (IANS)

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