Govt rejects NSCN-IM’s demand for flag, constitution

Centre sticks to stand on which agreement was made, is open for talks after signing of accord

● SECURITY SOURCES say the NSCN (I-M) started becoming uncomfortable with Nagaland Governor and interlocutor R.N. Ravi soon after his hard-hitting letter to the state govt about ‘parallel governments’ being run by underground groups and accusing them of extortion.

● IN NAGALAND demands for an early resolution have been growing from civil society organisations and tribal heads.

The government in its ongoing informal talks with the NSCN (I-M) has made it clear that it was not going to concede to the demand for a separate flag and Constitution.

Asserting that the government was going to stick to its stand on which an agreement was made on October 31, 2019, security sources in the ministry of home affairs told this newspaper that talks with the NSCN (I-M) have been completed on all issues.

Pointing out that the government had assured that the option was open for talks on the demands of a flag and Constitution even after signing of the accord, security sources said that NSCN (I-M) leadership had been told categorically about the deadline of September to conclude the peace process.

Admitting that a joint council meeting of the NSCN (I-M) held at its Hebron camp in Dimapur recently reiterated the demand for a separate flag and Constitution to be the part of the final settlement, security sources said that the issue came up for discussion during the ongoing informal talks through the officers of the Intelligence Bureau but it was subsequently turned down.

Security sources said that the NSCN (I-M) started becoming uncomfortable with the Nagaland Governor and interlocutor R.N. Ravi soon after his hard-hitting letter to the state government about “parallel governments” being run by underground groups and accusing them of extortion. It is significant that Ravi’s letter came after reports of corruption and extortion started creating unrest in the civil society of Nagaland.

Though, now NSCN-IM has claimed that the talks were running smoothly, in Nagaland demands for an early resolution have been growing from civil society organisations and tribal heads. All these bodies have also made it clear that a final agreement without a separate flag and constitution is acceptable to the public.

The conglomerate of seven insurgent groups indigenous to Nagaland — the Naga National Political Group (NNPG) has already announced that they have concluded the peace-deal with the Centre and now prepared to sign the peace accord any day.