Naga peace talks cannot be reopened, says WC-NNPGs; demands finalisation of political settlement

The Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPGs) on February 10 said that the Framework Agreement signed with the Centre cannot be reopened, asserting that it already provides for a comprehensive political settlement addressing the core issues of the Naga people, including ancestral homeland concerns.

In a statement, the WC-NNPGs said the Agreed Position signed with the Government of India envisages the formation of a Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA), a long-standing demand of the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), aimed at addressing decades of neglect and marginalisation of eastern Nagaland.

Describing the agreement as a “timely correction of historical injustice,” the WC-NNPGs said the settlement reflects the supremacy of the people’s will and must now translate into concrete administrative and economic reforms. It said the new arrangement seeks to realign governance structures, establish inclusive mechanisms and ensure transparent implementation so that the agreement delivers tangible benefits on the ground.

While acknowledging the FNTA arrangement, the committee said it must be understood that the larger unresolved Indo-Naga political issue encompasses the entire Naga ancestral homeland and cannot be viewed in isolation.

The WC-NNPGs recalled that seven Naga groups inked the Agreed Position with the Centre on November 17, 2017, and that negotiations with Naga groups were formally concluded on October 31, 2019. It said the negotiated charters are already before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The statement also clarified that the “Status Paper” includes Nagas of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and was submitted to the Centre by the Nehru-led NDA government as part of the peace process. It added that if the Nagaland government seeks a separate agenda with the Centre or proposes a new interlocutor, it would amount to a different matter altogether.

Reiterating its negotiating stance, the WC-NNPGs said the peace talks have been formally concluded and that all core political issues have been thoroughly deliberated. It maintained that any attempt to downgrade the Agreed Position is “inconceivable” and would go against the aspirations of the Naga people, who have moved beyond interlocutory phases.

The committee appealed to senior national leaders to move towards the final phase of the peace process by signing the political agreement in accordance with the negotiated terms, stating that lasting peace can only be achieved through honourable and practical solutions.

Highlighting that the Indo-Naga issue has witnessed more than 80 rounds of negotiations over 18 years, with the first breakthrough in 1997 and the ceasefire agreement ending decades of insurgency in 1994, the WC-NNPGs said the Centre has consistently rejected NSCN(IM)’s demand for a separate Naga flag and constitution.

It added that the government subsequently entered into parallel negotiations with the WC-NNPGs in 2017, culminating in the signing of the Agreed Position later that year, which it described as the most realistic and inclusive pathway to resolving the decades-old Naga political issue.