Nagaland committed to early resolution of Naga peace talks; key meet held

Amid stalled peace talks, the Nagaland government has reaffirmed the state's commitment for an early solution to the decades-old negotiations between the Centre and Naga groups.

The reiteration of the state's long-standing commitment came after the state Cabinet met the Government of India's representative for Naga peace talks, A K Mishra in Kohima.

Replying to media queries following the Cabinet meeting with Mishra, Minister for Tourism & Higher Education and government spokesperson, Temjen Imna Along said it was just a brief discussion on the Naga political issue with Mishra and his team in the Chief Minister's chamber at State Civil Secretariat here.

"The cabinet is serious about the Naga political issue as Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had clearly told Mishra and his team that the aspiration of Nagas is to see a settlement as soon as possible… is to see a solution as soon as possible so that Nagaland can also be part of the journey of a Viksit Bharat 2047, which is envisioned by everybody," Along said.

Mishra who has been in Nagaland since Tuesday and has held separate closed-door meetings with different Naga groups, including NSCN-IM after his arrival and the two divided groups of the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs) on Wednesday at Police Complex in Chumoukedima district.

Following the signing of the ceasefire with NSCN-IM in 1997, the Centre has held several rounds of talks and finally inked the Framework Agreement in August 2015.

However, the Centre has not accepted the demand of NSCN-IM for a separate flag and constitution of Nagas and also integration of Naga inhabited areas. This has delayed the final solution till date.

The Centre also started parallel negotiations with WC NNPGs, composed of seven Naga groups, in 2017 and signed the Agreed Position in November same year.

The WC NNPGs have declared to accept whatever is possible for now and continue with the talks for remaining demands.