NSCN-IM slams MHA for "prodding Assam Rifles" to target cadres

DIMAPUR: Amid ongoing talks with the Centre, the Isaak-Muivah faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) has slammed the Union Home Ministry for "prodding the Assam Rifles to target the NSCN-IM."

"The antithesis of the Naga political solution would be better expressed under the unhealthy policy of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Gol that have let loose a stream of abuse against NSCN prodding the Assam Rifles to target the NSCN," the insurgent group stated in an editorial carried in its mouthpiece 'Nagalim Voice.'

The group also pointed out that when the lndo-Naga ceasefire was officially declared on August 1, 1997, one of the terms agreed upon was, the political dialogue shall be at the highest level, i.e. Prime Minister Level.

"The fruition of the talk that comes after 18 years, Framework Agreement of the 3'" August 2015 was initiated, supervised and signed in the presence of the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi," it was further asserted in the article.

What often incurred the anger of the Naga people, the NSCN-IM said, were the "Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the MHA working at cross purposes, with MHA allowing the Assam Rifles to run amok against the NSCN cadres."

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The flashpoints that follow on numerous occasions only leave scars in the very purpose of ceasefire that covers the Naga areas, it said, referring to the Assam Rifles' sporadic crossfirings with the insurgents.

This is the most obtrusive abuse of ceasefire agreement in the hands of AR under the direct control of MHA, it said.

"Resolving the Naga political issue is no doubt a complex, a long-term task for which there is no smart weapon, silver bullet. But it is highly unbecoming for the MHA to compound the problem creating friction between AR and NSCN while the talk for lasting Naga solution is going on," the editorial further added.

Recently, the situation was aggravated by the AR's display of defiance when it asserted that they will target NSCN camps in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

"The Government of India needs to reinvent a new approach towards NSCN setting aside any damaging policy in order to reconstruct trust rather than undo the over 23 years of fruitions," the NSCN-IM concluded.

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