Govt, Naga rebels fail to make headway in talks

DIMAPUR (NAGALAND): Talks held in Amsterdam between Indian peace negotiators and a dominant tribal separatist group in the North-east failed with the government rejecting demands for self-governance, a rebel leader said on Sunday.

A group of senior Indian officials, led by minister Oscar Fernandes and New Delhi’s main peace interlocutor K Padmanabhaiah, ended three-days of talks on Thursday with leaders of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), the main rebel group in Nagaland.

“The government of India has failed to make their point explicitly clear on our demand for a special federal arrangement that allows us self-governance. Such insensitivity by New Delhi will jeopardise future peace initiatives,” NSCN-IM spokesman Kraibo Chawang said.

The NSCN-IM, led by guerrilla leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, has proposed “a special arrangement” which enables the Nagas to govern themselves. There has been no official statement by New Delhi after the Amsterdam talks. “We want a special federal relationship with India where we have a separate Naga Constitution, Mr Chawang said.