By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS
Dimapur (Nagaland) : Central government negotiators and leaders of a dominant separatist group in Nagaland Tuesday decided to indefinitely extend a 10-year ceasefire, aimed at ending six decades of insurgency in the region.
The decision was taken after a meeting between central minister Oscar Fernandes and New Delhi’s chief peace negotiator K. Padmanabhaiah with top leaders of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in Dimapur, the commercial hub of the state.
“After reviewing the status of the talks, it was decided to extend the ceasefire indefinitely, subject to progress in the talks,” a joint statement said.
The NSCN-IM, led by guerrilla leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, had entered into a ceasefire with the Indian government in August 1997. The current truce was to expire Tuesday.
“Both sides have agreed to strengthen the ceasefire monitoring mechanism so that the ground situation remains conducive for continuance of the ceasefire,” the statement said.
This is the first time the ceasefire was extended indefinitely – in the past the truce was extended either annually or after every six months.
The two sides have since held at least 50 rounds of peace talks aimed at ending one of South Asia’s longest running insurgencies that has claimed an estimated 25,000 lives since India attained independence in 1947.
“Now it entirely depends on New Delhi to come up with a mutually acceptable solution or else the ceasefire could be abrogated immediately and hence the indefinite extension of the truce agreed, subject to progress in future talks,” V. Horam, a senior NSCN-IM leader, told IANS after the talks.
The NSCN-IM had earlier threatened to pull out of the ceasefire saying the government was dragging the peace process for too long.
“There is no point in an annual ritual of just extending the ceasefire if the government of India does not have a plan for evolving a mutually acceptable solution. The people of Nagaland are getting restive with a decade gone without any tangible results,” Horam said.
The NSCN-IM is one of the oldest and most powerful of about 30 rebel groups in India’s northeast and wants to create a “Greater Nagaland” by slicing off parts of neighbouring states that have Naga tribal populations.
The three state governments of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have already rejected the NSCN-IM’s demand for unification of Naga-dominated areas.
New Delhi too has rejected demands for unification of all Naga-inhabited areas.
NSCN leader Muivah had recently said New Delhi’s delay in finding a solution was “taxing their patience” and this could be the “last ceasefire” unless there was a settlement.