Govt bid to widen ambit of Naga talks

Guwahati: The Prime Minister’s envoy for Naga talks R.N. Ravi on Monday said that there would be only one agreement at the end of ongoing Naga talks so all the stakeholders should join the process.

In an obvious reference to NSCN-K, Mr Ravi called upon the Naga civil society to persuade all stakeholders to be the part of ongoing peace-talks.

He also asserted that the final agreement should not be seen as victory or defeat of either the government or the Naga civil society as it was progressing on the basis of mutual respect.

Mr Ravi reiterated that the problem of Nagaland is not of just one faction but of all the people. The centre believes that piecemeal solution will not work and all stakeholders must be taken on board, he added while initiating historic talks with the working committee of six rebel groups — the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) — important stakeholders in the fight for the rights of the Nagas.

The six NNPGs fighting for the Naga issue comprise the parent body Naga Nationalist Council (NNC), GPRN/NSCN (Government of People’s Republic of Nagaland), FGN (Federal Government of Nagaland), NSCN (Reformation), NPGN/ NNC/NA (National People’s Government of Nagaland (Non-accord) and NNC/GDRN/NA (Government Democratic Republic of Nagaland (Non-Accord).

On December 14, 2016, these groups, at the behest of the Naga Tribal Council, came together in Dimapur to form a working group to usher in permanent solution to the Naga issue, thus showing their willingness since the framework agreement was signed in August 2015 to be a part of the ongoing peace talks.

Earlier, Mr Ravi was accorded a grand welcome by Naga civil society and various tribal groups.