Naga Inter-factional Ceasefire
'Unification that wasn't':
FOR all the rumour and speculation that flew around, the NSCN factions will unite only when chairman Isak Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah so desire. Let alone reunion, Muivah has long said that even ''reconciliation cannot be forced, it has to come naturally''.
The Naga Hoho's reconciliation campaign initiated in December 2001 floundered after Muivah came down harshly on the appointment of some office-bearers and all members of the reconciliation committee quit en masse in protest. He provided the unkindest cut when he said Naga civil society was ''biased'' in its efforts to push
''reconciliation'' and unity efforts. Those whom the NSCN(IM) leaders are supposed to consult at every stage of political development are, more or less, silent spectators to what is going on. So it comes as no surprise that Isak and Muivah have politely told the so-called Unification Team to leave well enough alone.
The Unification Team had said, ''In a significant and an historic development and with a view to ending bloodshed and fratricidal killings that have shed darkness all over Nagaland for decades, the two warring factions of the NSCN having decided to unify, declare its unification under a single banner of the NSCN/GPRN, on this day, 23 November, at Hovishe village under Niuland.'' The declaration was signed by C Singson and Azheli Choppy, both kilonsers (ministers).
Reports in the Nagaland Post say the meeting was presided over by West Sumi Hoho president Hikiye and was attended by as many as 500 armed cadres of both groups, ministers and tatars (members of parliament). If such camaraderie could be created between rival groups, one wonders why the Naga leaders are wasting their time.
But there's a rub. Isak's statement from Bangkok, said to have been routed through the NSCN(IM)'s ministry of information and which says that ''though Sumi unity is essential, other Naga tribes could not be discriminated...'' suggests the Hovishe meeting was purely a Sema affair. But why did the ''team'' feel it necessary to suddenly get active, particularly at this moment when Isak is not even in Nagaland.
There were reports suggesting Isak possibly had differences with Muivah, somethig which the chairman denied only last week. That the Unification Team did not even bother to formally consult higher-ups before converging on Hovishe suggests there is more to it than meets the eye. The exercise was possibly intended to hijack the NSCN(IM) leadership or break it, because the meeting made it clear that it would not support the group that did not subscribe to the Hovishe declaration. Now that its efforts have been stymied, it remains to be seen whether or not it remains true to its word.
Unification is well nigh impossible unless Isak and Muivah are prepared to forget the 1975 Shillong Accord signed by some sections of the Naga National Council, and the 1988 NSCN split -- perhaps the darkest chapter in Naga history. The NSCN(IM) has made it abundantly clear that it will not meet the NNC unless it publicly denounced the Shillong Accord and SS Khaplang admitted his mistake and personally apologised for the slaughter of comrades-in-arms at the time of the break-up.
Posted on: The Statesman (December 9)
Another Story:
FOR all the rumour and speculation that flew around, the NSCN factions will unite only when chairman Isak Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah so desire. Let alone reunion, Muivah has long said that even ''reconciliation cannot be forced, it has to come naturally''.
The Naga Hoho's reconciliation campaign initiated in December 2001 floundered after Muivah came down harshly on the appointment of some office-bearers and all members of the reconciliation committee quit en masse in protest. He provided the unkindest cut when he said Naga civil society was ''biased'' in its efforts to push
''reconciliation'' and unity efforts. Those whom the NSCN(IM) leaders are supposed to consult at every stage of political development are, more or less, silent spectators to what is going on. So it comes as no surprise that Isak and Muivah have politely told the so-called Unification Team to leave well enough alone.
The Unification Team had said, ''In a significant and an historic development and with a view to ending bloodshed and fratricidal killings that have shed darkness all over Nagaland for decades, the two warring factions of the NSCN having decided to unify, declare its unification under a single banner of the NSCN/GPRN, on this day, 23 November, at Hovishe village under Niuland.'' The declaration was signed by C Singson and Azheli Choppy, both kilonsers (ministers).
Reports in the Nagaland Post say the meeting was presided over by West Sumi Hoho president Hikiye and was attended by as many as 500 armed cadres of both groups, ministers and tatars (members of parliament). If such camaraderie could be created between rival groups, one wonders why the Naga leaders are wasting their time.
But there's a rub. Isak's statement from Bangkok, said to have been routed through the NSCN(IM)'s ministry of information and which says that ''though Sumi unity is essential, other Naga tribes could not be discriminated...'' suggests the Hovishe meeting was purely a Sema affair. But why did the ''team'' feel it necessary to suddenly get active, particularly at this moment when Isak is not even in Nagaland.
There were reports suggesting Isak possibly had differences with Muivah, somethig which the chairman denied only last week. That the Unification Team did not even bother to formally consult higher-ups before converging on Hovishe suggests there is more to it than meets the eye. The exercise was possibly intended to hijack the NSCN(IM) leadership or break it, because the meeting made it clear that it would not support the group that did not subscribe to the Hovishe declaration. Now that its efforts have been stymied, it remains to be seen whether or not it remains true to its word.
Unification is well nigh impossible unless Isak and Muivah are prepared to forget the 1975 Shillong Accord signed by some sections of the Naga National Council, and the 1988 NSCN split -- perhaps the darkest chapter in Naga history. The NSCN(IM) has made it abundantly clear that it will not meet the NNC unless it publicly denounced the Shillong Accord and SS Khaplang admitted his mistake and personally apologised for the slaughter of comrades-in-arms at the time of the break-up.
Posted on: The Statesman (December 9)
Another Story: