HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, April 6: The NSCN (IM) alleged that former Nagaland chief minister and veteran Naga politician SC Jamir’s recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sends out strong hints to sign an agreement for solution to the Naga issue based on Agreed Position “which favour his political dream”.
“But in the process, he (Jamir) does not foresee that it will invite another era of bloodshed… The choice is left for the Prime Minister of India, either to choose Jamir the trouble maker or the permanent peaceful settlement of the Naga issue,” the NSCN (IM) said in a statement.
The government of India signed the Agreed Position with the seven- Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) in 2017 while the Framework Agreement between the NSCN (IM) and the Centre was signed in 2015.
Stating that the Agreed Position is just a re-edited version of the 16-Point Agreement, the NSCN (IM) accused Jamir of campaigning for the new version of his 16-Point Agreement. It also criticized him for his alleged “repeated disparaging remark against the inclusion of the Naga flag and constitution in the Naga solution”.
The NSCN (IM) said Jamir misinterpreted the political meaning of every single word of the Framework Agreement to suit his own political propaganda. It called the former chief minister a “political criminal”.
Stating that he is the only living architect and signatory of the 16-Point Agreement, the NSCN (IM) alleged that Jamir who was serving as a parliamentary secretary at the time of the pact “protested and successfully prevented” a meeting between then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Naga leader AZ Phizo to resolve the Naga issue once and for all, as “…Nehru knew very well that the 16 points would not go far enough to resolve the Naga issue.”
The statement also accused Jamir of attempting to “finish” the NSCN by raising forces like the Nagaland Youth Front, 9th Brigade and 6th Brigade and also implementing a dreaded policy of peace offensive with the sanction of the government of India to go all out against the NSCN during his tenure as the Nagaland chief minister, among others.
“With his inherent tendency to stoke fire of controversy, while the peace process was at its peak, Jamir published a book ‘Bedrock of Naga Society’ where he stated that the 16-Point Agreement is the Alpha and Omega for the Indo-Naga political agreement. Burdened with this turnout, the government of India was thrown into an uneasy position and consequently, the Indo-Naga talk was unjustly delayed,” the statement said.
“Nevertheless, there was a high pitch for the success of the Naga political solution and the Naga people’s unflinching support was evidently displayed,” the NSCN (IM) said. It added that it finally resulted in the signing of the Framework Agreement which generated much political fervour.
Since the signing of the Framework Agreement, Jamir has been burning the midnight oil “as he knew too well that his 16-Point Agreement has been at risk of being superseded”, the NSCN (IM) said. It went on to state that he also started attacking the Framework Agreement in various forms and outrageously misinterpreted it to suit his way.
It added that former interlocutor RN Ravi’s appointment as Nagaland Governor “gave Jamir the best opportunity to divert and dilute the Framework Agreement.”
“Much to the fulfillment of his scheming political agenda, in 2017, a third party/force was created known as the NNPGs and agreement was signed which is called ‘Agreed Position,’ targeted against the Framework Agreement,” it stated.
