HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, Sept 18: The NSCN (IM) has agreed to resume the talks with the government of India by the end of this month based on the Framework Agreement and “formulation of paper” submitted to the Centre.
This was stated by the co-convenor of the Core Committee on Naga Political Issue (CCoNPI) TR Zeliang. The committee held a meeting with the NSCN (IM) leadership at Chümoukedima police complex on September 17.
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Even as the minutes of the closed-door meeting were not known, Zeliang told media persons the talks are scheduled for September 28. He also said the NSCN (IM) agreed to resume the talks at the request of the core committee.
He said the committee conveyed to the NSCN (IM) what was entrusted to it by the government of India during its recent meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah.
Zeliang said the committee met Assam chief minister Himanta Biswas Sarma on September 7 and Shah on September 12.
In the September 12 meeting, he said the committee conveyed to Shah the stand and contention of the NSCN (IM) as far as the latter’s refusal to talk was concerned.
“The NSCN (IM)’s point of contention was that they are not happy with the interlocutor AK Mishra because he has omitted some of the politically important points which were included in the formulation paper of former interlocutor RN Ravi,” Zeliang said.
He said the committee’s request to the government of India was for resuming the talks “based on the paper formulated by Ravi and based on the Framework Agreement”.
Zeliang said: “They (NSCN-IM) said if that is so, if the talks are to be based on the Framework Agreement and based on the formulation paper submitted by RN Ravi and AK Mishra, then they are willing to continue to talks.”
“That’s right, we will be leaving one of these days for talks with the government of India,” Rh Raising who led the NSCN (IM) at the meeting said.
He, however, added that arriving at a solution is in the court of the government of India. “It is not in the court of the core committee, it is not in the court of the NSCN (IM). It is for them (government of India) to decide. We have been waiting for their response.”
The talks were stalled since May this year.
