By Ranjit Devraj
NEW DELHI, Aug 7 2002 (IPS)

After decades in exile, the Bangkok-based leaders of the half-a-century old rebel movement in north-eastern Nagaland state are set to arrive in India for a political settlement in response to an invitation by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Officials declined to set any date for the arrival here of Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Chisi Swu, who lead the most powerful faction of the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland, known by its acronym NSCN-IM – IM refers to the initials of the two leaders.

But they said the government was eager to arrive at a resolution which “satisfies all Nagas”, whose movement seeks to create a separate homeland in north-eastern India and parts of western Burma.

Expected to be announced shortly is the lifting of a 12-year-old ban on the NSCN-IM, which signed on Jul. 11 in Amsterdam a joint communique with the central government that officially recognised the “unique history and situation of the Nagas”.

For its part, the NSC-IM leadership expressed “willingness to come to India after the procedural aspects are taken care of”.

The communique was the result of negotiations over almost five years between Muivah and Isak and Indian representatives, the most important of them being former home secretary K Padmanabhaiah.

The negotiations were held in venues ranging from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, where Muivah was held in jail for carrying a false passport.

At a meeting of the Naga Hoho (traditional parliament)’s coordination committee on Jul. 26 in Kohima, capital of Nagaland state, the communique and the new, accommodative stand of the government found appreciation.

A press statement released at the end of the meeting said: “While analysing the 55 years of the Naga people’s struggle for self-determination, the meeting appreciated the sincere approach of the government of India to resolve the 55-year-old Indo-Naga political conflict.”

Much of the credit for building trust between New Delhi and the exiled NSCN leadership must go to Zoramthanga, the chief minister of Mizoram state that adjoins Nagaland in India’s turbulent north-east.

Over the past year, Zoramthanga, himself a former rebel and leader of the Mizo National Front — now a legitimate political party — made several trips to Bangkok and is expected to play a key mediatory role when the NSCN leadership arrives in Delhi.

Hopes are high that the process will lead to a political settlement that leads logically from a five-year-old ceasefire with the Indian government.

Zoramthanga, who was in Delhi last month, told reporters that the reconciliation was happening because Naga leadership realised after decades of insurgency, what the people really needed was peace. They said they were prepared for a negotiated settlement.

The Naga tribes are of Indo-Mongoloid stock and are mostly Christian, having been converted by missionaries after the invasion of their homelands by British colonials in the 19th century. Following the decolonisation of British India, the Nagas declared independence under their leader, A Z Phizo.

Over the past five years, during which the ceasefire was in operation, Muivah and Isak have met not only with Indian officials but also with former prime ministers Narasimha Rao, Deve Gowda, Inder Kumar Gujral in foreign capitals.

They met with Vajpayee at Osaka in December, when the invitation to return to India was extended.

The success of the ceasefire, extended for yet another year from Aug. 1, was marred by infighting with a faction of the NSCN led by Khaplang and called NSCN-K, which has the backing of S C Jamir, the elected chief minister of Nagaland.

In January, six members of the NSCN-K were shot dead by the Isak-Muivah group, which has also been accused of carrying out several attempts to assassinate Jamir.

Last week, junior minister for home I D Swami admitted in Parliament that “the presence of various rival Naga militant groups and the lack of unity amongst them creates difficulties in the progress of negotiations”.

Still, the ceasefire has created space for the growth of civil society movements strong enough to “speak out firmly against inter-group violence, intimidation and extortion as well as human rights violations by the security forces,” says Sanjoy Hazarika, commentator on events in the north-eastern states.

In fact, some 50 representatives of civil society groups met Muivah and Isak for five days of consultations in Bangkok in January this year and paved the way for the current mood for a political settlement, after half a century of bloody but fruitless insurgency.

The ‘Bangkok Declaration’ harped on “our people’s resolve and commitment to honour our history and our rights, which we hold to be sacred to us and our vision for the future”. This sentiment found reflection in the Amsterdam communique.

But beyond the rhetoric, the declaration also sought a “negotiated settlement that will be honourable and acceptable to both sides,” and the withdrawal of arrest warrants against NSCN leaders that date back three decades.

An even greater threat to a lasting settlement comes from elected representatives in the north-east, including chief minister Jamir and the chief ministers of the neighbouring states of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, parts of which are inhabited by Naga tribes.

Manipur state has already announced that it would not withdraw arrest warrants it issued against Muivah and Isak. That means that neither can safely visit Manipur, two-thirds of which is inhabited by Nagas.

In January last year, when New Delhi extended its ceasefire with the NSCN-IM to cover territories outside Nagaland, rioting broke out in Imphal, capital of Manipur. Fifteen people died and angry students, belonging mostly to the majority Meitei community, set ablaze the state’s assembly building.

Assam’s chief minister Tarun Gogoi then said that he would ignore the Naga ceasefire with India’s central government and that the ban on the NSCN-IM would continue.

Muivah then sought to allay the fears of Nagaland’s neighbours by releasing in Bangkok a statement that said: “If our brothers, the Meteis and Assamese, interpret ceasefire as more than ceasefire, it is their own creation out of apprehension – we will not be responsible for anything that may arise therefrom.”

This month, Padmnabhaiha said that ceasefire and territory have since been delinked. “The decision on the territorial issue will be taken by Parliament,” he said.

Still, the avowed ultimate aim of the NSCN-IM is the creation of the hypothetical ‘Nagalim’ or Greater Nagaland, which includes not only large chunks of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh states but also parts of western Burma.

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