On the basis of the Framework Agreement signed on August 3, 2015, peace negotiations between the Center and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) will start later on Tuesday.
The action was taken three days after the NSCN (I-M) “agreed” to resume peace negotiations with the Centre during a meeting on Saturday at Chumoukedima, close to Dimapur, between 11 representatives of the extremist group and the 22-member Core Committee on Naga Political Issues, which is made up of MPs and MLAs from Nagaland. Since May, the Centre and the NSCN (I-M) have been unable to reach an agreement.
The group that was scheduled to attend the conference has arrived in the national capital, and the meeting with the Center’s current interlocutor, AK Mishra, can happen at any time.
According to earlier remarks made by TR Zeliang, chairman of the United Democratic Alliance of Nagaland, the NSCN-IM has agreed to continue peace discussions with the Centre in an effort to address issues that have arisen during the Naga peace talks.
The core committee has been informed by the NSCN-IM that the organisation will resume peace negotiations “if it is based on the framework agreement.”
With the NSCN-IM since 1997 and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), which are made up of seven organisations, since 2017, the union government has had two different negotiations.
On August 3, 2015, the Center and the NSCN-IM signed a framework agreement. In December 2017, the Center also agreed on a position with NNPGs.