The long road to Naga peace accord

The efforts by the Central Government to end the stalemate in the Naga peace process has resulted in the resumption of dialogue with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) after over a year. Breaking the ice over the interpretation of the Framework Agreement signed by the two sides will be critical to pushing the dialogue towards the final agreement. Former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau A.K. Mishra meeting the Chief Negotiator of the NSCN(IM) and the general secretary of the Naga rebel group Thuingaleng Muivah in Dimapur and reportedly extending an invitation for regular talks in Delhi has triggered fresh hopes that the two sides will be able to break the impasse. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma meeting Muivah and other NSCN(IM) leaders in the presence of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio the very next day has added a new dimension to the peace process. Sarma has met the NSCM(IM) leaders before and it is too early to read his meeting with Muivah as taking the peace process to a political level dialogue. The persistent stand of the NSCM(IM) has been that the Government of India's interlocutor must be a representative of the Prime Minister. Apart from differences over the Framework Agreement, the appointment of the Centre's interlocutor R.N. Ravi as Nagaland Governor also antagonised the NSCN(IM) as the rebel group had seen it as lowering the level of talks from the PMO level to the Governor's level. Even though Ravi has been transferred as the Tamil Nadu Governor, there is no official word from the Central Government about his status as the Centre's Interlocutor for Naga talks. The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved the extension of the tenure of Ravi as the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and as interlocutor of the Government of India in Nagaland in 2018 until further orders. The committee is composed of the Prime Minister as the chairman and the Union Home Minister. For A.K. Mishra or Himanta Biswa Sarma to formally engage with the NSCN(IM) for regular talks, the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet will have to appoint either of them as the new interlocutor in place of Ravi. With the NSCN(IM) firm on its stand on the final peace agreement, including a separate flag and a separate constitution for Nagas, the formal appointment of a new interlocutor is less likely till both sides can reduce their differences over these thorny issues in the interim dialogue. Ravi as the Centre's interlocutor had rejected a separate flag and constitution for Nagas and declared that peace talks were concluded in October 2019 and no substantive issues were left to be discussed. A forward movement in the peace process will depend on both sides agreeing on a single interpretation of the Framework Agreement signed in 2015. The NSCN(IM) insists that the Framework Agreement includes the principle of "shared sovereignty" while Ravi rejected the claim stating that there was no mention of "shared sovereignty" in it. Sarma, widely acclaimed in the political circles for his acumen of taking tough political issues head-on instead of ignoring them, will be expected by the Central government to help articulate a correct political response to remove the bottlenecks. Besides, Sarma's familiarity with complexities of issues of ethnic identities in the Northeast and his rapport with political leadership and incumbent governments of Nagaland as well as Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh as NEDA convenor expected to be useful in addressing critical issues of Naga-inhabited areas of these states as part of final Naga peace agreement. Neither NSCN(IM) nor the Central government can allow differences over the substantive issues to reach a flashpoint and allow a ceasefire to collapse. Both sides softening their positions will allow the dialogue to sustain for finding a pragmatic solution to address the problematic issues. Peace-loving ordinary Naga people have been the worst sufferer of uncertainties over a prolonged peace process. At this stage, new mediators having the patience to listen to NSCN(IM) leaders and impartially relaying it to the Central Government is important to remove the hurdles in the Naga peace process. The Central Government clarifying the issue of formal appointment of a new interlocutor is critical to ending the trust deficit between the two sides. Too many cooks spoil the broth and having only one official interlocutor is important to ensure that there is no room for confusion. Informal talks between officials of the Intelligence Bureau and the rebel group held after formal talks reached a dead end, did not cut much ice with NSCN(IM) although it helped to continue the back-channel negotiation. Until a fresh round of formal talks resumes, it is too early to rush to a conclusion about the latest dialogue being successful in ending the stalemate. It is still a long road to the final peace agreement that is to be signed for resolution of the protracted Naga political issue and insurgency problem.