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January 8, 2003, the date on which the NSCN (IM) leadership are scheduled to arrive at New Delhi, will surely go down as one of the land mark dates in the history of the Naga people and the NSCN (IM) not because it will throw up some substantive points in the peace process between the Naga rebel group and the Government of India but because it will mark a new chapter in the peace talk.
Ever since the peace talk between the IM group and the Government of India started on August 1, 1997, the peace talk has always been held at a third country, Bangkok and Amsterdam, to name two countries.
By agreeing to come to India to further the peace talk, the leadership of the NSCN (IM), Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, to be precise, has clearly rung out the message that they are sincerely committed to thrashing out a solution to the decades old Naga militancy problems. The scheduled talk between the NSCN (IM) leadership and the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister on January 9 may not lead to any substantive solution but it is heartening to note that both parties appear keen on working out an acceptable path to peace.
The success or failure of the peace process will have an impact not only on Nagaland but also the entire North East region and it is our fervent wish and hope that in working out a solution with the NSCN (IM), the Government of India takes the needed step to ensure that the solution does not give rise to other ugly developments.
That the peace talk has had some favorable impact in the North East region can be gauged from the fact that some other underground organizations have also started coming out in the open to start political dialogues with the Government. If reports from Assam are to be believed, the ULFA has also started testing the water to enter into a negotiation with the Centre and surely this cannot be anything but good developments.
It has been one long struggle for the NSCN (IM) leadership and the cadres and the Naga Hills have seen many widowed, many orphaned and many parents losing their children. A number of villages have had to bear the brunt of the clash between the Naga rebel group and the Indian army not to speak of the humiliation the Naga people have had to endure all these years. The peace process should hopefully go to its logical conclusion for enough blood has already been shed and a Naga child born today should be provided the opportunity to reap the dividends of the hard fought peace.
The leadership of the NSCN (IM) owes it to the people of Nagaland to let them enjoy the fruits of peace after all these years of struggle that have taken a heavy toll, both physically and psychologically. In as much as a solution to the decades old problem is welcome, care should also be taken to see that the political aspirations and historical facts of the neighboring North Eastern States are not tampered with.
As revolutionary leaders, Messrs Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Chisi Swu should go the extra mile to ensure that blood relationships between the Naga people and the other communities of Manipur are not strained at the altar of a Greater Lim. Common existence calls for respecting the history and sentiments of other people. Amen.
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