Delivering a political statement : Summons from NIA to IM
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 20, 2012 -
The politics of peace talk can be intriguing as well as confusing.
What exactly is the status of the NSCN (IM) vis-a-vis the Government of India under the peace talk ?
By serving summon orders via the National Investigation Agency to some senior members of the outfit, Delhi is delivering a political statement.
A statement which is nothing less than saying that the laws of the Government of India is applicable and will be applied to the cadres of the outfit, just as the laws are applied to all bonafide citizens of the land. Given the position that Delhi or the Union Home Ministry has adopted, it should not be that difficult to understand the parameters under which the political dialogue between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India are being held.
Not surprisingly the summon orders issued by the NIA has not amused the NSCN (IM) one bit, with its Chairman Isak Chisi Swu himself being the first man to speak out his mind against it.
Now that the political negotiation is reported to be at its concluding stage, the course of action taken up by the NIA may not impact on the talk as such, but a message has been sent out.
It is this which must have peeved the outfit. Other than the summon orders, some senior functionaries of the outfit too have been reportedly rounded up and put under arrest by Government forces and clearly the politics that is being played out on the turf of peace talk is unmistakable.
Or can this be seen as an indicator that the Government of India will not tolerate the violation of the ceasefire ground rules by cadres of the NSCN (IM) ?
A long rope, yet at the same time a rope to rein in the cadres, if they step out of line.
But at the convenience of Delhi. This is the policy that the Government of India has been pursuing ever since the NSCN (IM) agreed to come to the negotiating table for a political dialogue.
As things stand today, it is not yet clear how many cases the NIA has registered against the NSCN (IM), but the ambush on the convoy of the late MLA Wungnaoshang Keishing on April 15, 2011 at Riha village under Litan police station in Ukhrul district in which seven including six security personnel were killed, is one of them.
That the MLA escaped unhurt is another matter. There is as yet no indication that the NIA has registered any case in connection with the triple killing of Th Kishan, the then SDO of Kasom Khullen and his subordinates, Token and Rajen in which cadres of the NSCN (IM) were involved.
Time to introspect as well as retrospect, both for Delhi as well as the leadership of the NSCN (IM).
In the 15 long years of peace parley, the guns may have gone silent, but have the Naga people really come to enjoy the unfettered spirit of peace during this period ?
The reality at the ground level is something far removed from the universal understanding of peace.
Threats, diktats, ‘taxes’ continue to dog the daily existence of the Naga people.
Peace is not only about the guns remaining silent but in the last 15 years, neither Delhi nor the NSCN (IM) leadership have deemed it necessary to make peace a reality to the common people.
The moment to address this point is long overdue.
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