Foreign Secy's Myanmar visit linked to Naga 'peace parleys' ?

Nirendra Dev *

In the football season, let's say the score is love-all !

The big picture debate is 'Power' flowing from the barrel of guns and deception Verses Consensus building. It is important to note that the Naga peace talks have made forward movement with decks being cleared at various ends to take it to the next level.

Amid hectic consultations between peace emissary A K Mishra and delegations of NSCN-IM and NNPG separately, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra visited Myanmar last week and met senior leadership in the Southeast Asian country.

Importantly from a long term perspective, during his meetings the Foreign Secretary "expressed India's continued support to people-centric socio-economic developmental projects". Sources said that some of these projects could be taken up along the India-Myanmar border areas.

Ethnic Naga and Mizo people reside in Myanmar along the international border and thus even the 'no man's land' in the thick bushes matter a lot from national security and strategic point of view. India has also reiterated its commitment towards an expeditious implementation of ongoing connectivity initiatives such as the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the Trilateral Highway.

The Foreign Secretary also discussed maintenance of security and stability in the border areas and raised the issue of human trafficking by international crime syndicates in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar.

Sources said in pursuance of Naga peace parleys the Government of India could be soon reviewing and assessing the roles played by various NGOs and civil society at different levels and at different times.

"It may sound uncourteous to name a few organisations who played questionable roles from time to time. But we can easily applaud the roles played by Nagaland Gaon Burrah Federation (NGBF) and Nagaland Tribal Council (NTC). They played major roles in fostering the peace parleys once things looked stuck up in some whirlpool in 2016-17," an informed source said.

The developments related to 'unity' among the Naga underground bodies and formation of NNPGs was crucial as for the first time an umbrella organisation had come up backed by the "confidence of the people and at the initiatives of GBs and NTC".

In this context, it is said that insurgents in north east India including in Assam and other states followed a self-serving dogma. For them perhaps power not only flew from the barrel of a gun, the so-called 'revolution' itself was low-cost enterprise.

The rebellion and peace -- the risk factors and cost in both the stages were borne by common people; while the 'cream of the benefits' went to others. Therefore it may be pertinent to review the roles played by some organisations -- whether they helped the cause of peace and reconciliation or they deliberately played saboteurs.

Apparently more light will be focused in days to come. But gradually and certainly the central government is now firm about one or two basic issues vis-a-vis Naga peace talks. There should not be any 'u-turn' on the peace process and an early solution broadly because the 'Naga people' want it.

Moreover, the stakeholders - Naga warring factions - had decided to bury their own hatchets and came to the negotiating table because they were earnestly invited by the centre to join the peace process.

The fact that a section of 'intellectuals and activists' in Delhi tried to play partisan roles during the tenure of the Vajpayee government and even during UPA-dispensation under Dr Manmohan Singh has been under the scanner of authorities for some time.