Of Accord, Discord and Consultation
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: August 31 2015 -
The most recent round of consultation held by Government of India’s interlocutor to the Naga political dialogue RN Ravi with Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang and Nagaland Legislators’ Forum (NLF) is one way of seeking democratic legitimization to the peace accord signed between the Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim or NSCN (IM).
The process is perhaps necessitated by the need to infuse confidence in the constituencies within Nagaland which have been kept in the dark on the prolonged political negotiation.
It is not just the interlocutor who has been holding consultative meetings with the legislators and other Naga civil society organizations but even the NSCN (IM) had also recently held similar consultations.
In the most recent meeting, RN Ravi held a marathon consultation with the Nagaland Chief Minister and the legislators, chaired by the Assembly Speaker Chotisuh Sazo. In the meeting RN Ravi is stated to have explained the framework agreement of the peace accord in detail.
However, the three-point resolution adopted by NLF has nothing to offer as far as salvaging the dwindling trust pinned on the Government of India by Nagaland’s neighbouring States - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
The NLF has resolved to appeal all Nagas to contribute positively towards the signing of the final accord.
However, the acid test for the actual legitimization of the process will come when the legislators go to their respective constituencies and initiate public discussion for an honorable and acceptable solution.
The legislators will find it difficult to bypass the will and wishes of the people they represent.
The decision of the NLF to visit Delhi and convince Central leaders of various political parties on bringing about a permanent solution to the Naga political issue will be critically observed by their own people.
If the NLF knows the details of the framework agreement, they should also make efforts to convince the legislators of neighbouring States on how the framework agreement is likely to impact them.
The neighbouring Congress ruled States have made it very clear that they would oppose the peace accord if their interests were affected.
Even the Congress leadership in Delhi had stated that RN Ravi’s visit to Nagaland for the consultation was “very late” and should have visited the State much before the accord was signed.
The observation alludes to the fact that even within Nagaland, the issue of the peace accord is likely to generate renewed discourse on the contours of Naga nationalism.
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