Peace accord or political riddle?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 20 2015 -
Enigmatic and shrouded in mystery and at the same time contradictory and ambiguous.
This is the impression churned out by the Naga peace accord which none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as a historic accord.
They called it an accord and again they say it is just a framework agreement.
One may call it accord or framework agreement, the deal made between NSCN-IM and Government is rather obscure.
Whereas NSCN-IM’s General Secretary and principal negotiator Thuingaleng Muivah claimed that sovereignty and Naga integration are very much on the agenda of the peace talk, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have repeatedly assured all the neighbouring States of Nagaland viz; Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur that their territorial integrity would not be affected.
When the two negotiators are speaking two different languages, all observers are bound to be confused.
This confusion only multiplies the anxiety of the three neighbouring States.
There is no meeting point between the demand for Naga integration and keeping the territorial integrity of the neighbouring States intact.
So the general reading is that either of the two negotiating parties has been misleading the Governments as well as the people of the three States.
If it is so, the party which is trying to hoodwink or convince the stakeholders depending on which side you are is playing a very dangerous game.
Let us juxtapose the Government of India’s assurance and NSCN-IM’s insistence on sovereignty and Naga integration.
One sees that there is a complete disconnect between the two.
There is no room for negotiation between maintaining status quo of neighbouring States’ political boundaries and Naga integration.
Yet, the two sides have been negotiating and both the parties are visibly upbeat.
Yes, Mr Muivah was talking about ‘shared sovereignty’. He said sovereignty of Nagaland should be with Naga people just as sovereignty of India lies with Indian people.
When neither the Government of India nor NSCN-IM leadership bothers to explain what exactly shared sovereignty is, it is either unintelligible or left to speculations.
Both the parties have been keeping the deal a closely guarded secret within their own bosoms.
But both the Government of India and NSCN-IM must not overlook the fact that too many stake holders are involved in the peace process.
When so many sections have put their stakes in the peace process, they would definitely like to know what is going on at the negotiating table and they have the moral right to know what has been agreed upon.
The longer the stake holders are kept in the dark, the greater would grow the inquisitiveness and the concomitant social unrest.
At the same time, the total incompatibility between the Government of India’s assurance and NSCN-IM’s demand has only heightened people’s apprehension, anxiety and scepticism.
After all, all the stake holders deserve a little more than a riddle after all these years of negotiation and prolonged wait.
The riddle called the Naga peace accord and its secrecy would not have such a disturbing psychological impact on the stake holders if there is some compatibility between what Mr Modi said and what Mr Muivah insisted.
Our humble suggestion is play the game fair and square.
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