AA Demand:: UNC urges HM to fix next round talks
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, July 15 2013: United Naga Council (UNC) has submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde urging him to fix the next round of talks on Alternative Arrangement within 15 days after ensuring that Manipur Government would be represented with mandate and authority to address this vexed issue of Naga People.

The memorandum further mentioned that the fifth round of tripartite talk of the Government of India (GoI), Government of Manipur (GoM) and the Nagas in Manipur under the aegis of the United Naga Council (UNC) on the demand for an alternative arrangement was held on the February 12, 2013.The talk concluded with the GoI assuring that the next round of talk would be held very soon stressing on need to continue the dialogue process.

A period of 5 months has elapsed since and during which time the UNC has issued public statements on the unabated communal policies and actions of the GoM targeting the Nagas and the tribal in Manipur.

It is a matter of great concern that no communication has been received from the GoI on the dialogue process till date, it noted.

The UNC had placed on record that the GoI and the GoM must be respectful of the democratic process of dialogue and avoid delay in convening the talk as done in past instances, the memorandum said.

"We have also insisted that the dialogue should be political as the core issue is political.

But, the representative of the GoM has been maintaining that they do not have the mandate to talk on the political issue and that the same should be done at the political level.

We would like to cite that in the first round of talks held at North Block, Delhi on the September 21, 2010 it was assured by the GoI that representation of GoM would have the mandate and authority to talk on the issues raised by the UNC.

The GoI vide its letter No.8/8/2008-NE.I dated November 24, 2010 had communicated to us that the GoM had been advised to come prepared to discuss the memorandum dated September 14, 2010 submitted by the UNC in the talk scheduled for December 3, 2012 .

Further, vide their letter dated November 27, 2010, the GoM had informed that it would be represented in the next round of talk (2nd round) by three Ministers, who would be assisted by the Chief Secretary and other senior officials.

But in the December 3, 2010 talk held at Tahamzam (Senapati), Manipur, the GoM was represented by the Chief Secretary and senior officials who stated that political issues can be taken up only at the appropriate level.

The GoI had intervened saying that all aspects have to be discussed without reservation and that the State government may not be restricted in understanding the issues and conveying them to the political authorities", the UNC contended in the memorandum.

It further said that the talks continued and in the subsequent rounds, the UNC has presented an alternative political arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur outside the GoM and had submitted the postulates of the alternative arrangement in the fourth round held at Delhi on August 31, 2012.All these while, the GoM representatives maintained a wholesale stand of not being competent to address the political issue.

Further, the UNC has requested that the next round of talks may be held at Tamenglong district HQ as already assured vide MHA letter No 8/8/2008-NE.1 dated February 6, 2013 .

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