Imphal, June 29 2010: The peace talk between NSCN-IM and the Government of India is on the verge of stepping into the 14th year now, but no positive formula to bring a lasting solution for the benefit of Naga people has been worked out till date, observed the UNLF in its statement.

Interestingly, the basic objective of the Naga revolutionary movement, which is freedom for Naga people, has been sidelined by NSCN-IM leadership.

Instead of Naga sovereignty, NSCN-IM leader Thuingaleng Muivah has been vigorously advocating unification of Naga inhabited areas to form a State called Nagalim within the Indian Union.

Acting as if it indirectly supports the NSCN-IM's demand for Nagalim, the Government of India has been plotting to create a situation of conflict and distrust between the Naga people and other communities in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

The NSCN-IM too favoured such a situation so that they could expand and strengthen their base among the Naga people.

This politics of NSCN-IM posed a serious challenge to the integrity among different communities of Manipur who have been living together for centuries.

Against this politics of NSCN-IM, different communities rose to safeguard the integrity of Manipur at all costs, resulting in a serious contestation between the two sides.

The NSCN-IM leadership cannot comprehend or believe in the integrity of Manipur from which none of the filial communities can be separated.

This could be discerned from the 'ethno-exclusive outlook' and their policies and activities rooted in this outlook, the UNLF asserted.

On account of this outlook, the NSCN-IM leadership could not view together the suffering of the people of North East region under the alien rule for the last 60 years.

The NSCN-IM leadership could not repose their faith in the united strength of the region because of their failure to identify Government of India as the common enemy.

Rather than pointing out the reality that the alien rule of India is the biggest cause for the suffering of Naga people, the NSCN-IM leadership has been misleading the Naga people by blaming the Kukis, Meiteis or Assamese.

Muivah is still unable to cultivate an inclusive outlook beyond the parochial politics of being anti-Kuki, anti-Meitei or anti-Assamese.

Such parochial outlook of the NSCN-IM leadership has made them convenient tools of the Government of India to execute its divide and rule policy, charged UNLF.

The recent events witnessed in different parts of the region testified that Delhi has been using the NSCN-IM to ignite communal conflicts in the region while extending peace-talk again and again indefinitely, it alleged.

The recent issue which broke out from Muivah's attempt to visit Manipur was a result of the permission given by Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram and the Home Ministry's instruction to the Govts of Manipur, Nagaland and West Bengal to provide security cover for Muivah's itinerary.

Otherwise, it should not have been any issue.

Maintaining that the State Govt's stand to ban entry of Muivah to Manipur was in conformity to the Indian constitution as law and order is a state subject, Chief Minister O Ibobi could have arrested Muivah and sent him to jail under NSA just like other insurgent leaders if he set his foot on the soil of Manipur.

Even as the Chief Minister's stand was similar to the people's resolve that Manipur's integrity can never be compromised, O Ibobi failed to see that Muivah's attempt to visit Somdal, Senapati and Tamenglong should never be made an issue.

However, even though the interests of Chidambaram and Muivah were different, both of them wanted to conflagrate the matter into a big issue.

The interest of the Indian Home Minister was to create communal tensions and enmity whereas Muivah wanted to re-build his waning political image among the Naga people by making it an emotional issue.

After their ouster from the base area of united NSCN in northern Burma, also known as eastern Nagaland, NSCN-IM leadership started devising plans to project Kukis as enemies of the Naga people to build a support base in Manipur after 1993 .

To realise this objective, NSCN-IM launched a pogrom targeting Kukis which resulted in a bloody ethnic clash between Nagas and Kukis.

Although Muivah's attempt to visit Manipur should not have been made an issue, the State Government failed to see the game-plan of Muivah and the Government of India.

Use of State forces by Ibobi turned out to be only facilitating the game-plan of Muivah and New Delhi.

Nevertheless, Ibobi should be appreciated for his bold stance taken at the crucial moment.

But it was most unfortunate that two civilians lost their lives at Mao Gate.

In the Government of India's plan to materialise the event, Muivah wittingly or unwittingly acted as catalyst.

Yet, the main culprit for the conflict and violence and the casualty suffered by the people was the Government of India, the UNLF alleged.

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