NIF seeks PM's intervention
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 23 2020:
The Naga Intellectual Forum (NIF) has submitted a representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intervention to break the present impasse in the Naga peace talk and remove RN Ravi as the interlocutor.
NIF, in the memorandum, asserted that the present deadlock is the culmination of unbridled monopoly of the whole gamut of negotiation by an intelligence bureaucrat, the incumbent GOI Interlocutor, RN Ravi on the one hand and deprivation of a "political expert" from the peace process on the other.
Stating that the vexed Naga peace talks between the NSCN (IM), Naga political groups and the Government of India have hit rough patches now and then, the forum in their representation noted that a longer impasse would compound the magnitude of the problems and damages.
Launching scathing attacks on the interlocutor, NIF asserted that RN Ravi's rancorous remarks against NSCN-IM in 2014 even before his appointment as interlocutor had instilled mutual distrust.
In addition, the emergence of various newly formed groups and organizations within the Nagas, aligning and realigning themselves with differing opinions reacting to any Naga unity and integrations call can apparently be a premeditated move of "artful luring and instigation with the idea of creating starkly opposing blocs within, by RN Ravi to neutralize and wipe out a common Naga political cause, said the forum.
RN Ravi's "brusque" handling of the peace talk including the serving of a 3 month ultimatum from August to October 2019 was "tyrannical and dictatorial" in nature.
His term as an interlocutor is markedly observed with a drastic rise in increased militarization obviously to instill "fear psychosis" for submission to a lopsided solution, contended the forum.
NIF also accused the interlocutor of tweaking key contents of the Framework Agreement and said, "His wilful manipulation of the contents of the 2015 Framework Agreement while surreptitiously divulging a doctored version of FA to picked sections of his choice is aggressively deceptive in nature while obstructing disclosure of the same by the other side" .
"RN Ravi lacks the three epsilons or basic traits for a good interlocutor.
It is our humble opinion that any negotiation should be about finding truth and delivering justice as partners contrary to defeating by arguments or by deceptive mimicry as against an opponent.
In case the GOI intends to continue in engaging him as the interlocutor, it can only mean the deliberate intention on the part of GOI to suppress the Naga political issue," asserted NIF.
NIF stressed that to regain mutual trust and sincerity, the Government of India should replace the incumbent interlocutor and include a "political expert" in the talk to hammer out an ideal solution.
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