Dimapur, March 22 (EMN): Things are beginning to stir – not necessarily in consonance with each other – if the recent activities of some Naga political groups are anything to go by.
On Wednesday the NSCN (IM) held a council meeting at Hebron camp which, according to a statement from the outfit’s publicity wing, was attended by more than 3000 active members. “In the meeting all the members re-elected and re-affirm(ed) the vice chairman, Gen. (Retd) Kholi and general secretary, Th. Muivah for another term of 6 years,” it informed.
According to the MIP statement, “all the active NSCN members who attended in the meeting re-dedicated their life by declaring vow before God and the people by appending signature that they will be loyal to the sacred cause of the nation to the end and also will be loyal to the principles of the council of the NSCN and the collective leadership with impeccable integrity and justice”.
To mark the meeting, a brochure of ‘The Line of National Socialist Council of Nagalim’ defining the concept and purpose of the council was published and circulated by the Ministry of Information and Publicity.
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Crucially, the statement informed that ‘important National issues and agendas’ were also discussed and deliberated in depth – even though it did not provide any further details/information on the discussion.
Sources said that one of the main discussions centred on the need to consult the people – the stakeholders, with regard to the Indo-Naga talks which is rumoured to nearing conclusion. According to the source, Muivah has been advised by the Indian authorities, especially RN Ravi, to have consultations with the Naga people.
Muivah is expected to stay here in Nagaland for around 20 days during which the NSCN (IM) leaders are hoping to have consultations with various tribe and civil society leaders, the source said.
Even as the NSCN (IM) was engaged in its council meeting, the GPRN/NSCN was also hosting members of the Central Nagaland Tribe Council (CNTC) at Khehoi camp on Wednesday. Sources said that the CNTC members were invited by the Naga political group.
Though concrete details of the meeting could not be obtained, reliable sources said that the CNTC members were reminded to look after the interest of the Nagas of Nagaland. According to the source, the CNTC representatives also suggested the same to the GPRN/NSCN leaders, with a rider.
The stipulation from the CNTC was that the GPRN/NSCN should also reach out to the leaders of eastern Nagaland, and the people. Many of the tribes of eastern Nagaland have people of their own living in Arunachal Pradesh as well as on the other side of the border, inside Myanmar.
