WC-NNPG says Agreed Position holds intergovernmental agreement status

Expects Centre to complete signing of Agreement by this year

DIMAPUR — Marking what it stated was the fifth year of successful completion of Indo-Naga peace talks, the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPG) has asserted that the Agreed Position it had signed with New Delhi carries the status of an intergovernmental agreement.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the committee explained that the Agreed Position was signed between the committee, bearing the designation of the head of Federal Governments, and the interlocutor RN Ravi, holding a cabinet rank in the government of India.

“The political solution so reached clearly separates the powers of legislation between the government of India and the Nagas. The legislative system for the Nagaland state demarcated as a separate geopolitical entity for the 17 Naga tribes will have a bicameral legislature with the existing democratic system rechristened as Leacy Hoho.

“The Upper House will be known as the Nagaland Federal Hoho representing the Naga traditional customary system thus empowering the Nagas to legislate  the subjects falling under the Naga customs, practices and procedures, land and all its natural resources and endowments  in own ways. These legislative fields stand vacated by the parliament of India. The Naga national insignia, along with the flag will be the zeal and zest of the Naga federal system,” the statement read.

It stated that the ‘political solution’ fully recognises the Naga identity, with a separate page in the Indian passport and separate contingent of Nagas in all international events. “Nagas will have a position in all the national and international bodies of the GoI and will have an enhanced representation in both the houses of the parliament. The strength of Leacy Hoho will be increased from the existing 60 to 80 legislators,” it stated.

According to the committee, the ‘political solution’ will bring a new fiscal management regime and economic system to cover the lapses and lags of the past 13 plan periods.

“The cadres and the revolutionary leaders will have their respective space and positioning that would create a new harmonious investor friendly business climate,” it claimed.

According to the committee, government of India was suffering from a “hangover of negotiations and the Agreements they had made with NSCN- IM which was never disclosed” when it entered into a dialogue process with the WC-NNPG.

It stated that New Delhi was interested only in listening to the committee’s demands and “close the chapter as a foregone conclusion”.

“The calculations of the government of India went off the track as the proceedings began. The gravity and in depth analysis of the political conflict  created  new dimension and impetus to the peace talks, preliminary rounds of negotiations thus led to  a standing Agreement on 17th of November 2017 that abides both the entities on the people, political considerations and the governing principles for negotiated political solution,” the statement read.