Mokokchung, July 25 (MTNews): The NSCN (IM) said today that the Nagas are reeling with utter confusion about the Indo-Naga Peace Talk and subsequently started expressing their total discontentment “pointing accusing fingers on the very people who brought the ceasefire and the peace process.”
“Some people misconstrued that the peace talk is delaying because of the flag and constitution issues. Whereas it is not the case because the flag and the constitution are the component ingredients embraced in the Framework Agreement (FA),” the NSCN (IM) said in a press release received here on Monday.
The NSCN (IM) clarified that the Government of India (GoI) has “recognized the uniqueness of the Naga history and its position that the Nagas were never part of Indian Union either by conquest or consent.” “Naturally, how can a Naga national movement be without a flag and a constitution?” it asked.
It said that, having granted cognizance of the universal principle that in democracy the sovereignty lies with the people, it should be noted that the Framework Agreement acknowledged and accepted the declaration of the Naga Independence Day on the 14th August, 1947 and the Plebiscite of 1951. “Henceforth, the flag and the constitution are the embodiment of the FA,” it added.
It also said that “Sharing of sovereign powers” as mentioned in the FA is a recognition and acceptance of Naga sovereignty. “It is not the case of the Indian constitutional provision granting power division. Then, how can one say there is no flag or constitution? Every sovereign nation has its own flag and constitution,” it stated.
“New relationship,” it said, is the declaration of a new arrangement which meant that there cannot be a settlement within the existing Indian constitution. “Therefore, ‘new relationship’ is agreed upon,” it said.
Further, it said that “Coexistence” defined two people to coexist with “understanding and conditional arrangement.”
It also said that “Two entities” defined two separate entities or as two separate people. “How can one say that there is no flag and constitution in the Framework Agreement?” it asked.
NSCN (IM) said that this matter was already resolved long back but the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) factor came in between questioning how there can be two flags and two constitutions. “The manifesto of the RSS/Hindutva sharply contradicted the principle agreement of the FA. The actual point of delay started from here,” it clarified.
It went on to say that, in the official talks, neither Mr. RN Ravi nor Mr. AK Mishra ever said that there is no flag and constitution in the Framework Agreement.
“Ironically, the twists and turns of the flipflopping habitual betraying character of the Government of India (GoI) comes up to take the center stage and sow the seeds of confusion in order to disown the FA,” it alleged.
It stated that GoI is entirely responsible for the delay and that the Nagas have had enough of the GoI’s “overly pretentious appearance on the Indo-Naga peace talk.” It said that it is high time for the GoI to come clean.
“The Government of India signed two agreements with the Nagas, i.e. the Framework Agreement and the Agreed Position. These two agreements have divided the Naga people. If the GoI is genuinely sincere to go for an early solution, why is it pursuing two agreements for one people and one common issue?” it asked.
It said that these two agreements are parallel in nature, “one is within Indian constitution and the other is outside the purview of the Indian constitution,” and added that, “With this unwarranted policy the Government of India is testing the nerve of the Nagas and delaying the whole process.”
“It is time for the Government of India to make her stand very clear on these two agreements and which one is to be used for the final agreement,” it said. It went on to say that simply inviting the NSCN to New Delhi for peace talk without going through the “detoxification process” will not help expedite the Naga political solution.
It questioned if the legitimacy of the FA as proclaimed before the world by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be put in the bargaining level with another agreement which it said was signed surreptitiously.
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