Govt, NSCN peace talks from July 21

The stage is set for another round of talks between the Centre-Naga talks here on July 21-22, barely a week before the current ceasefire between security forces and the NSCN (IM) ends on July 30. Another extension of the 10-year-old ceasefire is on the cards, official sources said.

The last round of talks, held here in March, saw the two sides agreeing to take a closer look at existing provisions of the Constitution to work out an agreement to the long-standing Naga dispute. The NSCN (I-M) delegation will be led by the outfit’s chairman Isak Chisi Swu and general secretary Thiungaleng Muivah. It will hold talks with the group of ministers headed by Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes. The Centre’s interlocutor K Padmanabhaiah will be present during the talks.

During talks at Bangkok last year, the two sides had agreed to a broad framework that would define the relationship between the Centre and the Nagas. This essentially entailed looking at the Constitution to determine the provisions that would apply, not apply or apply with modifications to the Nagas. The outfit is also expected to raise the issue of unification of Naga-inhabited areas in the Northeast.