The much awaited visit of Naga insurgent leaders belonging to the NSCN (I-M) for talks with the Government has been postponed due to ‘‘logistical reasons’’.Isak Chisi Swu, chairman of NSCN (I-M), and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah were supposed to reach India on December 27 and meet Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and Deputy PM L.K. Advani the day after. Now their visit has been postponed by about 10 days.‘‘They will be coming towards the end of first week of January,’’ confirmed K. Padmanabhiah, PM’s special emissary. This would be their first visit to India in 30 years for negotiations to resolve the decades-old Naga problem. The timing of the visit was crucial, with elections in the state scheduled early next year. No Greater Nagaland: Manipur panel meets Kalam NEW DELHI: An amalgam of social bodies from Manipur on Tuesday met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and demanded protection of its territorial integrity and greater autonomy. The United Committee of Manipur (UCM) cautioned the Centre against redrawing the state’s territorial map to ‘‘appease’’ the Naga leaders to buy peace in the N-E. The UCM, in a memorandum to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said: ‘‘The people of Manipur is apprehensive of disintegration of the state’s territorial boundary and their emotional integration.’’ It also warned the Centre against compromising with the state’s integrity to create Greater Nagaland (Nagalim). ‘‘We are anxious about the peace deal that Centre is going to strike with NSCN (IM) in which the issue of merging some parts of Manipur with Nagaland will also be discussed,’’ UCM spokesperson Rajkumar Ranendrajit said here. He said the Naga leaders’ claims of various parts of Manipur being inhabited by Naga communities were ‘‘completely false.’’ The panel also called for adoption of a resolution by Parliament affirming that the existing territorial integrity of Manipur would not be disturbed and autonomy be granted. (Agencies) Citing ‘‘logistical reasons’’, Padmanabhiah said the travel formalities of the insurgent leaders were not yet completed. Though Indian passports had been provided, the visa formalities were taking some time. The two leaders, coming to India from Europe, were being given Indian travel documents.While Muivah, who already possesses an Indian passport, was expected to arrive from the Hague, NSCN (I-M) chairman Swu and three others had been issued passports by the Indian mission in Oslo. ‘‘Even though no accord is likely to be reached at the parleys, the talks with the highest Indian leadership are expected to provide a major boost to bring peace in Nagaland,’’ a Home Ministry official said. Padmanabhiah too preferred to play it safe where the agenda of the talks was concerned.‘‘We are optimistic about the talks. It is a step in the right direction. Let’s see where we go from here,’’ he told The Indian Express. Another Ministry official added that the talks would go a long way in ensuring peaceful elections in the state.The Government had noticed a softening of stance by the insurgent leaders and hoped to cash in on that. On its part, the Government had already acceded to the demand of the 3000-strong insurgent outfit by allowing the ban on it to lapse on November 26, and withdrawing cases against Muivah for an alleged plot to assassinate Nagaland CM S.C. Jamir.Since the 1997 Centre-NSCN (I-M) ceasefire accord, Swu and Muivah had been holding peace negotiations with Pamanabhaiah and successive Intelligence Bureau chiefs, including present director K.P. Singh, in third countries like the Netherlands and Thailand.
