'Invitation came from Home Ministry, not from PMO'
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Kohima, January 04 01 2010:
The NSCN-IM has turned down the peace talk 'invitation' from the Union Home Ministry, Government of India and accused the latter of not abiding the bilateral agreement.
According to a well placed source the Union Home Ministry (Govt of India) had invited the NSCN-IM for the next round of peace talk sometime back but the Naga rebel group had turned down the invitation on the ground that it did not come from the Prime Minister's Office.
As per agreement between the Government of India and the NSCN group led by Isak Chisi Swu and Th.Muivah, the talks should be channelised through the Prime Ministerial level or for that matter, it should be done through the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
The past political talks between the NSCN-IM and the Government of India had been carried out through the 'Interlocutors' but now the interlocutors have been done away.
Given this picture now, one never knows when the next round of talks will be held between the government of India and the Isak-Muivah group of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) as the Naga rebel group has turned down New Delhi's latest invitation to hold the dialogue.
"Why don't you ask the Indian Government?" fumes V.S Atem when queried over the latest development.
Talking to Newmai News Network this evening, VS Atem, who is the 'Emissary' to the 'Collective Leadership' of the NSCN-IM, accused the Government of India of taking a unilateral decision.
"It (the invitation) is bound to be turned down when they (Govt of India) have taken a unilateral decision," said VS Atem.
The NSCN-IM's former 'Chief of the Army Staff' said that according to the agreement signed, matters related to the dialogue should be channelised through the Prime Ministerial level or the PMO.
Jacob Shaiza, the 'secretariat office in-charge of the Steering Committee', the NSCN-IM's highest decision making body, informed NNN last night that his outfit's latest move 'does not mean undermining' the peace talk with the Government of India.
"We have politely turned down the invitation because we want that things are channelised as per the agreement.
We are not doing anything to undermine the status of the Indo-Naga political talks," said Jacob Shaiza.