General Secretary of NSCN-IM Thuingaleng Muivah.
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: The issues related to Naga national flag, Constitution and "integration" of all Naga contiguous areas are non-negotiable, NSCN-IM, the Naga insurgent group, part of the 1997 ceasefire, said on Thursday as it celebrated 79th "Naga Independence Day."
"We do not demand anything from India and Burma (Myanmar) but we declare and proclaim what is rightfully ours. That is why Nagalim's unique history, our territory and sovereignty, Naga National Flag, Naga National Constitution (Yehzabo) and integration of all Naga contiguous areas are non-negotiable. Hence, if India and Burma respect the history of the Nagas, we will respect theirs ten times more," NSCN-IM, General Secretary or Ato Kilonser (Prime Minister), Thuingaleng Muivah said after hoisting the "Naga National Flag" at its "general headquarters" at Hebron near Dimapur in Nagaland, on Thursday.
The Naga insurgent groups has been celebrating August 14 as "Naga Independence Day" since 1947.
The stand is seen as another setback to the negotiations underway to end the nearly 80-year-long Naga conflict. According to government officials, the three demands of the NSCN-IM have remained as the stumbling blocks in the negotiations for signing a final agreement.
The Naga conflict
Many Naga groups including the NSCN-IM claim that Nagas were never part of India and Myanmar and had even declared "independence" on August 14, 1947. The NSCN continued armed movement till signing the ceasefire in 1997.
The group had signed the "Framework Agreement" in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 3, 2015. The agreement was to be the basis for signing of a final agreement to end the 79-year-old Naga conflict.
The NSCN-IM claims that in the "Framework Agreement," the Centre agreed for a concept of "shared sovereignty" for finding a solution but the government rejected such claim saying the outfit misinterpreted the 2015 agreement.