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Pray for peace talks, NSCN chief to churches

The NSCN(IM) has been on a ceasefire with the government of India since August 1, 1997, following which it has held a series of discussions with New Delhi.

NSCN(IM) chairman Issak Chisi Swu has asked all churches in Nagaland to organise a special prayer programme on October 19 in view of resumption of peace talks between the group and the government of India. Top NSCN(IM) leaders, including Swu, are slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on that day.

While the appeal of Swu, referred to by the NSCN(IM) as “Yaruwio” (meaning president) of the “Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim”, was conveyed through a notice to all churches across Nagaland, top leaders of the outfit have last week already held the first round of discussion with RN Ravi, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, who has also been appointed the Centre’s new interlocutor for the Naga peace talks.

The NSCN(IM) delegation that held its first discussion with Ravi was led by its chairman Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah, who have been camping in New Delhi for the past two weeks.

Sources said the NSCN(IM) leaders are going to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 19, a date emerging as most crucial for the Naga peace process. It was in November last year that New Delhi had held the last round of discussions, while a meeting with then prime minister Manmohan Singh, slated for December 6, 2013 was cancelled at the last moment. A delegation of the NSCN(IM) had visited New Delhi in March this year after the Centre had called off another round of talks in view of the Lok Sabha elections.

The NSCN(IM) has been on a ceasefire with the government of India since August 1, 1997, following which it has held a series of discussions with New Delhi. While the group has dropped its demand for ‘sovereignty’, it has maintained that it would continue to press for integration of all Naga-inhabited areas.

First uploaded on: 08-10-2014 at 05:38 IST

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