The Naga team’s Brig Phunthing Shimrang, while confirming Swu’s exit, told The Indian Express on Tuesday that the outcome of Wednesday’s talks would be important. “The AR is providing all kind of support to the NSCN(Khaplang) faction, and just because they have military strength doesn’t mean they can tell us where to set up our camp, designated or not. Muivah may or may not return to Nagaland from New Delhi. It depends on how the talks progress,” Shimrang said.

In another development last month, Lt-Gen (retd) R V Kulkarni, chairman, Cease Fire Monitoring Group (CFMG), asked the NSCN(I-M) and the NSCN(K) to vacate Kohima and its surrounding areas before September 25, citing reports of a massive concentration of armed cadres in the region. They has indicated their willingness to cooperate with the order, but the unauthorised camp issue has once again brought matters to a head of sorts. The June 30 deadline set by the CFMG for all cadres of both factions to return to their camps has also gone unheeded, with 45 per cent I-M cadres and 80 per cent of K cadres said to be moving freely with arms.

However, sources close to the peace talks machinery said too much shouldn’t be read into the rhetoric from the NSCN(I-M) and the AR. Since the ceasefire agreement was struck in 1997, both sides have met over 50 times in destinations ranging from Bangkok and Chiangmai in Thailand to Amsterdam and Paris, as well as Nagaland and New Delhi. While the current perspective is to look at the peace talks in its entirety since 1997, many of the meetings have been primarily for ceasefire extensions. Sources said that Union Minister Oscar Fernandes’ entry into the talks has got things moving, but added that the Centre isn’t too bothered with finding a permanent solution.

... contd.