NSCN, Govt talks will decide Muivah’s stay in India

According to senior NSCN(I-M) functionaries and Intelligence sources, Swu has already quietly exited the country, and Muivah’s stay will depend on the outcome of the talks on Wednesday in New Delhi. Muivah is currently in the national capital accompanied by other leaders.

Both the NSCN(I-M) leaders have been staying at the outfit’s Camp Hebron headquarters in Dimapur since last December. During this period, there have been at least three meetings, including delegation-level talks between the Centre’s interlocutors and the rebel leadership, both at Dimapur and New Delhi. In the first round of talks held after Muivah’s return on March 4, the Centre significantly ruled out any role for Dutch conflict resolution agency NGO Kreddha International, which had been brought in by the NSCN(I-M) as a consultant and a neutral mediator.

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.

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