Zeliang allays fears on Naga peace pact
10 Aug 2015 5:43 AM IST
Voicing confidence that other rebels groups would also come on board after the signing of agreement between NSCN-IM and the Centre, he said a 16-member Naga delegation will visit Myanmar to meet S S Khaplang, the chief of the other Naga rebel group NSCN-K which had abrogated the ceasefire agreement and attacked security personnel, including a convoy of army killing 18 soldiers in Manipur in June.
“I along with all members of the Nagaland Assembly are ready to step down, if an acceptable and honourable solution is found to the Naga people, in order to make a new beginning,” the Chief Minister, whose Naga People’s Front is a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally, said. His remarks are significant as the region has a history of rebels groups joining <g data-gr-id="13">political</g> mainstream and even assuming power after signing of peace accords.
Asserting that the agreement would not affect non-Nagas and resolve the problems of North-East, Zeliang said that he would speak to other chief ministers of the region.
Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have said they will not cede an inch of their land. They have protested for being consulted before signing of the pact with NSCN-IM on Monday.
“The pact signed by Centre and NSCN-IM will help bring peace to the North-East. I will speak personally to my counterparts of neighbouring states to allay their apprehensions over the agreement,” Zeliang said at a press conference here, a day after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Solving the Naga problem is solving the problems of the North-East. Non-Nagas of the North-East should not have any negative thinking about the pact with NSCN-IM,” he said.
Zeliang said the peace pact was only a formula for a final agreement and what he understood after meeting Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh was that the Naga political problem will be resolved through sharing of power between the government of India and the Naga people.
“On Sunday we have trust and confidence in Prime Minister Modi,” Zeliang said.
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