Centre-Naga ceasefire on the brink of collapse

) Prospects for the next round of talks between the Central Government and the leaders of the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)making any headway on the 10th of this month appear to be receding, if not very bleak.

By Sanjay Kumar

New Delhi, Oct.6 Prospects for the next round of talks between the Central Government and the leaders of the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)making any headway on the 10th of this month appear to be receding, if not very bleak.

Highly placed NSCN (IM)sources told ANI on Saturday that the "indefinite ceasefire" agreed to on July 31 in Kohima is at a "precarious stage", and the guarantee of the cease-fire remaining in place will depend on the "progress of the talks and the positive steps" taken by New Delhi.

The NSCN (IM) has alleged that the cease-fire has been violated by the Assam Rifles with the help of the NSCN(Khaplang),who they claim are operating in the uniform of the Assam Rifles.

The rival Naga faction and Indian paramilitaries are targeting the NSCN (IM) camp at Sakhalu in Zunheboto District, which 150 km north-east of Kohima, sources said.

"Cease-fire is about to break because of the double standards of the Government of India," said Dr. P. Mor, Deputy Kilonser (Minister) of Religious Affairs in NSCN (IM) Government.

The NSCN (IM) blames the Centre for promoting and protecting the Khaplang group. They believe that the Assam Rifles, the RAW and Military Intelligence are backing the rival Naga faction.

It is in this background that NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu left the country clandestinely last Monday for Thailand via Bangladesh.

"We don't see any trustworthy step by the Indian Government to take any positive steps, like integrating the Naga-dominated areas", said one of the senior NSCN (IM) functionaries who has been closely associated with the peace talks for the last several years.He said that he wanted the government "to proceed with sincere heart".

Another NSCN (IM) source informed ANI that the cadres have been "put on high alert" and they have been asked, "to be ready for any eventuality".

If one goes by the statement of the NSCN (IM) functionaries, the next round of talks on October 10 in New Delhi might turn out to be the last between the two participants in India.

General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah,who is going to head the talks from the Naga side, is also likely to move to Europe soon if the discussion with the Central Government does not yield any substantial results.

When the ceasefire was extended for the indefinite period on July 31, it was hailed as a landmark development.

In the previous round of talks held abroad and in New Delhi, the NSCN-IM had submitted a charter of demands to the Government that included the creation of a separate Constitution for Nagaland, a "new and unique" relationship with New Delhi and unification of Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

But these three states have rejected the demand.

In the Bangkok talks held last year, both sides had agreed on a broad framework to define a relationship that could end Naga insurgency.

There was, however, confusion over the parameters of the broad framework.

Muivah arrived in India in December last year, while Swu came to the country in the first week of January. Since then, they have been in Nagaland for discussions with NSCN-IM cadres and civil society and political leaders on the group's key demands.

ANI