No consensus in Centre–Naga talks, economic blockade on cards
Talks between Naga bodies led by UNC and the Centre on Free Movement Regime and border fencing failed to reach consensus
Naga leaders gather for talks in New Delhi on Tuesday
Imphal, Aug 27: The much anticipated talks between Government of India representatives and Naga organisations led by the United Naga Council (UNC) on the issues of Free Movement Regime (FMR) and border fencing ended in a deadlock today. The UNC leaders said that they would announce the date and mode of an agitation in protest against the development soon.
The 11-member Naga team held talks with an eight-member Central team for about two hours, a UNC source stated.
The UNC leaders told this news agency over phone this evening that despite the long meeting, the two parties could not reach any consensus. The Central Government delegation was led by AK Mishra, Adviser (North East), Ministry of Home Affairs. Officials from the Intelligence Bureau and Border Management were part of the talks, the sources said.
According to the UNC leaders, they told the Centre's representatives that the ongoing border fencing construction should be kept on hold if the dialogue was to continue. "But the Government of India representatives said that the border fencing works cannot be stopped," a UNC leader said.
The Centre's representatives cited national security, smuggling, and influx of illegal immigrants as reasons for undertaking the border fencing works, said the UNC leaders
The Naga leaders will re-turn to Senapati tomorrow and convene a meeting before announcing the date and mode of the proposed agitation. Sources said that an indefinite economic blockade on the national highways was likely to be called.
The present executive members of the UNC and three former UNC presidents (members of UNC Working Committee), leaders of Naga Women Union and All Naga Students' As-sociation, Manipur (ANSAM), comprised the Naga team for the talks. They had gone to the national capital on the invitation of the Government of India.
The UNC had served a 20-day ultimatum to the Government on July 22, that had lapsed on August 11.
On August 11, the "emergency presidential council meeting" of the UNC held in Senapati and attended by presidents of the Naga hohos, had resolved to announce the mode of an agitation and future modus operandi within 15 days. The meeting was held on the issue of the abrogation of the FMR and the ongoing border fencing construction in the "Naga ancestral homeland"