DIMAPUR, Aug 18 - NSCN-IM will not decommission arms after the final accord is signed with the Government of India, a local daily here reported today.
According to the report, an NSCN-IM source said they will not decommission the arms and that the present �Naga army� will be commissioned as a regular army as part of the agreement to have a joint defence between the NSCN-IM and Union Government to look after the security of Nagaland (Nagalim).
�There will be no decommissioning of arms in our agreement as we will have a joint defence force,� said a source from NSCN-IM. A source said Naga army will be commissioned as a regular armed force and jointly look after the defence of Nagaland.
According to another local daily, setting at rest various media speculations that Government of India and NSCN-IM would be signing �final accord� by September 2017, interlocutor for Naga talks RN Ravi and NSCN-IM member, collective leadership, VS Atem made it clear that there is no such deadline for signing a permanent agreement between the Government of India and NSCN-IM.�
There are around 6,000 regular �Naga armymen� in NSCN-IM set-up, spread over Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. There was also report of presence of NSCN-IM cadres in Myanmar. Apart from armed cadres, there are also several hundred workers in civil establishment of the group�s shadow government � Government of People�s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN).
�Our army will look after the borders of Nagalim,� a source said. To commission �Naga Army� into a regular force, the Union Government is most likely to create around seven battalions, according to a source. The cadres are likely to be absorbed into paramilitary forces. The new battalions are likely to be deployed along Indo-Myanmar border as part of the effort to seal the border to check the movement of North East militants.
In 1972, when cadres of �Revolutionary Government of Nagaland� surrendered, the Union Government absorbed the cadres into Border Security Force (BSF). Hundreds of arms were surrendered to the authorities.
The 1975 Shillong Accord also witnessed surrender of dozens of arms by the cadres of Naga National Council (NNC).
According to a source, the newly created battalions are likely to be looked after by Union Home Ministry. Earlier, Nagaland Governor PB Acharya also said the Centre would create new battalions for the cadres.
