The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaac-Muivah faction) has accused former interlocutor and present governor of Tamil Nadu RN Ravi of “psychological warfare” against the group during the Naga peace talks, The Hindu reported on Monday.
In a statement issued on April 10, the NSCN (IM) alleged that Ravi organised military exercises and brought fighter jets and rocket launchers into Naga dominated areas after the group refused to sign the peace agreement by October 31, 2019 – a deadline set by the Centre.
The group alleged that the former interlocutor misled the Centre and Naga people that the Indo-Naga talks had concluded on October 31, 2019, even though the negotiations are still underway, according to Hindustan Times.
In the statement, the NSCN (IM) said that “uncountable” members of the Indian security forces were stationed in Naga areas.
“Even the Nagaland State police were instructed to keep rations in stock for at least two months and the Special Branch department of the Nagaland police was instructed to identify NSCN members and their residences,” the group alleged. “The NSCN nevertheless was unnerved at the sight of this development and firmly stood its ground.”
Naga peace accord
For over six decades, Naga nationalists have fought the Indian state for a sovereign ethnic homeland that would include Nagaland as well as the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar across the border. Over the decades, the Naga armed movement split into several factions.
In 2015, the Centre signed a framework agreement for a settlement of the Naga conflict with the NSCN (IM), one of the largest Nagaland armed groups. It had appointed Ravi as its interlocutor.
In 2017, the scope of the agreement was broadened after Ravi included six other Naga armed groups, now called the Naga National Political Groups, in the talks.
The talks were temporarily paused for two years and resumed again in 2019 when Ravi was appointed as the governor of Nagaland.
In October 2019, the NSCN (IM) agreed to sign a peace accord without a separate Naga constitution and with a “conditional flag” that can only be allowed for non-governmental purposes. However, the Naga peace talks were back on the table in March after the NSCN (IM) accused Ravi of making “reckless statements”.
In September 2021, Ravi resigned as the Centre’s interlocutor for the Naga peace talks, days after he was appointed as the governor of Tamil Nadu.
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