Ahead of Naga peace talks, NCN-IM reiterates demand for flag, constitution
The issue of a separate Naga flag and constitution are said to be the two main components that are stalling the talks and inking of a final pact to settle the decades-old Naga political issue
Ahead of the resumption of the Naga peace talks, the Isak-Muivah-led National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) has asserted that there is no ambiguity about flag and constitution being constituent parts of sovereignty and Nagas are a sovereign people who have been living in their own land from time immemorial. The issue of a separate Naga flag and constitution are said to be the two main components that are stalling the talks and inking of a final pact to settle the decades-old Naga political issue.
“The flag and constitution are naturally inseparable from the sovereignty of a people. It is universally an accepted truth that flag and constitution are constituent parts of sovereignty. There is no ambiguity about it. The Indian leaders understand it too. They must take the stand to speak the truth,” NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah said on Monday while addressing an event commemorating the declaration of Naga independence by Naga leaders a day ahead of the Indian independence in 1947.
“We Nagas are proud of our past dynamic leaders who took the right decision in declaring the Naga National Independence on the 14th August, 1947 on the eve of the British departure from the British India. It was a historic step that gives new meaning to the Naga National identity,” Muivah said.
“History is the living witness. I pay homage to all those martyrs. At every stage of the movement, the Naga people have no dearth of revolutionary patriots who can lead the nation in the right direction against all odds,” the NSCN-IM leader said.
After 18 years of political talks, the Government of India and the NSCN-IM, signed the Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015. The agreement, according to Muivah, was signed on the foundation of recognition of the unique history and sovereignty of the Nagas, and shared sovereignty and coexistence of the two entities.
“This is a mutually agreed official document. This Framework Agreement is our legacy. We must defend what we have achieved with our own sweat and blood,” he said.
On the issue of integration of all Naga areas, he said the Centre has officially acknowledged that it is the legitimate right of the Nagas and would be finalised accordingly. Nagas are spread across four states in India- Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and in parts of Myanmar as well.