Church for end to Naga hostilities

GUWAHATI, July 28: The Church has called for a cessation of hostilities among Naga underground groups. A six-member team of the Nagaland Baptist Churches Council met the "kilo kilonser" (home minister) of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, Q Tuccu, on Wednesday and impressed upon him the need for a ceasefire among the groups. Killings among Naga brothers and sisters must stop, the NSCN leader was told. The delegation of the Church, an influential institution in Nagaland, was told that the NSCN leadership would discuss their proposal. On 20 July, the team had appealed for unity to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) during a meeting with its general secretary, Kitovi Zimomi, somewhere in Mokokchung district. Zimomi has reportedly assured the Church leaders that his organisation would consider the request. The NBCC decided to approach the two groups after a meeting of its "peace committee", set up about a year ago, decided that unification of Naga underground groups was a prerequisite for a lasting peace in Nagaland. According to some reports, the NSCN has deputed three of its senior leaders to work out modalities for unification of the two factions which have been at war since 1988 after they split. Over the past three years, 165 members of the two groups died in clashes. The NSCN has said it has taken the step after the Khaplang group sent feelers. The NSCN, however, feels that the NSCN(K) has been working against it at the behest of the government. Zunebhuto district has been declared a "peace zone" to facilitate moves for peace talks between the two groups. The Church apart, almost all in Nagaland are convinced that the ongoing talks between the Centre and the NSCN - another round to discuss extension of the ceasefire is slated to get under way today in a Southeast Asian capital - would not bear fruit if the other groups, mainly the NSCN(K), are not roped in. The two other groups are Naga National Council (Adino) and Naga National Council (Khodao), both relatively small factions that have largely abandoned armed struggle. However, the Centre's hands seem to have been tied in this regard. The NSCN insists that talks can be held only with it because that is what a former prime minister had assured. At the same time, the government has given enough indication that it appreciates the need for participation of all groups, including underground organisations, in the process to find a solution to the Naga tangle.