Insurgency / Nagaland

Imphal, Febuary 07: Renowned Naga religious leader, Rev (Dr) VK Nuh, though not invited to meet the top NSCN (IM) leadership, Isak chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah durling their recent brief stay in Delhi, expressed hope that the talks held in New Delhi between them (NSCN-IM leadership) and Indian Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister and their subsequent interaction with host of political leaders of the country would give impetus towards final settlement of the longstanding Naga political problem. The Naga priest was however, worried that if they didn't include other...

A stone juts out from the thick undergrowth of the forest, its edges blunted by the vagaries of nature. The stone, however, does not have any umbilical link with the Patkai hill ranges. It is just the ?official? demarcation between India and Myanmar, the lone sentinel on an international boundary avoided by border forces of both countries.

The open border in the picture-postcard setting holds the key to the many mutinies afflicting the Northeast. Leaders of several insurgent outfits revealed to The Telegraph that everything the rebels need in their jungle camps ? from rations to arms ? are...

Dimapur, Feb. 6: Naga non-governmental organisations are conspicuous by their silence in the run-up to the February 26 polls, unlike the 1998 election when leading tribal NGOs had tried to convince Opposition parties in the state to ?abstain? from elections after the Centre rejected their plea to defer the polls till a definite outcome of the talks with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah).

However, secretary of the leading Naga human rights body, Naga People?s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Neingulo Krome, denied that the NGOs were staying away from the electoral process.

?We are not going to give a...

Sometime in the Eighties, a desperate husband had carried his wife hundreds of miles through jungle paths to reach the Upper Assam town of Margherita to ensure that she received proper medical treatment for a serious illness. Years later, the overwhelmed wife has become the stabilising factor in the life of S.S. Khaplang, who heads the NSCN (K).

From ensuring a constant supply of lukewarm water ? which Khaplang claims keeps him refreshed all day ? to managing his ?home? deep inside the jungles of this Tenup Tephak Joku Valley in Myanmar, the insurgent leader?s wife makes sure that he is never...

Kohima/Dimapur, Feb. 5: The NSCN (I-M) has raised hopes of reconciliation of the warring Naga factions by terming the rival Khaplang group?s unity formula a ?good one?, though it has yet to directly respond to the offer.

Naga Hoho president M. Vero today quoted the NSCN (I-M) leadership as saying that the Khaplang group had made a proposal worth considering. He said the Naga Hoho would send a reminder to the NSCN (I-M) to officially make its stand clear.

Vero?s disclosure comes in the wake of NSCN (K) leader S.S. Khaplang?s statement that his group had submitted a unity formula to the Naga...

NSCN-K Council headquarters (somewhere in the jungles of Myanmar), Feb. 4: In a move reflecting his eagerness to end fratricidal clashes, insurgent leader S. S. Khaplang berated a section of his men for claiming that the Tangkhuls were not Nagas.

?They are Nagas like any of us. If they are not, then Muivah (NSCN-IM general secretary Th. Muivah), who is a Tangkhul, would not have been appointed general secretary of the Naga National Council and the NSCN,? he told The Telegraph at his headquarters deep inside the jungles of Tenup Tephak Joku Valley in Myanmar.

The Tangkhuls are natives of Ukhrul...

NSCN-K Council Headquarters (somewhere in the jungles of Myanmar), Feb. 3: National Socialist Council of Nagaland supremo S.S. Khaplang has dismissed allegations of being hand-in-glove with Nagaland chief minister S.C. Jamir, claiming that he had never met the Congress politician.

One of the most talked about Naga militant leaders ? who has often been charged by his rivals with having a nexus with Jamir ? Khaplang strove to come clean on the issue during an interview at his council headquarters deep inside the jungles of Kenup Tephak Joku Valley.

?I have never seen nor met Jamir,? was the...

NEW DELHI, Feb 3 ? In a significant move to quell tension in Manipur and Assam over the Naga issues, NSCN(I-M) has said it ?fully recognises the legitimate rights and aspirations? of all neighbouring people and offered to hold talks with them to resolve the differences, reports PTI. ?Let us end tensions that have sometimes existed between us and live as good neighbours, who respect each other?s rights and aspirations. We are convinced that there should be no differences between us that cannot be resolved through dialogue and understanding,? the major Naga insurgent group said in a statement, a...

Feb. 2: The NSCN (I-M) has flayed Nagaland chief minister S.C. Jamir for his recent statement that the outfit?s leaders had virtually accepted Indian citizenship by using Indian passports to travel to the country.

Jamir had reportedly said Swu and Muivah had visited New Delhi as ?good Indian citizens with valid Indian passports?.

?While the visit of the collective leadership to India has proved meaningful in enhancing mutual trust and confidence that is most essential for resolving the Indo-Naga conflict, such a statement is totally irrelevant and nonsense,? a statement by the insurgent group...

NEW DELHI, Feb 2 ? The war of words between Nagaland Chief Minister S C Jamir and the NSCN (I-M) hotted up yesterday with the latter taking exception to the former?s reported statement that its leaders Isak and Muivah came to Delhi as ?good Indian citizens with valid Indian passport.?

?While the visit of the collective leadership to India has been proved meaningful in enhancing mutual trust and confidence that is most essential for resolving of the Indo-Naga conflict, such kind of statement is totally irrelevant and nonsense,? a statement from the insurgent group said.

The collective...