Politics / Nagaland

DIMAPUR, May 12 — The newly installed Democratic Alliance government in Nagaland led by chief minister Neiphiu Rio is instituting inquiries to all financial irregularities that have been committed in the past. Rio, addressing public meetings during his whirlwind tour to the districts of Mokokchung, Tuensang and Phek, said that “corruption charges” including the lottery scam of the previous SC Jamir government would be investigated into by the competent agencies.

The chief minister said that the “previous government misused public funds and there was an abundance of financial irregularities.”...

Calcutta, May 9: The NSCN (I-M) today clarified that it had no objection to former Union home secretary K. Padmanabhaiah being a member of the Centre’s team for the Naga peace talks, but stuck to its demand for appointment of a political leader as chief interlocutor.

V.S. Atem, a former kilonser (minister) in the NSCN (I-M) hierarchy, told The Telegraph while passing through the city that his outfit had always believed that a bureaucrat could not do justice to the chief interlocutor’s role in the peace process. “Padmanabhaiah can continue as a member of Delhi’s negotiating team, though not as...

Guwahati, May 8: Alarmed by the apparent change in Nagaland?s demography, a youth organisation has served ?quit notices? on Bangladeshi migrants in the state.

Neighbouring Assam, for which illegal migration is an even bigger problem, has sounded an ?alert? along the inter-state border to prevent the fleeing migrants from entering its territory.

The anti-migrant campaign in Nagaland, which police say has been launched by the Kohima-based Lisami Youth Organisation, follows the Union Cabinet?s decision to repeal the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, which is in force in Assam.

...

KOHIMA, May 8 – The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (IM) said it was committed to “peaceful means for solution” to the more-than-half-a-century old Indo-Naga political problem but lamented that “Indians’ commitment leaves much to be desired despite assurances” reports NEPS. In an exclusive interview to a Netherlands based national daily that made available to North East Press Service Tuesday, General Secretary of the NSCN (IM) Thuingaleng Muivah, however, asserted that the unification of “Naga territories” and their national identities were “non-negotiable. “In other words, the...

NEW DELHI, May 6 – The peace talks between the Government of India and NSCN(I-M) has yet again run into rough weather over the issue of unification of Naga-inhabited areas, highly placed sources said. The deadlock in the peace process prompted Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee to summon Mizoram Chief Minister, Zoramthanga to Delhi for consultation in an attempt to resolve the fresh crisis. The Mizoram Chief Minister last Friday had a close-door meeting with the Prime Minister on the issue, sources added.

The latest crisis can be traced to the last round of official-level talks held in...

Kohima, May 2: The NSCN (I-M) today threatened to “reconsider” its truce agreement with the Centre if security forces continued to raid its camps and arrest activists. However, the threat had little effect on the Assam Rifles, which said the outfit should stop endangering peace in “civilian-populated areas” if it wanted to be left alone.

A team from the 10th battalion of the Assam Rifles had raided a camp of the “UT-1 battalion” of the NSCN (I-M) in Dimapur town early yesterday and arrested three activists, including the “camp commander”. It also seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition and...

DIMAPUR, May 1 —The Consultative Committee for Peace, set up by the ruling Democratic Alliance government in Nagaland, headed by the state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in its first meeting held at Kohima on Tuesday has decided not to recommend extension of ‘Disturbed Area’ notification under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in 20 km belt bordering Assam beyond May 4 next.

The committee also decided to convey the state Government’s view to the Central Government for further necessary action. The Committee after thorough deliberations also expressed its happiness and welcomed the extension...

SHILLONG, April 27 — Drugs including one kilogram of heroin and five kg of ganja and fake vehicle number plates were recovered from an illegal NSCN(IM) town command headquarter in Dimapur recently exposing fresh evidence that the militant outfit is engaged in drug-peddling and other unlawful activities in violation of the ceasefire ground rules. Assam Rifles sources here revealed that the troops of the para-military force busted the unauthorised camp of NSCN(IM) on April 21 last in a lightning board daylight operation. As per ceasefire ground rules in Nagaland, all NSCN (IM) cadres are...

Guwahati, April 22: The NSCN’s Khaplang faction has called upon the Naga National Council to play a more active role in the search for a solution to the Naga political impasse, questioning the rival Isak-Muivah faction’s “killing” of several NNC members for surrendering to the Union government.

The Khaplang faction has drawn a parallel between Isak and Muivah’s acceptance of Indian passports and the NNC’s acceptance of the Indian Constitution with the Shillong Accord of 1975.

The outfit’s “ministry of information and publicity”, in a statement, claimed that the NSCN (I-M) had no “credibility”...

NEW DELHI, April 21 — The ongoing ceasefire between the NSCN-K and the Government of India is all set to be extended by another year. The current ceasefire pact between the two parties expires on April 28. The decision to extend the ceasefire was taken at a meeting between top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and a delegation of NSCN-K here today. According to sources, the talks today focussed only on the extension of the ceasefire and the vexed issue of starting the peace negotiations on the lines of the ongoing peace talks with NSCN-IM, did not figure. Significantly, Nagaland Chief...