Kohima, Dec. 16: The Nagaland government today introduced a resolution in the Assembly on integration of Naga areas contiguous to the state. The timing of the resolution is significant. The resolution, tabled by chief minister Neiphiu Rio, iterated ?its earlier stand and urged the Centre to bring together the Naga people living in the state of Nagaland and the contiguous areas by integrating them under one administrative unit?.
Three resolutions were pas-sed by the Assembly earlier, too, on December 12, 1964, August 28, 1970 and September 16, 1994.
Though the adoption of this resolution may appear redundant, it assumes significance in the context of the peace talks.
?We know that the talks were held in Bangkok and the next round is likely to be in India,? Rio told the House today. He was replying to a question by Congressman K.V. Pusa, who enquired about the exact status of the political discussions and the process of negotiations between the Centre with the NSCN (I-M).
Home minister T.M. Lotha said the state government did not have the details of the talks since it was not a party to the parleys. ?We are only facilitators,? he said.
But the Opposition members, including former chief minister S.C. Jamir, insisted on a reply. ?It is a hot topic about which everyone is anxious,? Rio said, intervening. He said the peace process was going in the right direction and the government?s hope and wish was that it should succeed. The resolution is pending for discussion and would be taken up tomorrow.
The wish to integrate Naga-inhabited areas was first expressed through a resolution adopted by the Naga People?s Convention in Mokokchung in 1959. This was included in the 16-point Agreement signed between the NPC and the Centre in 1960.
Jamir?s stance has essentially been to leave the ball in the court of the people in question in the particular areas.
At a news conference yesterday, he stated that if the NSCN (I-M) showed an attractive political structure, then Nagas in those areas would readily join in.
The Bangkok round of talks this month revolved around Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee?s statement in Kohima that a political consensus was a prerequisite for integration.