NSCN leader urges reunion of all NSCN factions

Days after the NSCN (Reformation) extended its ceasefire with the Indian government, one of its senior leaders has stressed the urgent need for unity among all NSCN factions for solving the Naga problem.

Stating that once there was a golden era for Nagas when there was just one political group, Imlongnukshi Chang, supervisor of the NSCN (Reformation) Ceasefire Supervisory Board, said: "It was the NNC (Naga National Council). Now with so many groups, if the Nagas want a peaceful solution, they have to get united."

Chang, who was here to hold the ceasefire extension meeting with home ministry officials, said there was a need for the Nagas to understand that there will be no end to the Naga problem until all the factions do away with their ideological differences.

"If Nagas desire to settle for an honourable and acceptable solution based on the political and historical rights of the Nagas, all of us need to come together instead of having individual thoughts," Chang told IANS.

Speaking on the differences among the Nagas, the former NSCN (Khaplang) leader said every Naga should understand there was no space for conflicts, which Khaplang has been wedded to after abrogating the ceasefire.

"India is a great country advocating for peace and non-violence in international platforms. So the question does not arise for us to follow the path of violence," said Chang, who quit the Khaplang group in early 2015 after the latter abrogated the 14-year-old ceasefire with New Delhi.

Chang belongs to NSCN (Reformation), which was the only faction to publicly support the Naga Peace Accord inked between the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and the central government on August 3, 2015.

No other faction has supported the accord, citing lack of consensus over the peace accord.

The NSCN is now split into four factions, one led by Isak Swu and Thuingleng Muivah, another by S.S. Khaplang, a third by Nokpao Konyak and the fourth by Wangtin Naga.

--IANS

rup/sd/mr