\nNSCN (I-M) chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah is likely to make it clear before a Group of Ministers headed by Oscar Fernandes that any compromise on the issue will not be acceptable to the Naga people.
\n\u201cThe issue is too hot, too sensitive,\u201d NSCN (I-M) spokesman Vikiye Sumi told. The NSCN (I-M) has been pressing for formation of a \u2018greater Nagalim\u2019 comprising all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast. However, this has been opposed by Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
\nThe peace talks will be held on the second week of November in the Hague after a gap of nearly a year and are being considered crucial as the rebels raised questions over the government\u2019s sincerity in resolving the six-decade-old Naga insurgency problem in the Northeast.
\nThe meeting will also review progress made since the NSCN (I-M) submitted a 20-point charter of demands to the Centre.
\nIn this charter, the NSCN (I-M) had sought separate representation at the UN and greater rights over natural resources, finance, defence and policing, besides unification of Naga-inhabited areas.
\nIn the last meeting, it was agreed to explore and discuss NSCN (I-M)\u2019s demand for a special federal relationship between New Delhi and Nagaland that allows Nagas\u2019 self governance and the issue will prominently figure in the forthcoming dialogue, a senior rebel leader said. A team of Naga leaders will also go to the Hague to take part in the peace dialogue along with Swu and Muivah, who are already abroad.
\nThe government has held over 60 rounds of talks with the NSCN (I-M) both in India as well abroad.
\nNSCN (I-M) and security forces in Nagaland have been observing a truce since August 1997. The ceasefire has been extended every 12 months since then except last year when it was renewed for just six months at the insistence of the rebels and further extended by another six months in February.
\nNagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio last month had requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil to expedite the peace process, noting that the initial euphoria over Delhi\u2019s initiative towards resolving the issue was now being replaced by \u201cscepticism\u201d in public mind.
\nAdmitting that the dialogue process had reached a stalemate, both sides held each other responsible for it.
\nLabour Minister Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office Prithviraj Chavan and former Union home secretary K Padmanabhaiah had hold talks with the Naga leadership on several previous occasions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"