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News from India Newspaper (r)



"Delhi's man holds talks with Nagas in Bangkok"

BY REZAUL H. LASKAR

New Delhi, June 25: India ruled out the recognition of Nagaland as a
separate nation during the first round of political talks held with
leaders of a major Naga rebel group in Thailand.
Union home ministry officials told The Asian Age that Mr. Swarai
Kaushal, the government's principal negotiator for discussions with the
IsakMuivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, had
informed leaders of the rebel group that their demand for a "sovereign"
Nagaland was unacceptable.  Mr. Kaushal also told the NSCN (I-M) leaders
that the Union government would not accede to their demand for the
creation of a "Greater Nagaland" by merging Naga-inhabited areas of
Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with the territory of Nagaland.
The first round of political discussions was held in Bangkok in late
May, the officials said.  The capital of Thailand is one of the major
bases in South Asia for the NSCN (I-M)'s top leadership, which moved out
of the country in the late Eighties.
Mr. Kaushal, who was not accompanied by any other Indian official, held
one-to-one discussions with an NSCN (I-M) delegation led by the group's
general secretary, Mr. Thuingaleng Muivah.  Mr. Kaushal was given a
detailed briefing on the parameters for the talks before he left for
Bangkok, the officials said.
"The talks were basically exploratory in nature as this was the first
time that political issues were discussed with the rebel leaders.  Mr.
Kaushal, however, made it absolutely clear to the NSCN (I-M) that
sovereignty and Greater Nagaland were two issues which could not be
included in the ambit of the talks," the officials said.  Sovereignty
was ruled out, as the talks had to be conducted within the scope of the
Constitution.  The Assemblies of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam
had also passed resolutions opposing the creation of a Greater Nagaland.
the officials said.  The officials refused to comment on reports that
the NSCN (I-M) leaders had demanded the involvement of the Prime
Minister's Office in the political discussions, saying that "New Delhi
would not accept any ultimatums." Mr. Kaushal, who played a crucial role
in finalising a peace accord with the Mizo National Front, was appointed
the principal negotiator for talks with the NSCN (I-M) when the Union
government had extended the cease-fire, for three months.


"THE ASIAN AGE"
Date June 26, 1998.