National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) on March 2, termed the recent comment of RN Ravi, the Government of India’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks as irresponsible and misleading, reports The Sangai Express. NSCN-IM in a press statement said that “In his interview, the Representative of the Government of India (GoI) in an intentional and calculated move misinterpreted the 3rd August, 2015 Framework Agreement (FA) and squarely blamed the NSCN by giving shocking and unwarranted statements”. The NSCN-IM said that it does not consider the Framework Agreement contentious and there is no ambiguity about it. The NSCN-IM further said that it “recognizes that it is a broad framework whereby a foundation was laid towards resolving the decade’s old Indo-Naga conflict through mutual respect of each other’s history and sharing of sovereignty or sovereign powers between the two entities”. The NSCN-IM also said that it is firm in its commitment to resolve the decade’s old Indo-Naga issue based on the Framework Agreement. The NSCN-IM then stated that the Framework Agreement “recognizes that the Naga issue is political and therefore implying that it is not the internal law and order issue of India”. It reaffirmed and recognized their “Unique history and situation” which entails that Nagas were never a part of India either by conquest or by consent.
According to the NSCN-IM, in 2010 the first ever comprehensive official response proposal from the GoI was submitted to the NSCN-IM during the time of RS. Pandey, Representative of the Government of India. The proposal of the Government of India significantly included a political solution based on “Shared Sovereignty” and also amongst others included the establishment of “a statutory Pan Naga Supra state body” to represent Naga identity and their interest and which will cover Nagas, wherever they are, and separate fund. His proposal also included the necessity of respect for the integration of Naga areas. During the period of the present Representative of the Government of India it was finalized that in appreciation of the unique History and situation of the Nagas the GoI agreed that the statutory Pan Naga Hoho (PNH) shall be part of the political agreement and recognised that integration of all Naga areas as the “legitimate rights” of the Naga people. Pan Naga Hoho shall be statutory body, represented by Nagas, wherever they are, from respective tribes or regions democratically, according to NSCN-IM. Earlier RN Ravi had accused NSCN-IM of making “new and mischievous interpretation” of the already agreed positions.