Shillong, Aug 3 (IANS) The details of the historic peace accord signed on Monday between the government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM will be made public soon, a top official from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“The finer details of the text of the agreement will come out shortly,” the PMO official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
He said the peace accord would bring a new dawn of peace and development to the region in general and Nagaland in particular.
Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi over signing the peace accord.
“In principle, we congratulate the prime minister for signing the peace accord, but we cannot comment anything on it as we do not know the contents of the agreement. But this positive development will pave the way for a permanent solution acceptable to the Nagas,” Zeliang told IANS.
Zeliang, who was informed by Prime Minister Modi on Monday evening about the signing of the peace accord, expressed confidence that both the parties have taken into account the aspirations of the Naga people as expressed by the mass-based Naga Civil Societies during their interactions with the interlocutor, R.N. Ravi.
“Our people have been struggling for more than six decades for a settlement to the Naga issue, and the signing of the peace accord is a welcome step towards such a settlement,” the Nagaland chief minister said.
Modi, who had a telephonic talk with Zeliang after signing of the peace accord, said the deal was an inspiration in “our troubled world” and noted that the Naga problem was a legacy of the British which took a long time to resolve as “we did not understand each other”.
Former Mizoram chief Minister Zoramthanga, who was successful in brokering peace between the Centre and the NSCN-IM, also congratulated the NDA government and the Naga leaders on signing the peace accord.
“I don’t know the content of the peace accord but I am sure both the parties signed an agreement which is acceptable to them,” Zoramthanga, who was once a militant leader of the rebel Mizo National Front before the outfit surrendered in 1986 and entered the political mainstream, told IANS over phone from Mizoram capital Aizawl.
“Nonetheless, I am very happy that both sides signed the peace accord to restore peace and ensure development in Nagaland,” he said.
Attempts were made from time to time to resolve the issue through discussion with representatives of the Naga people. A fresh attempt for a comprehensive resolution was initiated with the NSCN in 1997.
Since 1997, the two sides have held at least 50 rounds of peace talks aimed at ending one of South Asia’s longest running insurgencies that has claimed an estimated 25,000 lives since India attained independence in 1947.